Travel app Hopper to pay $35M in FTC settlement over ‘unfairly’ charging hidden fees

旅游应用 Hopper 因“不公平”收取隐藏费用，与美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）达成 3500 万美元和解

Hopper, the travel app known for its AI-driven flight and hotel price predictions, has agreed to a $35 million settlement following a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The lawsuit accused the company of misleading users by imposing hidden fees and misrepresenting the total costs of Hopper’s services. 以人工智能驱动机票和酒店价格预测而闻名的旅游应用 Hopper 已同意支付 3500 万美元达成和解，此前美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）对其提起了诉讼。该诉讼指控该公司通过征收隐藏费用和虚报服务总成本来误导用户。

The case is another example of regulators targeting the use of “dark patterns,” or interface designs that manipulate users into making choices they might not otherwise have made, including those that hide charges, pre-select optional add-ons, or make it difficult to understand the true cost of a service. It follows similar FTC settlements aimed at other companies, like Match, StubHub, neobank Dave, Fortnite, and others. 此案是监管机构打击“暗黑模式”（dark patterns）的又一例证。所谓“暗黑模式”，是指通过界面设计操纵用户做出非本意选择的行为，包括隐藏收费、预选可选附加项，或使用户难以理解服务的真实成本。此前，FTC 已针对 Match、StubHub、新银行 Dave 和《堡垒之夜》（Fortnite）等公司达成了类似的和解协议。

The FTC alleged that Hopper deceived consumers regarding the benefits of its “VIP Support” and “Price Freeze” services. Many users were led to believe that these features would enhance their booking experience, only to find themselves facing additional costs and limited access to customer support. The FTC also found that users were charged for “Tip” and VIP Support fees that were presented as optional, yet were often pre-selected and hidden within the app’s interface. As a result, users found themselves facing charges that they believed they had not consented to, as these fees were typically only visible when users scrolled down on the app screen. FTC 指控 Hopper 在其“VIP 支持”和“价格冻结”（Price Freeze）服务的益处方面欺骗了消费者。许多用户被误导认为这些功能会提升预订体验，结果却发现自己面临额外费用，且难以获得客户支持。FTC 还发现，用户被收取了“小费”和 VIP 支持费用，这些费用虽被标注为可选，但往往在应用界面中被预先勾选并隐藏。因此，用户在不知情的情况下被扣费，因为这些费用通常只有在用户向下滚动应用屏幕时才能看到。

The allegations extend to the “Price Freeze” or “Hold the Room” offering, which Hopper claimed would allow consumers to hold their travel booking price for a designated period. However, the FTC notes that the app failed to clearly communicate restrictions associated with this service. For instance, the Price Freeze only secures the rate up to a specific limit and only if the booking remains available. 指控还涉及“价格冻结”或“保留房间”服务，Hopper 声称该服务允许消费者在指定时间内锁定旅行预订价格。然而，FTC 指出，该应用未能清晰传达与此服务相关的限制条件。例如，价格冻结仅在特定限额内锁定费率，且前提是预订必须保持可用状态。

The settlement amount is set to be used for “consumer redress,” with Hopper now prohibited from misrepresenting any pricing structures, according to today’s release. It’s required that Hopper clearly disclose all fees, ensuring that users are fully aware of the total cost of any transactions before completing their bookings. 根据今日发布的公告，和解金将用于“消费者赔偿”，Hopper 此后被禁止虚报任何定价结构。Hopper 被要求清晰披露所有费用，确保用户在完成预订前完全知晓任何交易的总成本。

“We decided to settle because the claims at issue are outdated and have no bearing on our business,” a company spokesperson said in a provided statement to TechCrunch. “Pursuing years of litigation over outdated, ticky-tacky issues would distract us from our current customers and partners… The settlement amount does not reflect the merit of the claims. It reflects our decision to move forward.” “我们决定和解，因为所涉指控已过时，且与我们目前的业务无关，”该公司发言人在提供给 TechCrunch 的声明中表示。“为过时的、琐碎的问题进行多年的诉讼会分散我们对现有客户和合作伙伴的注意力……和解金额并不反映指控的合理性，它反映了我们继续前进的决定。”

The spokesperson added that, after reviewing millions of company files dating back to 2021, the FTC’s allegations focused on “primarily outdated display practices implemented during the pandemic, limited to the Hopper app, and discontinued by Hopper in mid-2023, prior to the start of the FTC’s inquiry.” 该发言人补充说，在审查了自 2021 年以来的数百万份公司文件后，FTC 的指控主要集中在“疫情期间实施的过时展示做法，这些做法仅限于 Hopper 应用，并已由 Hopper 在 2023 年年中、即 FTC 调查开始之前停止使用。”

Before Hopper, the FTC’s most recent crackdown on “junk fees” was its case with StubHub, which agreed to pay $10 million to customers and change its ticket price displays. Booking Holdings settled for $9.5 million after a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which claimed that it misled customers by showing low room rates while hiding important费用 until the checkout process. 在 Hopper 之前，FTC 最近一次针对“垃圾费用”的打击行动是针对 StubHub 的案件，后者同意向客户支付 1000 万美元并更改其票价显示方式。Booking Holdings 在德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）提起诉讼后，以 950 万美元达成和解，该诉讼称其通过显示低房价但在结账过程中隐藏重要费用来误导客户。

Hopper launched its travel app back in 2014 and surpassed 120 million lifetime downloads worldwide in 2024. Hopper 于 2014 年推出其旅游应用，2024 年全球累计下载量已超过 1.2 亿次。