Hidden ‘Junk’ Fees Must Be Disclosed, F.T.C. Rule Says

Traveling to the United Kingdom is about to get more expensive thanks to the country’s plans to implement a new electronic travel authorization (ETA) fee this week.

Despite the open borders of the Schengen Zone, driving around Europe can be a challenge thanks to the myriad national road rules to get your head around.

Emirates has called out social media platforms for not acting quicker to remove a video showing a fake plane crash.

Shortly after boarding her Turkish Airlines flight from Johannesburg to Istanbul last March, Patience Titcombe, 36, from Phoenix, noticed a small bug crawling on her seat when she got up to use the restroom.

Silver Airways, a regional airline that serves Florida and the Caribbean, continues flying after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Monday.

Whether you travel frequently or once a year, it can be difficult to determine which places are worth visiting.

Director Ridley Scott has advised people to avoid visiting Malta, one of the filming locations for his action flick, "Gladiator II."

Meet your astrologer

Whether you're staying in a five-star canvas tent at the edge of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park or heading on a budget safari in South Africa's Kruger National Park, a safari vacation is dotted with hidden costs.

American Airlines will use a special rule exception to fly longer-than-normal routes out of New York's LaGuardia Airport next year.

Dec 23, 2024 • 10 min read

It’s finally happening: the end of resort fees as we know them.  In a landmark announcement on Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will now prohibit “junk fees,” an overarching term for hidden and misrepresented prices in the hotel, and short-term rental, and live-event ticketing, industries. For travelers, that includes all hotel booking websites and vacation rental platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo.  The rule will require companies to disclose total prices upfront. Search results on an online travel agency, for instance, must include the maximum total of all mandatory fees or charges people will have to pay. With this move, consumers searching for hotels or vacation rentals should no longer be surprised by “resort,” “city,” or “service” fees inflating the advertised price.  By requiring up-front disclosure of total price including fees, the FTC says comparison shopping will be easier, “resulting in savings for consumers and leveling the competitive playing field.”  “People deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay—without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time. The “junk fee” FTC investigation was first launched in 2022 with two rounds of public input and over 70,000 comments. This feedback was then taken into consideration before the final ruling announced today. Expect this to take effect in 120 days. However, it’s not yet clear exactly how the FTC will enforce these mandates.