The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) on Monday released new documentation detailing its new “Rule on Unfair or Misleading Charges.” The rule, set to take impact on Might 12, prohibits hidden charges for stay occasions, motels, and short-term leases. It additionally bans practices resembling “bait-and-switch pricing” and any actions that conceal or misrepresent complete costs and charges.
In a newly revealed FAQ, the FTC presents a information for these kinds of companies, offering detailed details about pricing transparency.
The rule will influence companies, together with stay occasion ticket sellers and short-term lodging suppliers, like motels, motels, Airbnb, or VRBO. Third-party platforms, resellers, and journey brokers are additionally lined by the brand new regulation. (Airbnb already up to date its service upfront of this new regulation to indicate customers the overall price of their keep upfront.)
In keeping with the FTC:
- Stay occasion tickets embrace these for live shows, sporting occasions, music, theater, and different stay performances that audiences watch as they happen, however not pre-recorded audio or visible performances.
- The whole value should embrace all identified costs and charges.
- Websites should disclose the overall value upfront in adverts and different presents for live-event tickets or short-term lodging.
- The whole value should even be extra prominently displayed than some other pricing info.
- There needs to be no misrepresentation about charges and costs.
- Websites ought to present truthful details about charges, together with refund insurance policies.
- Websites ought to keep away from imprecise phrases like “comfort charges,” “service charges,” or “processing charges.”
- Dynamic pricing methods are nonetheless allowed so long as the pricing info isn’t deceptive.
Additionally included within the FTC’s new FAQ are the forms of charges that may be excluded, resembling taxes or authorities charges, delivery costs, and costs for non-compulsory items or companies folks could choose to purchase as a part of the identical transaction. (Word that dealing with costs aren’t on this checklist.)
Nonetheless, the FTC notes that companies should disclose that it has excluded costs from the overall value earlier than asking for fee. For instance, if a enterprise excludes delivery costs from the marketed value, it’s required to obviously state the quantity and objective of these costs.
The FTC first handed the rule in December 2024, a landmark regulation that marked a big win for customers who’ve been pissed off for years about hidden charges.
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