FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

Overall reaction to the junk‑fee rule

• Strong support for banning hidden hotel and ticket fees; seen as basic fraud prevention and price transparency, not price control.
• Many expect fees will simply be rolled into base prices, which is viewed as a feature (transparent comparison) not a bug.
• Widespread hope the rule survives the incoming FTC leadership and lawsuits; some expect reversal once a new administration is in place.

Debate over the FTC’s posture and Lina Khan–era policy

• One camp praises the FTC’s recent actions (junk fees, right‑to‑repair, fake reviews, data brokers, major merger challenges) as the first serious pro‑competition, pro‑consumer enforcement in decades.
• Critics argue the FTC has been too reflexively anti‑merger, wasting money on weak cases (e.g., small acquisitions, blocked airline merger where one partner later went bankrupt).
• Disagreement over whether this is “pro‑market” (creating fair competition) or anti–free market (punishing successful firms).

Sales tax, tips, and what “final price” should mean

• Heated sub‑thread on whether US sticker prices should include sales tax like VAT countries and Japan/Europe generally do.
• Obstacles cited: 13,000+ overlapping US tax jurisdictions, ZIP codes not mapping cleanly to tax, special “sin taxes,” sales‑tax holidays, business vs consumer exemptions.
• Others argue these are solvable (IP geolocation + ZIP, or just changing tax structure) and that the real reason is A/B‑tested conversion: hidden taxes and fees increase sales.
• Separate complaints about US tipping culture, restaurant “service/healthcare surcharges,” and hotel “resort” or “urban” fees.

Other junk‑fee and dark‑pattern targets

• Calls to extend similar rules to:
  • Airlines’ baggage and seat fees (especially when effectively mandatory).
  • Airbnb/short‑term rentals’ cleaning and service fees.
  • ISPs and telcos’ “network access,” “upgrade,” and similar line items.
  • Grocery/retail “online coupon price tags” requiring phone apps and accounts.
  • Restaurant service fees and airport “healthcare surcharges.”
• Strong support for “click‑to‑cancel” requirements; many share stories of cable/satellite providers making cancellation extremely difficult.

Law, courts, and regulatory power

• Several note that the FTC’s rulemaking sits in a shifting legal landscape:
  • The Supreme Court’s rollback of Chevron deference and adoption of the “major questions” doctrine reduces agency discretion.
  • New decisions (e.g., about late‑fee caps, airline fee disclosures) show courts willing to block consumer‑protection rules.
• Some see agencies as necessary expert implementers; others see them as unaccountable lawmakers that Congress has over‑delegated to.

Markets, monopolies, and ideology

• Debate over whether aggressive antitrust and transparency rules are necessary to keep markets competitive, or whether they unfairly “punish winners.”
• Many argue that without strong enforcement, concentration and dark patterns prevent the free market from working as advertised, especially where consumers have few alternatives (ticketing, hotels, broadband).