Skift Take
The junk fee issue has gone mainstream and the travel industry has no choice in how to respond: It cannot win this battle. It cannot fight back. There's no chance it will win.
You may have heard the term "junk fees" a lot these days. They are these hidden fees across many industries: cable, finance, banking and particularly, the travel industry – airlines and hotels. Since last year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has done many press conferences about the issue. President Biden brought it up in his State of Union speech.
A term that really didn't exist less than a year ago has now gone mainstream.
How should the travel industry think about this? The answer is clear: It cannot win this battle. It cannot fight back. There's no chance it will win. Companies can't ignore it. They'll have to tackle it he