Allison Pohle

speaker

908 appearances 18 recordings 1 series first heard Apr 2021 last heard Dec 2024

Allison Pohle’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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WSJ Your Money Briefing · Junk Fees Are Easier to Spot… But Still Hard to Avoid · 18 Sep 2024 podcast

for people to know exactly what they're paying so they're not surprised by added fees at the end of their transaction.

After many years of feeling frustrated at that checkout screen, some consumers say even just seeing the total price from beginning to end feels like a win.

They don't feel duped.

But at the same time, there are some other people who wish that they had gone farther.

But it gets into a whole other area of regulating private businesses and what they're allowed to charge.

They apply beyond travel.

One of the California bills applies specifically to hotels, motels, short-term rentals, and online travel agencies.

Another bill that was passed is most travel.

businesses.

So they say most because there are some exceptions.

Restaurants got a carve out in that bill, and so did rental car companies.

And so across the board, people should know how much things cost from the very first time they see the price.

But as with anything, there are exceptions.

A lot of travelers have successfully negotiated or gotten out of the fees if they're able to prove that they haven't gotten the service that they're intended for.

So for example, sometimes you'll find a Wi-Fi charge at a hotel and maybe the Wi-Fi wasn't working well or maybe you just dropped your bags off, went to bed and then checked out the next morning and didn't even use the Wi-Fi.

It's possible to negotiate your way out of those fees, but the work really is on the consumer to do that, to notice the charge, to look closely at the bill, and to make sure that you raise those issues before you check out.

So the good news is prices are getting more transparent in the sense that the fees should be listed up front.

So there's national legislation that's been proposed, but in response to these bills and to lawsuits that have been directed at them, companies have started showing the full price of

ahead of time.

So if you do log on to look for a hotel stay, you should be seeing the total price, even if you're not in California, especially if you're looking at a big chain like Marriott or Hilton.

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