By Staff
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that its “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees” took effect earlier this week (May 12, 2025). In a press release, it explained the Rule as one that “prohibits bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and mislead people about fees in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries.”
The Rule addresses a common practice used by casino hotels and resorts in Las Vegas, where the customer sees one price advertised and another, more expensive price that includes resort fees when it’s time to book. The Rule doesn’t make resort fees illegal but rather requires the final price to be displayed upfront.
In the screenshots displayed above, the $75 price for a stay at Horseshoe Las Vegas and the $94 per night charge at Planet Hollywood are the amounts the customer will pay, excluding taxes. Prior to the rule coming into effect, customers would typically see $25 and $39 as the cost for a room before proceeding to checkout, where the “hidden” resort fees would appear.
It’s not clear what effect this clarity will have on hotels and other industries, such as “live-ticketing” events, which are also targeted in the crackdown.
Featured image by 4clips, screenshots of room rates via caesars.com
