Displaying prices to U.S. travellers – FTC compliance

Demand API now complies with the new FTC rule on fee transparency by automatically presenting the total price to U.S. travellers. Ensure your frontend implementation follows this regulation when displaying accommodation prices to users in the United States.

FTC rule on mandatory fee transparency (U.S. market)

Effective 12 May 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will enforce the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 C.F.R. Part 464) which prohibits the use of "junk fees" and "drip pricing" in the advertising of short-term lodging.

What’s changing?

When displaying prices for short-term stays to U.S. users, the Demand API now:

• Shows the total price upfront: The price displayed includes all mandatory fees required to book the stay (e.g. resort, service, and destination fees).

• Prioritises the total price: The total price will be more prominently displayed than any individual components or partial pricing.

• Discloses excluded charges: Only government-imposed taxes, optional services, and shipping fees (where applicable) may be excluded. These excluded amounts must still be clearly disclosed before the user confirms payment.

Who is affected?

This regulation applies to:

• Hotels, holiday rentals, and other short-term accommodation providers.

• Third-party booking platforms, online travel agencies (OTAs), and metasearch engines.

• Any business displaying prices for short-term stays to U.S. consumers, regardless of the business’s location.

Frontend requirements for API Affiliate partners

If your integration surfaces prices using the Demand API:

• Display the total price clearly and more prominently than any partial price as it reflects the full cost inclusive of all mandatory charges.

• Do not replace the total price with a breakdown of components. Use the component details for transparency, not as a substitute.

• Show estimated taxes separately if applicable - using data from the extra_charges field within the price object.

  • These charges are categorised as conditional, included, excluded (in /accommodations responses), or non_conditional (in /orders/preview responses).

  • For example, VAT ("charge": 21) and city tax ("charge": 22) are shown as types of extra_charges in Demand API.

• Review your frontend to confirm that price displays comply with FTC guidelines for U.S. users.

Why this matters

The FTC pricing rule is designed to increase transparency, reduce deceptive pricing practices, and help travellers make informed comparisons.

Non-compliance could result in regulatory enforcement or penalties.

We recommend reviewing your implementation and updating your pricing displays where necessary.

Impact in California and Minnesota legislation

This new national legislation from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding fee transparency applies to all travellers across the USA.

Therefore, it is no longer necessary to specify the region to apply local restrictions for users in Minnesota or California.

• You are no longer required to use the guest_region parameter (e.g., guest_region=ca) to comply with these rules.

However, if you already have the guest's region information, we recommend continuing to include it. This may help with future regional developments or specific targeting.