A fictional hotel result advertises $120 per night while a compulsory $28 nightly facility fee appears only in the final booking summary.
Drip pricing and mandatory feesAccommodation bookingPricing
This is an original fictional comparison. It depicts no real business and is not a regulator finding, statutory category or legal safe harbour.
Accommodation bookingPricing
Resort fee appears after room selection
A fictional hotel result advertises $120 per night while a compulsory $28 nightly facility fee appears only in the final booking summary.
Potentially problematicRoom · $120/night
Room · $120/night. The unavoidable $28 nightly fee is omitted from search and room cards.. Select room. Choose at $148/night
The unavoidable $28 nightly fee is omitted from search and room cards.
Select room
Choose at $148/night
→
Neutral alternativeRoom total · $148/night
Room total · $148/night. The base price and compulsory facility fee are shown before selection.. Displayed amount: $148. Choose at $148/night. Select room. Price, period and commitment, expanded: The price and material terms associated with “Choose at $148/night” remain beside this choice.
The base price and compulsory facility fee are shown before selection.
Displayed amount$148
Choose at $148/night
Select room
Price, period and commitmentThe price and material terms associated with “Choose at $148/night” remain beside this choice.
Why the first version can mislead: The final commercial state diverges from the choice represented earlier in the journey. The problematic state records: “The unavoidable $28 nightly fee is omitted from search and room cards.” Review the timing and affirmative selection needed before “Select room” changes price, product or recurring liability. Travellers may compare and select rooms using an understated unavoidable cost.
What a fairer design does: Include compulsory charges in the comparable total and explain any component breakdown before room selection.
Show annotated differences (4)
Potentially problematic version
The unavoidable $28 nightly fee is omitted from search and room cards.Why this state matters: The final commercial state diverges from the choice represented earlier in the journey. The problematic state records: “The unavoidable $28 nightly fee is omitted from search and room cards.” Review the timing and affirmative selection needed before “Select room” changes price, product or recurring liability. Travellers may compare and select rooms using an understated unavoidable cost.
Choose at $148/nightReview prompt: Which affirmative action authorises “Select room”, and where is the resulting price, product or recurring state shown before commitment?
Neutral alternative
The base price and compulsory facility fee are shown before selection.Fairer design: Include compulsory charges in the comparable total and explain any component breakdown before room selection.
Price, period and commitment, expanded: The price and material terms associated with “Choose at $148/night” remain beside this choice.Review prompt: Place the compared prices, billing periods and material terms on one evidence sheet; where does it support “The charge is mandatory, transaction-linked or reasonably foreseeable for the selected path”?
Review questions (3)
Which affirmative action authorises “Select room”, and where is the resulting price, product or recurring state shown before commitment?
Place the compared prices, billing periods and material terms on one evidence sheet; where does it support “The charge is mandatory, transaction-linked or reasonably foreseeable for the selected path”?
Which specific affirmative event creates the final commercial state, and could “variable charge impossible to calculate but calculation method and applicability clearly disclosed” explain the observed outcome instead?
Side-by-side accommodation booking interface showing “Room · $120/night” and the clearer alternative “Room total · $148/night”.Provenance: Original hypothetical accommodation booking example created for this library; no real business, product or interface is depicted.
Complete practice context
How this example relates to Drip pricing and mandatory fees
A mandatory or foreseeable charge is omitted, obscured or revealed only after the user has invested effort in the transaction. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.
The full guide explains inclusion and exclusion criteria, potential harms, fairer design, evidence questions and separate Australian legal information layers. The example page isolates one scenario so it can be shared and discussed without reproducing the complete library on one page.
A fictional booking flow records a basic fare selection but the final action purchases a premium flexible fare without a new price-and-product confirmation.
