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Chicago Hotel Collection’s $5–$16 Rooms Paired With ~$125 Nightly Fees Trigger Pricing-Transparency Scrutiny

The pricing has renewed scrutiny of whether listings satisfy the FTC’s total‑price disclosure rule.

Overview

  • The latest reports highlight calendar rates as low as $5–$16 at the group’s Chicago properties with mandatory charges of roughly $105–$125 per night once clicked through.
  • View from the Wing notes Chicago’s 17.4% lodging taxes apply to the fee, making the after‑tax cost among the priciest resort‑style charges the author has seen.
  • One Mile at a Time found one property’s calendar initially displayed a pre‑fee rate, while three others showed prices inclusive of mandatory charges during the first step.
  • The View from the Wing report cites a distribution executive who says some hotels feed fees to online agencies in ways that keep them hard to see in terms and conditions.
  • The FTC’s rule effective since May 2025 requires upfront display of the total price with mandatory fees, and no public enforcement action specific to these listings is reported.