New York City just drove another nail into the coffin of hotel resort fees.

For years, the hotel industry has relied on drip pricing to lure you in with a low base rate, only to add mandatory fees on the final booking screen—and sometimes later. It's a deceptive practice that has cost travelers millions. 

This week, the Mamdani administration issued a final rule that effectively ends this shell game for anyone booking in or from New York City. (The "from" part is important, as you'll see in a moment.)

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has laid out a strict framework for how hotels must now handle your reservation:

These disclosures must remain clear from the moment the room rate is posted until the moment you check out.

New York's rule, which takes effect Feb. 21, is modeled on Federal Trade Commission standards, but it goes a step further by requiring total transparency on mandatory credit card holds or deposits.

The hotel industry has long used these questionable fees to understate prices and rank higher on booking sites. The DCWP says it received more than 300 complaints in 2025 about resort fees and unexpected holds that can sharply reduce a traveler's available credit. 

This rule doesn't just apply to Manhattan hotels. It extends across the country, protecting you regardless of the hotel's location, as long as it is advertised to a person in New York City.

Resort fees are still out there, particularly when you're traveling abroad, so this is no time to let down your guard.

My colleague Charlie Leocha at Travelers United has been fighting resort fees for years. This is an important victory for consumers.

The takeaway: By requiring total price transparency and clear disclosure of credit card holds, this rule ensures that the price you see the final price you pay. But there's still a lot of work to be done. Because when it comes to fees, the travel industry's creativity knows no bounds.

If you think economic uncertainty and political turmoil will translate into a slower spring break, think again.

New data shows vacation rental demand—a key barometer for spring break activity—is surging for March and April as travelers lock in stays months in advance

According to AirDNA’s latest data, demand for spring bookings is pacing significantly higher than last year, driven by a "split" spring break season with Easter falling in early April.

In some Florida markets in March, more than half of the available rentals are already booked.

More than half of travelers are securing properties much earlier for high-demand windows, with major events like the Super Bowl and the 2026 World Cup already concentrating demand in key host cities.

The bright spot: Summer travel, which is still far away, appears to be down significantly from last year. So there's a glimmer of hope that we might see a few deals, at least if the current booking trends hold.

The latest pacing data indicates that the upcoming spring season will be busy, with several destinations already nearing capacity for March:

Surging demand. March demand is currently pacing 8.9 percent higher than last year, while April has jumped 11.4 percent.

Rapidly filling markets. Gulf Coast resort areas are filling quickly. Sarasota is already seeing 55% occupancy for March, led by strong bookings or Florida’s West Coast.

High-volume hotspots. Orlando has already surpassed 400,000 booked nights, while Phoenix/Scottsdale is tracking at 44 percent occupancy, with 258,000 nights booked.

This spring break, travelers are moving away from last-minute planning, with reservation lead times beginning to stabilize as people prioritize securing their preferred stays.

The shift toward earlier bookings means that waiting for a deal may result in fewer choices and higher costs. In December 2025, average daily rates rose 3.3 percent to $248, even as occupancy eased slightly. This suggests that hosts are maintaining pricing power as the market stabilizes. For peak leisure periods, procrastination is becoming a costly habit, as popular rentals in prime locations are being scooped up months in advance.

If you're thinking of a spring break getaway, here are a few strategies to consider:

The takeaway: With spring demand up by as much as 11 percent, booking your vacation rental today may be the only way to guarantee the space and price you want.

Maybe the travel industry views environmental engineering as a sophisticated path to profitability. But as we discovered this weekend, these tactics often cross the line from clever marketing into predatory behavior. When a company purposefully makes a passenger shiver or creates digital panic through phantom scarcity, it's exploiting human vulnerability for a few extra dollars. Self-regulation has clearly failed to curb these tactics and physical nudges, as the financial incentives for manipulation far outweigh the risks of a customer complaint. Only clear, enforceable federal regulations—much like the recent hotel fee ban in New York—can level the playing field. Until transparency is mandated by law, the air you breathe and the price you see will continue to be engineered to benefit the bottom line at your expense.

Have you ever had to pay a resort fee—or been manipulated on a flight? Our comments are open. By the way, we’ve switched email platforms, so you may have to sign in again to leave a comment. Here’s how.