Hotel junk fees in 2026: the enforcement era has started
The FTC's fee rule for hotels and vacation rentals is well over a year old, and regulators are now acting on it. Here is what recent cases tell independent US properties, and a checklist to make sure the first price a guest sees is the price they pay.
By the Xuru Technologies team · 25 October 2026
Key takeaways
- The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees has applied to hotels and short-term lodging since 12 May 2025.
- Mandatory charges such as resort fees and vacation rental cleaning fees belong in the total price. Taxes and government charges, and truly optional extras, can be shown separately before payment.
- Enforcement is real. In July 2026 the FTC announced a US$35 million settlement with travel app Hopper, and in August 2025 Texas announced a US$9.5 million junk-fee settlement with Booking Holdings.
- State laws add another layer. Colorado's law has applied since 1 January 2026, and consumers there can sue if a business does not fix a problem within 14 days of a written demand.
- The fix is mostly practical: check every place a price appears, starting with your own website and booking engine.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Xuru Technologies is a technology and marketing partner, not a law firm. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.
What the rule asks of hotels and rentals
The FTC rule covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging. According to the FTC's own business guidance FAQ, short-term lodging includes hotel stays, vacation rentals and home shares booked through platforms. The core idea is simple. If you show a price, it must be the total price, including every charge you know about and can work out upfront.
The FAQ lists only three kinds of charge that can sit outside that total:
- taxes and other government charges,
- shipping charges, and
- charges for optional goods or services.
Those excluded charges still have to be disclosed before you ask the guest to pay. The total price must also be shown more prominently than any other pricing information. The FAQ gives a required resort fee and a vacation rental cleaning fee as examples of charges that must go into the total. If a guest picks an optional extra, such as breakfast, the total should update to reflect the choice.
The FTC says businesses that break the rule can be ordered to change their practices, refund consumers and pay civil penalties. The FAQ is a staff view rather than a binding ruling, but it is the clearest signal of how the FTC reads its own rule.
What recent enforcement tells you
Two cases show that regulators are watching travel pricing closely.
The FTC and Hopper (July 2026)
On 2 July 2026 the FTC announced that travel app Hopper would pay US$35 million to settle allegations about its fees. The FTC alleged that fees described as optional were pre-selected, sat on a part of the screen visible only after scrolling, and were left out of the "total price" shown before booking. For lodging bookings made since 12 May 2025, the complaint cites the fee rule. Under the proposed order, Hopper must clearly disclose fees, the total price and the final payment amount. These are allegations, not court findings.
The lesson for a hotel is about design. A pre-ticked add-on, or a fee only visible after scrolling, can be treated as hidden even if it is technically on the page.
Texas and Booking Holdings (August 2025)
In August 2025 the Texas Attorney General announced a US$9.5 million settlement with Booking Holdings, parent of Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak, as reported by Hotel-Online. The state alleged that hotels' resort, amenity, destination and utility fees were bundled into a "taxes and fees" line at checkout, making room prices look lower. The settlement requires these fees to be disclosed upfront.
For independent properties, this matters in two ways. How you load rates and fees into online travel agencies (OTAs) affects what guests see there. And if the big platforms show all-in prices, a hotel website that adds fees at the end looks less trustworthy by comparison.
State laws add another layer
The federal rule is not the only one. Several states have passed their own all-in pricing laws, and the details differ. Colorado is a good example. Its law (HB 25-1090) applies to conduct on or after 1 January 2026. A compliance checklist from law firm Clark Hill explains that mandatory fees such as resort fees must be built into advertised prices as a single number. That applies across hotel websites, booking engines, third-party platforms, print, email and social media. A consumer who sends a written demand gives the business 14 days to comply before they can sue, and the Attorney General can also investigate.
Other states have their own rules, and how each applies to a given property is not always clear. That is where a lawyer's view is worth having.
Where hidden fees usually hide
When we test booking journeys, mandatory charges tend to slip out of the headline price in the same few places:
- The booking engine's first rate screen. A nightly rate shown without a daily resort, facility or "amenity" fee.
- Homepage and offer banners. "Rooms from $129" when every room carries an extra compulsory charge.
- Vacation rental listings. Cleaning fees, service fees or "booking fees" added only at the last step.
- OTA and metasearch feeds. Fees loaded as "taxes and fees" or left out of the rate sent to channels.
- Emails, ads and social posts. Promotional prices copied from an old rate sheet.
- Pre-ticked add-ons. Insurance, donations, upgrades or tips selected by default.
All-in pricing checklist for US hotels and rentals
| Area | Question | Done? |
|---|---|---|
| Fee inventory | Do you have a written list of every charge a guest might pay, marked as mandatory, optional or tax/government? | ☐ |
| First price | Does the first price on your site and booking engine include all mandatory fees? | ☐ |
| Prominence | Is the total price the most prominent price on each screen? | ☐ |
| Taxes | Are taxes and government charges clearly disclosed before payment? | ☐ |
| Optional extras | Are optional add-ons unticked by default, with the total updating when chosen? | ☐ |
| Channels | Have you checked that OTAs and metasearch show the same all-in price as your own site? | ☐ |
| Marketing | Do ads, emails, social posts and "from" prices use all-in figures? | ☐ |
| Rentals | Are cleaning and service fees included in the price shown on listings? | ☐ |
| Evidence | Do you keep dated screenshots of your booking journey after each change? | ☐ |
| Ownership | Is one person responsible for re-checking prices after every rate or fee change? | ☐ |
A simple way to start: book a test stay on your own website, on a phone, and stop just before payment. Note every number you see, in order. If the last number is higher than the first for anything other than taxes or optional extras you chose, that is the place to fix. And if direct bookings matter to you, a clear price also helps with booking abandonment.
Where Xuru can help
Xuru Technologies is a web design, development and digital marketing partner for hotels and vacation rentals. We are not lawyers, and we don't give legal advice. We test your booking journeys the way a guest would, up to the payment step without ever paying, show you where prices change, and fix your website so it matches your legal advice. Where a booking engine has limits we can't change, we say so.
- Total Price Audit — US$390. Test bookings on your website and main channels, dated screenshots and a written fix list.
- Audit + Fix — US$590. The audit, plus we update your website pricing, offer banners and booking-engine settings where we have access.
- Price Watch — US$79/month. A monthly re-test so new rates, fees and promotions don't drift back into drip pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still charge a resort fee?
The FTC rule focuses on how prices are shown, not on banning fees. Its guidance says a required resort fee must be included in the total price. Some states may go further, so check with a lawyer for your location.
Does this apply if most of my bookings come through OTAs?
The rate and fee data you load into OTAs shapes what guests see there. The Texas settlement with Booking Holdings concerned hotel fees shown on its sites, so it is worth checking your channel set-up, not only your own website.
Does this cover vacation rentals and Airbnb-style listings?
The FTC's guidance says short-term lodging includes vacation rentals and home shares, and gives a vacation rental cleaning fee as an example of a charge that belongs in the total price.
Does your first price match your final price? Check in two minutes.
Take our short pricing self-check to see where fees might be slipping out of your headline rate, on your website and your channels.
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