A brand new U.S. rule that requires hotel and short-term lodging corporations to reveal so-called “junk fees” starts Monday.
Announced by the Federal Trade Commission in December, the rule takes direct aim on the widely loathed charges, which may appear as “resort,” “destination” or “hospitality service” fees and purport to grant perks that travelers either don’t need or already expect to receive.
These include “premium” web service and access to a hotel gym.
The rule, which also applies to live event ticketing corporations, was designed to curtail a practice that allowed businesses to charge more “without looking such as you’re raising prices,” Cathy Mansfield from the Case Western Reserve Law School told CNBC in December.
The professor, who makes a speciality of consumer and industrial law, had one caveat: “I actually hope the Trump administration doesn’t cut the enforcement staff on the FTC and the CFPB.”
But because the rule was announced, the Trump administration has pushed to eliminate nearly 90% of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s staff and fired two FTC commissioners — actions that are being challenged within the U.S. court system.
Because of this, Mansfield said she now believes the brand new rule is less more likely to protect consumers.
“With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau already incapacitated by the Trump administration, there probably won’t be latest protections for consumers — a rollback of existing protections where possible, and absolutely no enforcement of rules. This implies no protection in any respect for consumers,” she said.
In response, Chris Mufarrige, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, told CNBC that the agency “is working hard to guard consumers and can proceed to pursue enforcement actions against corporations that violate the law, including through the brand new deceptive fee rule.”
The Trump Administration also targeted fees within the live entertainment industry through an executive order on March 31 that directed the FTC to make sure price transparency “in any respect stages of the ticket-purchase process.”
The CFPB didn’t reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
Disclosure, but not elimination, of fees
Laurent Bacinski, a French citizen, was hit by undisclosed junk fees during a visit to Recent York City.
He pre-paid for his trip through a travel app but was still charged a $500 deposit by his hotel at check-in, from which the hotel deducted taxes and a nightly “destination fee.” These fees provided high-speed web, discounts on sightseeing tours and a credit on the hotel mini-mart.
“The destination fee is forced sale of services I do not need,” he told CNBC Travel.
Disclosure of those fees is the crux of the FTC’s rule, which doesn’t aim to eliminate them, but reasonably to make sure travelers know they exist.
“The Junk Fees rule is rooted in a straightforward but powerful principle: transparency,” said Mansfield. “When consumers can see the complete price up front — whether or not they’re booking a hotel, buying concert tickets or paying a service fee — they’re in a greater position to make informed decisions and avoid being misled.”
This transparency has already begun, said Lauren Wolfe, counsel for Travelers United, a non-profit organization that has sued Hyatt, Hilton, Sonesta and Accor over the difficulty of resort fees.
“Now we have seen lots more voluntary compliance because the rule was announced in December,” she said.
Airbnb announced in April that it began displaying cleansing and repair fees upfront for purchasers worldwide.
Wolfe referenced one other bill, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025, which cleared the U.S. House of Representatives in April, and is now set to go before the Senate.
“The combo of the FTC rule, plus a bill that has bipartisan support — and appears like it should pass — in Congress shows that ending hidden hotel resort fees is one issue today that unites all Americans,” she said.
In case you’re charged a ‘junk fee’
CNBC Travel analyzed 10 booking web sites for a two-night stay at Balboa Bay Resort, a hotel in Newport Beach, California that charges a $40 day by day resort fee, as stated on the hotel’s website.
Of the ten sites, seven disclosed the fee in various ways — either as a “destination fee,” “property fee” or “property service charge” — and three didn’t.
If travelers encounter a hotel or short-term rental charging undisclosed fees, Mansfield recommends filing a grievance with the FTC. Penalties for violating the brand new rule can exceed $50,000.
“The FTC has a very easy-to-use online grievance system, and so they tally complaints that help them see what’s happening the market,” she said.
She also suggested using the CFPB’s online grievance system, she said. “They really forward the grievance to the corporate … that may sometimes get things resolved because corporations don’t need to be within the crosshairs of the CFPB,” she said.
Mansfield said travelers also can contact the patron fraud division of their state Attorney General’s office. “I might say complain to each federal and state” authorities, she said.
If all else fails, travelers also can consider airing their grievance on social media.
“Sometimes with corporations, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
