Hidden fees on vacation rental listings: a check for hosts and property managers
In short: Cleaning, service and resort fees that appear only after the nightly rate. How to check your own listing, and how UpfrontCheck checks it for you.
Where the fees hide on a rental listing
- A cleaning fee added after the nightly rate, on the last step.
- Service, resort or booking fees that are mandatory but shown only in the price summary.
- Search results or listing cards that say "from $X per night" without the mandatory fees.
- A headline nightly price that differs from the nightly rate actually charged.
- A business fee listed under "taxes and fees" as if it were a tax.
Since 12 May 2025 the FTC fee rule asks short-term lodging in the US to show the total price, with every mandatory fee, whenever a price is shown. Taxes and other government charges may be shown separately. Several states have their own rules on top; see the state guide. In Canada, see drip pricing.
An example
From a public vacation-rental listing in Texas we looked at during our research, on 17 Oct 2026 (business not named; prices change with dates):
| First price shown | $324 / night |
| Total before payment (2 nights, with taxes) | $846.83 |
| Mandatory fee not in the first price | Cleaning fee $150 |
| Nightly price with mandatory fees, before tax | $399.45 (+23%) |
Check your own listing in five minutes
- Open your booking page in a private browser window. Is the first price you see the amount a guest will pay, apart from taxes?
- Pick dates and go to the last page before payment. List every line between the nightly rate and the total.
- Check every place a price appears: your website, search results, listing cards and calendars.
- Check again after your booking system changes its pages or you change a fee setting.
How UpfrontCheck checks it for you
- Your booking website: our scanner opens your listing like a guest, tries 2- and 3-night stays on weekdays and weekends a few weeks ahead, and goes up to the last page before payment. It reads booking sites built on Hostaway, Guesty, Lodgify and OwnerRez (OwnerRez after you verify your website).
- Many listings: connect Hostaway, Guesty or Lodgify and we ask your booking system for price quotes on the listings you choose, to see the fees each booking adds. We never create, change or cancel reservations.
- Listings our scanner can't reach (for example on a large booking platform): record them yourself with the capture extension.
- A person reviews every result. You get the first price, the total, the fees that were not in the first price, the rules they may relate to and dated screenshots.
Not yet available for businesses in Quebec. Reports are findings, not legal advice.