Individual and corporate travel advocates have urged the Federal Trade Commission in the United States to address drip pricing, a practice that is widespread amongst the hotel industry. Advocates have said to the regulatory agency that it needs to end the scheme that is harmful to individual travelers, business travelers, travel agencies and travel buyers.
The drip pricing term refers to the deceptive way the supplier of rooms carves out a part of the real price of its rooms; then labels that part as a fee or charge that is mandatory; then deducts that from the original price of the room; and then uses the reduced price as the price it charges for the room.
Typically, the portion that is cut out of the original price is then put into fees for housekeeping, internet or other fees that are mandatory and cannot be avoided. However, the fees do not show up to buyers or are not given until the traveler is actually at the specific hotel or resort.
The practice is that of deception says the advocates and the Transportation Department feels the same, as it quickly stopped the practice in the U.S. when certain airlines adopted it and carved out prices and added them back in by calling them fuel surcharges.
Those who are opposed to the practice have no intention of impeding the normal course of business for the travel industry, but they want the travel marketplace to become more transparent and honest for all those who are involved including both sellers and buyers.
