FTC: Hopper to pay $35 million over alleged hidden travel fees and deceptive pricing

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a proposed $35 million settlement with the companies behind the Hopper travel app, accusing them of using hidden fees, misleading price displays and deceptive marketing practices that caused consumers to pay for services they never knowingly agreed to purchase.

The settlement requires Canada's Hopper Inc. and its U.S. subsidiary, Hopper (USA) Inc., to pay $35 million for consumer refunds and to overhaul how they present prices and optional services on their travel-booking platform.

The case is one of the FTC's highest-profile enforcement actions involving so-called "junk fees"—charges that are hidden, pre-selected or disclosed only after consumers have invested time selecting a product or service.

"Hopper deceived consumers by showing them a total price that did not include hidden, pre-selected fees," said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The Commission will continue to use all available tools to promote price transparency and to combat unfair and deceptive pricing, billing and cancellation practices."

Optional fees weren't really optional, FTC says

According to the FTC's complaint, Hopper marketed itself as having "no hidden fees" while automatically enrolling consumers in paid services during checkout.

Until mid-2023, travelers reaching the final booking screen were shown what appeared to be the total price before swiping to complete the purchase. But the FTC alleges that additional charges—including "Tip" fees and VIP Support fees—had already been pre-selected and were buried below the visible portion of the screen, requiring consumers to scroll down to discover them.

The agency says many travelers never realized they were paying for the services.

Consumer complaints cited in the lawsuit suggest many customers believed the charges had been quietly added without their permission.

One customer told the company:

"Honestly it feels like ya'll snuck that in on the final screen at the bottom and opted me in."

The FTC also alleges Hopper's own employees questioned the practice internally.

According to the complaint, one employee wrote:

"To me, the problem here is that we're tricking users."

Internal company testing allegedly showed that when the fees were clearly disclosed and not pre-selected, most customers declined to purchase them.

VIP support allegedly failed to deliver

The FTC also accuses Hopper of exaggerating the value of its paid VIP Support program.

The company advertised that purchasers would receive near-instant customer service assistance, often promising help within minutes.

Instead, regulators say many consumers reported waiting extended periods—or never reaching a customer-service representative at all.

"Price Freeze" program also challenged

Another focus of the complaint involves Hopper's popular "Price Freeze" service, sometimes marketed as "Hold the Room."

Consumers paid a fee to lock in an advertised travel price for a limited period before completing a purchase.

The FTC alleges Hopper failed to adequately disclose major restrictions, including:

• Price protection applied only up to certain limits.
• The reservation still had to remain available.
• Fees paid for the service were not always credited toward the final purchase price as advertised.

The agency says these omissions left consumers with a misleading impression of the product's value.

Part of broader junk-fee crackdown

The Hopper case comes as regulators intensify scrutiny of hidden charges throughout the travel industry.

Over the past several years, federal regulators have pursued airlines, hotels, ticket sellers, subscription services and online booking platforms over pricing practices that allegedly obscure the true cost of purchases.

For lodging booked after May 12, 2025, the FTC alleges Hopper also violated the agency's Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule, which requires businesses to disclose total prices and prohibits misleading fee practices.

Consumer advocates have long argued that so-called drip pricing—adding mandatory or pre-selected charges late in the purchasing process—makes comparison shopping difficult and distorts competition.

What the settlement requires

If approved by a federal judge in Massachusetts, Hopper must:

• Pay $35 million for consumer refunds.
• Clearly disclose all mandatory and optional fees.
• Accurately display the total purchase price.
• Obtain consumers' informed consent before charging optional services.
• Stop making misleading claims about premium support or Price Freeze benefits.

The settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

What this means for consumers

The case sends another signal that regulators are increasingly targeting deceptive online checkout practices.

For travelers, consumer advocates recommend:

• Carefully reviewing final checkout screens before completing purchases.
• Looking for pre-selected options that may add charges.
• Comparing final prices across multiple travel-booking platforms.
• Saving screenshots of advertised prices in case disputes arise.

Data Box

The Bottom Line

The Hopper settlement is one of the FTC's clearest statements yet that businesses cannot advertise one price while quietly adding optional charges during checkout. As federal and state regulators continue expanding enforcement against junk fees, travel companies and other online platforms are likely to face increasing pressure to make pricing simple, transparent and fully disclosed before consumers click "buy."