All-in pricing regulation applies to hotel rates and entertainment ticketing…
If you’re a traveler or showgoer, you know that the advertised price is just a “base rate”. The final cost is always significantly higher after mandatory service charges and non-optional fees are added in. Not anymore.
Effective 5/12/25, hotels and entertainment ticketers must boldly show the final price (minus state/local taxes) as the actual cost. So now, when you try to grab a too-good-to-be-true deal, you won’t get “zonked” (a LET’S MAKE A DEAL game show reference).
Like many of our colleagues, VEGAS 411 has fought long and hard to expose deceptive pricing tactics, from restaurants and clubs to resorts and showrooms. We were proud to take credit when the awful VOLTAIRE (aka ‘Gouging, Redefined’) at Venetian Resorts Las Vegas did a 180-degree turnaround. Why? Because I was the only media individual who pummeled them nonstop, beginning before the place even opened. It made a difference. See the whole story here.
So, how did the new Federal Trade Commission ruling on hotels and shows happen? You can thank former President Joe Biden:
I’ve always put families and hardworking Americans first. That’s why I called on my Administration to do everything we can to lower costs. Today, the Federal Trade Commission is doing just that by banning hidden junk fees when you book a hotel or purchase event tickets.
We all know the experience of encountering a hidden fee at the very last stage of checkout—these junk fees sneak onto your bill, and companies end up making you pay more because they can. Those fees add up, taking real money out of the pockets of Americans.
Wherever big corporations try to sneak fees onto bills, my Administration has been fighting on behalf of American families to ban them.
– President Joe Biden, 12/17/24
Of course, the current fascist regime tried to block the ruling, but it’s finally here. Before yesterday, when you saw a room very falsely advertised for $11 a night, it was more than quadruple that once the resort fee and taxes were added in. Now, it’ll simply be $52 plus tax. So, for all of you who said for years, “Just add them together”, you got your wish.
BEFORE
NOW
The same concept now applies when purchasing show tickets from outlets like Ticketmaster and AXS. The price shown now IS the actual price, except for state and local taxes. No more piling fee after fee at the checkout screen. It’s OVER!!!
Just like any politician, Ticketmaster and the others are proclaiming this as an innovation and positive change, “to improve your experience”. Something they could have done all along, but didn’t until they were forced to. But, hey, we got what we wanted.
For more details on these changes, how they work, and who will be affected, head to the official Federal Trade Commission site. Here’s a link to the “FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees”. Congratulations on this victory. You are now free to walk about the cabin. And have a great time in Las Vegas…
