The Travel App That Promised 'No Hidden Fees' Just Set Aside $35 Million for Its Hidden Fees

If you booked a flight or a hotel on Hopper before mid-2023, some of that $35 million is set aside for you. You won’t see it automatically. The Federal Trade Commission calls it “consumer redress.” That is the polite version of “the app charged you for things you never picked.”

The FTC announced the settlement on July 2. Here is what the agency’s complaint actually says Hopper did.

Hopper’s marketing pitch was “no hidden fees.” Then users got to the final booking screen with the “Swipe to Book” button. The “total price” they saw on that screen did not include Hopper’s “Tip” or “VIP Support” charges. Those fees lived on a screen further down. Pre-selected. Waiting to be swiped through.

One consumer, quoted in the FTC complaint, told the company: “Honestly it feels like ya’ll snuck that in on the final screen at the bottom and opted me in.”

One Hopper employee, in an internal message quoted in the same complaint, put it more simply: “To me, the problem here is that we’re tricking users.”

Not exactly a defense.

Hopper says the display was an “outdated” pandemic-era practice, that it fixed the screens in mid-2023 before the FTC investigation began, and that the settlement “does not reflect the merit of the claims.” That is the standard everything-was-fine-actually response. Thirty-five million dollars says otherwise.

Here is why to care even if you have never touched Hopper. The pre-selected-and-hidden optional toggle is not a Hopper invention. It is how a lot of travel apps sell you services you did not intend to buy. Airlines do it with seat selection and trip insurance. Rental car sites do it with damage waivers. Delivery apps do it with tips and priority-support fees. The play is always the same: put the add-on on a screen you have to scroll to see, pre-check it, and count on you not scrolling.

$35 million says the play works. It also says the FTC has stopped waiting.

Two things to do this week if you used Hopper before mid-2023. First, open the app or dig up an old confirmation email and check any booking for a “Tip” or “VIP Support” line item. Save the screenshot. Then watch ftc.gov/refunds. When Hopper’s redress program opens, the agency will post the claim link there, and eligible users get a signup flow. That is how these programs always work. No mailer. Just a form you have to find.

Second, and this one applies to every app you use, not just Hopper. Never swipe to book on the first total-price screen you see. Scroll to the bottom of the confirmation and read every line item. If a “concierge,” “seat protection,” “priority,” “tip,” or “trip insurance” line is pre-selected, uncheck it. If the app makes that hard, book somewhere else.

The FTC’s Unfair or Deceptive Fees Rule took effect May 12, 2025 for short-term lodging. Hopper’s $35 million is one of the first big consumer-redress checks under that framework. It will not be the last. If your booking predates the rule and you have a card statement showing an add-on you never opted into, your card issuer’s chargeback rules under Regulation Z give you a limited window past the statement close date to dispute the charge. The FTC’s redress program runs on its own timeline for eligible Hopper users.

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