A new issue paper authored by an FTC staff economist concludes that consumers are likely being harmed by the hotel industry practice of disclosing mandatory resort fees separate from posted room rates, without first disclosing the total price. The paper, issued by the FTC’s Bureau of Economics, examined the costs and benefits of disclosing mandatory […]
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FTC Charges Academic Journal Publisher OMICS Group Deceived Researchers
The Federal Trade Commission has charged the publisher of hundreds of purported online academic journals with deceiving academics and researchers about the nature of its publications and hiding publication fees ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The FTC’s complaint alleges that OMICS Group, Inc., along with two affiliated companies and their president and director, […]
FTC Warns Hotel Operators that Price Quotes that Exclude ‘Resort Fees’ and Other Mandatory Surcharges May Be Deceptive
The Federal Trade Commission has warned 22 hotel operators that their online reservation sites may violate the law by providing a deceptively low estimate of what consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms. The warning letters cited consumer complaints that surfaced at a recent conference the FTC held on “drip pricing,” a pricing […]