Excerpt from Travel Market Report
You may recall that I have written two previous articles about the possibility that the federal government would join a few states in prohibiting so-called “junk fees,” defined essentially as mandatory charges added late in the buying process as a, usually, unwelcome surprise to the buyer. In travel, the most common examples are hotel “resort” or “destination” fees.
But junk fees are, in the Federal Trade Commission’s view “prevalent” throughout the economy. In addition to hotel reservations, clients of travel advisors may encounter them when buying air travel, car rentals, restaurant reservations, and special event tickets, among others. While the fate of the legislation on junk and other charges remains highly uncertain, the FTC, after only eight months of evaluating some 12,000 comments, has proposed a formal regulation on junk fees. The proposal has not been published in the Federal Register yet, but that step should occur soon. The customary 60-day period for comments will then begin.
The FTC’s proposed rule is remarkable in its brevity and simplicity, despite the 161-page length of the explanatory statement and background. A new 16 CFR Part 464 of the Federal Regulations (“Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees? would be created, the most important part of which is the Definitions section.
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