FTC secures $35 million settlement against Hopper for

Cresthaven Analytics Intelligence Brief

Headline

FTC secures $35 million settlement against Hopper for hidden fees and deceptive pricing across travel app bookings

Executive Summary

The FTC filed a complaint and stipulated proposed order on July 2, 2026 against Hopper Inc. and Hopper (USA) Inc. for charging undisclosed fees without consent and misrepresenting product benefits. The $35 million judgment funds consumer redress and imposes permanent disclosure and fee-transparency obligations on the company.

Bottom Line

The order establishes that pre-selected, below-the-fold fees on a checkout screen constitute unfair and deceptive conduct under the FTC Act, regardless of technical opt-out availability. The Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule now has a live enforcement precedent for short-term lodging on consumer travel platforms, and any platform using pre-selected add-on fees or price-hold products with undisclosed caps carries direct exposure under the theories the complaint articulates. The permanent injunction's disclosure standard, clear and conspicuous presentation of all fees and the final transaction total before purchase, applies to Hopper by order and signals the FTC's operative compliance expectation for the broader sector.

Key Regulatory Signals

Hidden Pre-Selected Fees Drove the Charges: Hopper displayed a total price screen with a Swipe to Book button that omitted Tip and VIP Support fees. Those fees were pre-selected and buried below the visible screen. Consumers who did not scroll down were charged without affirmative consent.
Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule Applied to Lodging: The complaint invokes the FTC's Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule for short-term lodging bookings made since May 12, 2025. This marks one of the first enforcement actions applying that rule to a consumer-facing travel platform, establishing a live compliance benchmark for the sector.
Permanent Injunctive Obligations Extend Beyond the Settlement: The proposed order prohibits Hopper from misrepresenting any fee and requires clear, conspicuous disclosure of all charges and the total transaction price. These obligations bind the company going forward, not only for the conduct period at issue.
Internal Evidence of Known Deception Cited in Complaint: The FTC's complaint cites internal employee communications and company-run testing showing Hopper knew the fees were deceptively hidden. The complaint also notes that Hopper's own data showed most consumers would decline the fees if they were clearly disclosed and unselected by default.
Price Freeze Misrepresentation Adds a Separate Deception Theory: The complaint alleges Hopper failed to disclose material restrictions on its Price Freeze service and did not apply the fee toward the booking cost as promised. Travel platforms offering price-hold or price-guarantee products now carry a documented FTC enforcement theory against undisclosed caps and non-application of fees.

Regulatory Delta

- The FTC's 2024 Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule, finalized after years of rulemaking, receives its first documented application to a consumer travel app in this action.

- Rather than relying on consumer complaint volume as prior junk-fees cases did, the complaint uses internal testing and employee communications as direct evidence of known deception. This marks a more aggressive evidentiary approach.

- The action aligns with the FTC's stated priority of combating drip pricing and junk fees in digital commerce, consistent with public enforcement statements from the Bureau of Consumer Protection through mid-2026.

Materiality Classification

HIGH — The complaint applies the FTC's Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule to a consumer travel platform for the first time, establishing an enforcement precedent and a documented deception theory that peer travel apps, booking platforms, and any digital commerce operator using pre-selected or conditionally disclosed fees must now assess against their own checkout and pricing architectures.

Intelligence Outlook

Monitor FTC press releases and Bureau of Consumer Protection enforcement announcements for additional actions applying the Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule to travel platforms and digital commerce operators.