The Federal Trade Commission announced on July 2, 2026, that the companies operating the Hopper travel apps have agreed to pay $35 million to settle allegations of deceptive fee practices.
Canadian company Hopper Inc. and its US subsidiary Hopper (USA) Inc. are accused of unfairly charging consumers hidden fees without their knowledge or consent.
The FTC alleges that Hopper misrepresented total prices and the benefits of its VIP Support and Price Freeze services, despite marketing itself with a “no hidden fees” promise.
Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said: “Hopper deceived consumers by showing them a total price that did not include hidden, pre-selected fees.”
Mufarrige added: “The Commission will continue to use all available tools to promote price transparency and to combat unfair and deceptive pricing, billing and cancellation practices.”
Until mid-2023, consumers completing a booking saw a total price screen with a Swipe to Book button that allegedly failed to disclose additional Tip and VIP Support charges.
These fees were described as optional but were pre-selected and hidden on a section of the app screen that only appeared if the user scrolled down, the FTC complaint states.
Consumer complaints were widespread, with one user stating: “I did not intend to buy the VIP support. Honestly it feels like ya’ll snuck that in on the final screen at the bottom and opted me in.”
Concerns were also raised internally, with the FTC complaint citing an employee who said in internal communications: “To me, the problem here is that we’re tricking users.”
The company’s own internal testing reportedly showed that if fees were adequately disclosed and unselected by default, most consumers would decline them, according to the complaint.
The FTC also alleges Hopper misrepresented its VIP Support service by claiming consumers could reach customer service “instantly” or within minutes, when many could not reach an agent at all.
Hopper’s Price Freeze product, also known as “Hold the Room,” was similarly found to contain key undisclosed restrictions that limited how and when the price protection applied.
The complaint alleges Hopper failed to disclose that Price Freeze only protects a price up to a certain amount and only if the booking remains available, and also failed to apply the fee toward the final booking cost as promised.
The FTC alleges these practices violated the FTC Act and, for short-term lodging bookings since May 12, 2025, the FTC’s Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule.
Under the proposed settlement order, Hopper must pay the $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees, while being required to clearly disclose all charges and the total price of any transaction.