Concert Tickets And Hotel Junk Fees Just Took A Hit, Or Did They?

The Federal Trade Commission has banned hidden fees for sporting event tickets, concert tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, but are the fees going away?

Remember Event Tickets Before Service Fees?

As a kid listening to the radio, I would hear commercials for concerts, and they would say the tickets are $7 or $10. Then, when we went to the venue or ticket seller, we would pay $7 or $10 for the tickets. There were no service fees.

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I remember my Dad taking me and my best friend Alan to see Kiss on the Dynasty Tour at the Pontiac Silverdome, and tickets were $12.50 each. That might be the price of a beer at a show now. For concerts and sporting events during the 1960s through the early 1980s, there were fees for some events, but they were included in the full ticket price and not added on later. The ticket prices were made up of the artist and promoter's cut, and sometimes a tax, but all was rolled into one price, like the $12.50 Kiss ticket I got in 6th grade.

When ticket service fees were added after the initial ticket price, they were $1 or less. Slowly, the service fees kept going up, but at the time were reasonable. Then, in 1982, Ticketmaster implemented a new business model that allowed venues to share service fees. This led to fees doubling and has now become out of control.

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FTC Bans Hidden Service Fees From Event Tickets and Hotels

According to FOX 17, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned hidden service fees for event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals. Does this mean service fees are going away? No. All this means is that all the fees for event tickets, hotel, and vacation rentals will be laid out for you to see before you purchase the tickets.

Unless demand for event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals drops significantly, the prices and service fees will never fall. The only good thing about this new law from the FTC is that you will know how much you are spending before you hit purchase.