Little America Hotel Chain Under Scrutiny for Alleged Bait-and-Switch Pricing Amid FTC Crackdown

Little America Hotel Accused of Dodging New FTC Rule on Pricing

Here's a shocker for folks booking a room: some paying guests at Little America Hotel say they've been hit with charges up to $100 higher than the price they saw online. The complaints started rolling in just after a big change in the law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dropped a new rule in May 2025, basically telling hotels and event spaces they have to be totally upfront about what things cost—no more hiding fees until you're ready to pay. But some guests believe Little America didn’t get the memo.

You're probably wondering how this happens. The way it played out, customers shopped online or over the phone, saw a rate, and then got smacked with surprise fees at checkout. Sometimes the final total was $30, $50, or even $100 higher than the sticker price. For travelers, that's not just annoying—it could mean blowing your trip budget.

The Little America chain, run out of Salt Lake City and tied to a family ranked among America’s ultra-wealthy, first tried to keep things quiet. After journalists from 12 News started asking questions, price labels disappeared from the hotel’s website. That’s not the move of a business eager to assure nervous guests, right? And when reporters pressed for details—like how long this had been going on, or just how many customers paid more than they expected—the hotel wouldn’t offer up any answers. All they said was there's an “internal investigation.”

The FTC’s rule wasn’t just for show. It says all costs must be included upfront—the price you see should be the price you pay. Anything less is considered a deceptive practice. Consumer watchdog groups have pointed out just how costly this could be. With a large booking volume, even small discrepancies could add up to hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, in overcharges.

Systemic Hidden Fees Still Haunt Consumers

This isn’t just about hotels. Similar tricks have cropped up everywhere from car and truck rentals to concert tickets. One look at moving truck ads, for example, shows a low rate, but when you actually book, you get hit with fees that can nearly double the cost. It's a game of hiding mandatory charges until you’re committed.

In the case of Little America, it’s still unclear how deep the problem goes. The chain isn’t saying how many people were affected, or if refunds are coming. That silence doesn’t sit well with consumer advocates, who say these surprise charges aren’t just an inconvenience—they’re a breach of trust. With travel booking at all-time highs, these little fees add up quickly for chains with lots of rooms to fill.

The FTC's move was supposed to make pricing simple for everyone—what you see upfront is what you pay at checkout. But as the Little America situation shows, some businesses may push the limits or try to dodge the rules entirely. For now, travelers are being told to keep a close eye on that final bill, even when a deceptive pricing scheme is supposed to be off the table.