Hopper to pay $35M USD to settle FTC hidden-fee suit

Hopper has agreed to pay $35 million USD to resolve a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing the travel booking app of charging hidden fees and misrepresenting total prices.

The FTC complaint, filed July 2, alleged Hopper caused consumers “tens of millions of dollars in harm” through pre-selected tips and VIP support fees that the company claimed were optional. Under the settlement, Hopper and its U.S. subsidiary must clearly and conspicuously disclose all fees and the full price customers will pay for any transaction.

Hopper said Thursday that the allegations concern practices from the COVID-19 pandemic that were discontinued in mid-2023. The company added that the FTC had no issues with its current app. “We decided to settle because the claims at issue are outdated and have no bearing on our business,” Hopper said in a statement. “Pursuing years of litigation over outdated, ticky-tacky issues would distract us from our current customers and partners– and that is not a distraction we are willing to accept.”

Hopper, founded in 2007, initially built its brand on an algorithm that predicted the best time to book flights. During and after the pandemic, it shifted focus to selling travel technology to enterprise clients through its B2B unit, which now accounts for more than 90 percent of revenue. The FTC case targets design choices in Hopper's consumer app specifically; the B2B business is separate and not affected by the settlement.

The FTC has been targeting “dark patterns” since 2021 – deceptive design features that push users into unintended actions or make cancellations difficult. In Canada, similar practices fall under the Competition Act as deceptive marketing. BetaKit has asked the Competition Bureau whether it has investigated Hopper.