The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 16 C.F.R. Part 464, is effective as of May 12, 2025. According to the FTC’s recent press release, the Rule “prohibits bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and mislead people about fees in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries,” and “also furthers President Trump’s Executive Order on Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market by ensuring price transparency at all stages of the live-event ticket-purchase process, including the secondary ticketing market.”
The FTC has issued FAQs, which include answers to common-asked questions and which the FTC says serves as the small entity compliance guide under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. The FAQs speak to the following topics:
- What businesses are covered (i.e. live-ticketing events, short-term lodging, and business-to-business transactions).
- What the Rule’s basic requirements are (e.g. disclose total price upfront, display the total price prominently, disclose excluded charges before asking for payment, make no misrepresentations about fees and charges).
- Answers to specific questions about the mandatory fees or charges that must be included and how.
- Examples of misrepresentations that may violate the Rule.
If you are a business that sells live-ticket events, short-term lodging, or business-to-business transactions, it is important to be abreast of this Rule and what it means for your business.