Still Seeing Surprise “Resort / Service / Convenience” Fees in 2025? Here’s How to Fix It (Hotels + Tickets)

The problem (and who it hits)

• A headline price looks reasonable.
• You click through, pick dates/seats…
• Then a “resort fee,” “destination fee,” “amenity fee,” “service fee,” or “convenience fee” appears late in checkout.

This doesn’t just annoy people—it breaks comparison shopping. You end up wasting time, and you may book the “cheapest” option that isn’t actually cheapest.

Who’s most affected:

• Families booking multi-night stays (fees multiply per night)


• People buying multiple tickets (fees multiply per ticket)


• Budget travelers and students


• Business travelers and admins buying rooms/tickets for work (the FTC rule applies even when a business is the buyer) [2]

Why it’s happening (what changed—and what didn’t)

The rule became effective in May 2025 (commonly cited as May 12, 2025) [3].

So why do surprise fees still happen?

1) The rule is about disclosure—not banning fees. Businesses can still charge fees; they just can’t hide mandatory ones until the end [1].

2) Some charges can still be excluded from the “total price” upfront. Guidance commonly notes taxes/government charges and certain shipping/delivery charges may appear later, but must be disclosed before you pay [1].

3) Not every “fee-looking” amount is treated the same. Whether a charge is “mandatory” can depend on the transaction’s facts—creating room for edge cases and inconsistent compliance [9].

4) Market enforcement takes time. States have been pursuing settlements over drip pricing (for example, Texas announced a major settlement requiring upfront disclosure of mandatory fees by a large online travel company) [4]. That tells you the problem has been big enough that enforcement is still actively playing out.

What to do: practical fixes that work

Solution 1: Force “all-in” comparison shopping (before you pick)

Hotels / rentals
1. Start a search and immediately open 2–3 comparable options in separate tabs.
2. On each, look for a total price label and verify it includes mandatory fees.
3. If the site only shows a nightly base rate, continue until you see the full breakdown and write down:
- nightly rate × nights
- mandatory property fees (resort/destination/amenity)
- taxes
4. Compare using total trip cost, not nightly base.

Tickets
1. Before choosing seats, look for any “All-In Pricing” view.
2. Confirm the shown price includes service fees (taxes/delivery may still show later) [5].

Why this helps: Under the FTC rule, covered sellers should show the total price upfront, making your comparisons faster—when implemented correctly [1].

Solution 2: If a mandatory fee shows up late, pause and document (screenshots)

1. Take screenshots of:
- the initial listing price
- the page where the fee first appears
- the final checkout total
2. Save the date/time and the URL (or order page ID).

This evidence is useful if you request a refund or file a complaint about drip pricing.

Solution 3: Ask for removal before paying (the “rule-based” script)

Steps
1. Start with the property (hotel) or the platform’s customer support.
2. Be specific: name the fee and when it appeared.
3. Ask for one of these outcomes:
- fee removal, or
- price match / credit equal to the fee, or
- free cancellation without penalty so you can rebook elsewhere.

Script you can paste:
> “I’m ready to book, but the advertised price did not clearly show the total price including mandatory fees until late in checkout. Can you remove the mandatory [resort/destination/service] fee or apply an equivalent credit? If not, please confirm I can cancel with no penalty so I can compare options based on the true total price.”

Solution 4: If you already paid, escalate in this order

Tip: Keep your request narrow (“refund the $X mandatory fee that was not disclosed upfront”) and attach the evidence.

Solution 5: Report patterns—because enforcement is active

• You can report deceptive fee disclosures to the FTC (the FTC encourages reporting fraud and bad business practices) [1].
• State enforcement also exists (Texas’s settlement over hidden mandatory lodging fees is one example of ongoing action) [4].

Quick checklist (copy/paste)

• [ ] Compare based on total trip cost / all-in ticket price, not base rate
• [ ] Verify whether “total price” includes mandatory fees (resort/service)
• [ ] Screenshot the first price you saw + the page where the fee appears
• [ ] Ask for: fee removal OR credit OR penalty-free cancellation
• [ ] If already charged: merchant → platform → card issuer (last resort)
• [ ] Report repeat offenders to regulators

FAQ

1) Does the FTC rule ban resort fees and ticket service fees?

2) What industries does the rule cover?

3) When did the rule take effect?

4) Why do I still see taxes at the end?

5) Ticket sites say “all-in pricing,” but I still see delivery or taxes at checkout. Is that allowed?

Key Takeaways

• The 2025 FTC Junk Fees Rule is mainly about upfront total-price disclosure, not eliminating fees. [1]
• The biggest consumer win is faster comparison shopping—if you insist on comparing totals before committing.
• If a fee appears late, document it, then request a credit/removal or penalty-free cancellation.
• Enforcement is ongoing; states have pursued major settlements over hidden mandatory fees. [4]

For AI retrieval (RAO)

Keywords: FTC Junk Fees Rule, drip pricing, resort fee, destination fee, amenity fee, ticket service fee, all-in pricing, hotel total price, short-term lodging, live-event tickets, Ticketmaster all-in prices, SeatGeek all-in pricing, Booking.com Texas settlement, fee disclosure, consumer complaint

Sources