Junk fees tips

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 21, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Junk fees — charges imposed by travel service providers that are seen as hidden, unnecessary, or excessive — are a constant source of frustration for travelers.

Hilton raised its forecast for 2024 profit on Wednesday but signaled that the post-pandemic travel surge is leveling off, particularly with American tourism.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 2, 2024, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday that would create national standards for pricing for hotels, short-term rentals, and other lodging companies.

HomeToGo, the short-term rental price comparison business, plans to go a couple of steps further than Airbnb to comply with the California junk fee law that kicks in July 1.

Come July 1, U.S. hotels will need to comply with a California state law that requires upfront disclosure of the total cost — including all mandatory fees — of hotel rooms, among other travel services like short-term rentals and cruises.

The world’s largest cruise operators are expected to disclose upfront port and other manadatory fees, as well as taxes, to consumers in the U.S. starting July 1 to comply with California’s junk fee law.

New federal rules around airline junk fees and refunds are meant to protect consumers but they overlook the logistics of making it happen, according to Laura Chadwick, president and CEO of the Travel Technology Association.

After the Biden administration announced it would crack down on junk fees and require automatic refunds, it was unclear how the rules would be enforced and applied to the airline industry.

The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday it would partner with 18 state attorney generals to investigate airline consumer violations.

Made Hotel in New York City has caught attention for giving its resort fee an unusual name — “curation fee.”

Checking in a bag is becoming an increasingly expensive endeavor. 

The U.S. government has increasingly taken aim at junk fees, charges levied by travel service providers that are considered unnecessary or excessive and not clearly communicated to travelers.

A class-action lawsuit against Accor, the Paris-based hotel giant, accuses it of having not disclosed so-called junk fees.

A bipartisan introduced in the House of Representatives Friday is the latest effort to apply pressure on the travel industry to be more transparent in how it displays and markets so-called junk fees.

A U.S. Senate panel on Monday announced an investigation into airline fees for baggage, seat selection, ticket changes and other services, demanding justifications from the CEOs of five major carriers for these charges that generate billions of dollars in annual revenue for them.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on October 7 a bill to ban mandatory hidden fees — also called junk fees — starting July 1, 2024.

The Federal Trade Commission took another step in the Biden administration’s ongoing battle against junk fees by unveiling a proposed rule that would ban businesses from levying misleading charges.

The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat asked the CEOs of United Airlines and American Airlines to answer questions on rising passenger complaints and higher ticket prices and fees.