Booking Holdings

Hopper to Pay $35M in FTC Settlement Over Hidden Fees

Hopper agreed to a $35 million settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission after the FTC sued the travel app for allegedly misleading users by charging hidden fees and misrepresenting total costs. The FTC found Hopper's interface pre-selected optional charges (like tips and VIP Support), obscured fees until users scrolled, and failed to clearly disclose restrictions on its Price Freeze/Hold offerings. The settlement requires Hopper to provide consumer redress and prohibits future misrepresentations of pricing and undisclosed fees. The article places the case in a broader regulatory trend against 'dark patterns' and hidden or deceptive fee displays.

The Trade Desk Expands Travel and Commerce Integrations

The Trade Desk announced an expansion of its commerce media ecosystem with new integrations across travel, hospitality, mobility, and OTA platforms. New travel partners named include Booking Holdings brands (Booking.com, Agoda, KAYAK, Priceline), MAR**RIOTT**MEDIA, Uber Advertising, and Kinective Media by United Airlines. These additions complement The Trade Desk’s existing retail media integrations (Albertsons Media Collective, CVS Media Exchange, Dollar General Media Network, Instacart Ads, Kroger Precision Marketing, Roundel Media, Walgreens Advertising Group) and aim to aggregate high-intent commerce and travel signals across the open internet. The company says advertisers can activate omnichannel campaigns (CTV, audio, display, native) with unified measurement and AI-driven optimization via Koa AI and access premium supply through OpenPath.

The Trade Desk Expands Commerce Media Travel Integrations

The Trade Desk announced an expansion of its commerce media ecosystem through new integrations with travel, hospitality, mobility and OTA media platforms. The integrations include partnerships with Booking Holdings brands (Booking.com, Agoda, KAYAK, Priceline), MAR**RIOTT** MEDIA, Uber Advertising, and Kinective Media by United Airlines, and build on existing retail-media connections (e.g., Albertsons Media Collective, Instacart Ads, Kroger Precision Marketing). The company says these integrations let advertisers aggregate high-intent travel and commerce signals across the open internet to activate, measure and optimize omnichannel campaigns across CTV, audio, display and native. The release references The Trade Desk products and capabilities such as Koa AI for signal analysis and OpenPath for premium supply access, and includes quotes from The Trade Desk and partner executives about enabling advertisers to reach travelers across the consumer journey.