Do hotels have to show the total price now?

In the United States, yes. As of May 12, 2025, the FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees requires businesses offering short-term lodging to display the all-in total price — including mandatory fees like resort or “destination” fees — upfront and more prominently than other pricing. The teaser rate can no longer legally hide the mandatory add-ons.

What is a resort fee?

A mandatory daily charge many hotels add for “amenities” such as Wi-Fi, gym access, or local calls, whether or not you use them. It has long been a way to advertise a low room rate and collect a higher one; under the FTC’s 2025 rule, such mandatory fees must now be included in the total price shown upfront.

Should you book a nonrefundable hotel rate for a business trip?

Usually not for anything client-dependent. The small discount on a nonrefundable rate is a bet that the trip won’t change, and sales trips change constantly — a moved meeting can wipe out the savings and then some. Take the flexible rate when a buyer’s calendar controls yours.

How close to the client should your hotel be?

Close enough that the commute doesn’t threaten the meeting. A cheaper hotel across town can cost more once you add the rideshare, the traffic risk, and the stress of arriving rushed. Book near where the meeting happens; proximity to the client is usually worth more than a lower nightly rate.

How do you avoid hidden hotel fees?

Book off the all-in total price (now required to be shown upfront in the U.S.), and specifically check for resort or destination fees and parking, which are the two most likely to surprise you at checkout. When in doubt, the confirmation email should show the full total — if it doesn’t match what you expected, ask before you arrive.

Stay · Field Guide

6 Hotel-Booking Traps That Cost You More Than the Nightly Rate

By Rachel Julian, Editor-in-Chief · July 17, 2026 · 6 min read

The rate is the number they want you to see. The cost is everything printed next to it — and the forty minutes of traffic that never shows up in the price at all.

Direct answer: The hotel-booking traps that cost you more than the nightly rate are the ones hiding next to it — resort or “destination” fees, the too-good downtown rate that’s 40 minutes from the client, the nonrefundable prepay, unpriced parking, a check-in time that doesn’t match your arrival, and the loyalty-rate mirage. Since May 2025 the FTC requires U.S. short-term lodging to show the all-in total upfront, including mandatory fees — so read the total, and the location, not the teaser rate.

A hotel rate is a headline, not a price. The real cost of a room is the rate plus the fees stapled to it plus the commute it forces plus the flexibility it takes away — and most of that is invisible on the results page you're skimming at the airport. Here are the six traps that cost more than the number you're looking at, and how to read past them.

The six traps

1. The "resort fee" on a hotel that is not a resort

The mandatory daily charge for "amenities" you didn't ask for and won't use. The good news: as of May 2025 the FTC requires U.S. lodging to show the all-in total upfront, mandatory fees included. Fix: book off the total, not the teaser — and if a "destination fee" still surprises you at checkout, that's now worth questioning.

2. The great rate that's 40 minutes from the client

The downtown bargain that turns out to be a $60 rideshare and an hour of traffic from your meeting isn't a deal; it's a tax on your morning, paid in stress. Fix: book near the meeting, not near the nightlife — the airport-or-downtown call is a pipeline decision, not a price one.

3. The nonrefundable prepay to save 8%

The rate you can't cancel is a bet that a sales trip won't change — and sales trips change. Fix: take the flexible rate on anything client-dependent; the 8% evaporates the first time a buyer moves the meeting after you've landed.

4. The parking you didn't price in

Fifty-five dollars a night to self-park quietly rivals the room rate in some cities, and it never appears until checkout. Fix: check parking before you book — it's the fee most likely to blow past your per-night budget by itself.

5. The check-in time that doesn't match your arrival

Land at 9 a.m. with a 3 p.m. check-in and you've got six hours and a demo to run from a lobby. Fix: if arrival and check-in don't line up, arrange early check-in or a place to stage before you show up hopeful.

6. The loyalty-rate mirage

The "member rate" that saves four dollars and steers you to the worse-located property is loyalty spending you, not you spending it. Fix: chase the room that wins the meeting, not the one that wins the points. The status is supposed to serve the trip.

The standard

Book on the all-in number and the map, not the headline rate. The cheapest room is the one that puts you rested, on time, and near the client without a surprise at checkout — which is rarely the lowest line on the page. Read the total, read the location, and keep the flexibility a moving deal will need.

Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission — Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR Part 464), effective May 12, 2025: businesses offering short-term lodging must disclose the total price, including mandatory fees, upfront and more prominently than other pricing. The six-point list and framing are The Sales Traveler’s own.

Choose the room that wins the meeting: how to choose a hotel for a sales trip, and the airport-or-downtown decision.

6 Hotel-Booking Traps That Cost You More Than the Nightly Rate

The six traps

1. The "resort fee" on a hotel that is not a resort

2. The great rate that's 40 minutes from the client

3. The nonrefundable prepay to save 8%

4. The parking you didn't price in

5. The check-in time that doesn't match your arrival

6. The loyalty-rate mirage

The standard

Related in the canon

Don't just read the discipline.Run it.

Don't just read the discipline.
Run it.