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(L to R) Toby Parks, CEO of xBk, US President Joe Biden and Lyle Brainard, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council take part in an event on protecting consumers, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 2023.
Andrew Caballero Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Washington – Several large corporations, including parent company Ticketmaster live nationvowing to end surprise “junk fees” after a pressure campaign from the Biden administration.
“Unwanted fees” are additional costs incurred at the end of purchases, most often for tickets to concerts, resorts, and rentals. President Joe Biden has made ending the practice a priority and inviting representatives from Live Nation, AirbnbAnd Cetjik and others to meet him Thursday.
The White House said both Live Nation and SeatGeek agreed before the meeting to commit to showing all fees upfront to purchase tickets. Iowa xBk is expected to be in place as well. Airbnb in December began including all fees in the final price after calls from the White House to do so.
“Today’s voluntary actions show that businesses large and small understand the importance of providing consumers with comprehensive and honest pricing, rather than being scammed with surprise fees at the end of the checkout process,” the White House said in a statement. “It’s also just a first step toward tackling unwanted fees in the economy.”
“This is a win for consumers in my view, and evidence that our crackdown on unwanted charges has had real momentum,” Biden said Thursday after the meeting, adding that there was more to be done.
Biden launched his first campaign against “junk tariffs” nine months ago and included calls for private companies to do so in his State of the Union address this year. The problem reached a boiling point in November, when customers were faced with exorbitant prices for tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
“President Biden is working to lower costs for hard-working families by lowering inflation, capping insulin prices for seniors, and eliminating hidden junk fees,” National Economic Council director Lyle Brainard said in a statement. “More companies are heeding the president’s plea so that Americans know what they’re paying for upfront and can save money as a result.”
TickPick co-CEO Brett Goldberg said in an interview after the meeting that he thought it was productive but worried it wouldn’t go far enough. Since its inception, TickPick has used inclusive pricing, which means there are no surprise unwanted fees.
“There’s a lot of negative sentiment around tickets, and while they don’t solve all the problems, the vast majority of what people talk about are hidden fees,” Goldberg said. “Yes, there is a cost component, but it is an extra slap in the face when you prepare to pull the trigger on expensive tickets and then end up with 20 to 30% more.”
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