# Travel advertising price rules: 'from' prices, fees and was/now

> Travel advertising rules on price display agree on more than they differ: a bookable price, compulsory fees inside it, an honest 'from', conditions in the body and a 'was' price you really charged. The rules in five markets, a worked example and a checklist.

*Source: https://itravel.cloud/blog/travel-advertising-price-rules · published Nov 1, 2026 · topic: Travel marketing*

Travel advertising rules on price display agree on more than they differ. The price you show must be one a traveller can book, on the terms the advert states. It must include the compulsory taxes and fees most buyers pay. A "from" price must really be available. Conditions that matter belong in the advert, not only in the small print. A "was" price must be one you charged.

**This is not legal advice.** Rules change and differ by market, so check your market's rules before you rely on any of it.

## Where do the rules come from?

Each market has its own code or law.

| Market | Where the rule lives | What it says about the price you show |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | The [CAP Code, section 3](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/03.html), applied by the Advertising Standards Authority | Quoted prices include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers (rule 3.18). "From" and "up to" must not exaggerate availability (3.22). Significant limitations must not be left out (3.9). |
| United States | The FTC's [Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/rule-unfair-or-deceptive-fees-frequently-asked-questions) for short-term lodging, in force since 12 May 2025; the Department of Transportation's 14 CFR 399.84 for prices that include air travel | Lodging: show the total price more prominently than other pricing information, and travel agents are covered. Air-inclusive tours: the price stated is the entire price; taxes may be listed apart, but never as large as the total. |
| Australia | The single-price rule of the Australian Consumer Law | If you show part of a price, show the total as a single figure at least as prominently, with taxes, fees and pre-selected extras in it. |
| India | The ASCI Code, chapter I, and ASCI's [2023 guidelines on deceptive design](https://www.ascionline.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Guidelines-for-Online-Deceptive-Design-Patterns-in-Advertising.pdf) | Quoted prices include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges (no drip pricing). "Prices from as low as" must not mislead about availability. No false scarcity: airline seats are the guideline's own example. |
| European Union | Directive 98/6/EC on the prices of products, as amended, read by the Court of Justice in *Aldi Süd* (C-330/23) | An announced price reduction is measured from the lowest price the trader applied in the 30 days before it. |

The pattern in all five: the headline number is what a buyer pays, and the words around it may explain that number, never change it.

## What must a "from" price mean?

"From" is a promise about availability. The UK code says a "from" claim must not exaggerate how available the price is, and the ASCI Code says the same of "Prices from as low as". The FTC's guidance is plain for hotels: a hotel may advertise the lowest available total price if people can actually book the advertised room.

- **The from price is bookable.** On the dates the advert names, someone can book it today.
- **It covers a fair share of what you advertise.** If an advert says "this winter from 899" and 899 exists on two departures out of twenty, name those two dates, or show the price most dates carry.
- **Its basis sits beside it.** Per person or per room, twin share or single, how many nights, what is included. "From 899 per person, twin share, 4 nights, flights included" is a claim a reader can check. "From 899" alone is not.

And the price you advertise to travellers is your selling price after your markup, never a net rate ([net rates, markup and agent tiers](/blog/net-rates-markup-and-agent-tiers) sets out the vocabulary).

## Which taxes and fees belong in the price you show?

The common rule: if all or most buyers must pay it, it is in the price. A compulsory resort fee, a booking fee, a transfer every guest must take. The UK code, ASCI's drip-pricing guideline and the Australian single-price rule say so in similar words, and the FTC's guidance says a required resort fee must be in the total.

The differences are in the edges.

- **US lodging.** The FTC lets taxes and government charges sit outside the total shown upfront, as long as the final amount, taxes included, is shown before payment. For prices that include air travel, the transport rule in the table applies.
- **A charge you cannot work out in advance.** Say plainly that it is excluded (CAP rule 3.19).
- **Optional extras.** Name them as optional ("airport transfers available") rather than folding them in or leaving them out.
- **A charge paid locally.** A tax the guest pays at the hotel is still part of what the trip costs. Whether it must sit inside the headline figure depends on the market; at the least, say that it exists.

## Validity dates, availability and urgency

A price without dates reads as a price for every date. Put the travel window, and the booking deadline if there is one, in the body of the advert: "Travel 1 May to 30 June. Book by 15 April." The UK code treats a significant limitation left out as misleading (3.9) and wants qualifications presented clearly (3.10).

"Subject to availability" does not make a price available. The same code asks advertisers to make a reasonable estimate of demand (3.27) and to say so if they have reason to believe they cannot supply at the advertised price (3.28).

Urgency must be true on the day the advert appears. ASCI's guideline calls it misleading to imply that seats are more limited than they are, and expects the advertiser to show the stock position at the time if challenged. "Only 6 seats left" is a snapshot: keep a dated record of the inventory behind it, and take the line down when it stops being true. The same goes for "ends Sunday" on [long weekend promotions](/blog/long-weekend-travel-promotions).

## What can the small print do, and what can't it?

Small print qualifies; it never contradicts. If the headline says "all inclusive" and the small print says "drinks extra", the headline is wrong, however small the type.

What belongs in small print: a pointer to the full terms, payment and cancellation terms in short, the exact inclusions, any registration line your market expects. What does not: anything that changes the price for most buyers, the travel window, or a condition that removes most of the dates.

Write the small print in the advert's language: English-only conditions under an Arabic headline leave the reader without them. [Multilingual travel marketing](/blog/multilingual-travel-marketing) covers keeping every version saying the same thing.

## "Was/now" and other price comparisons

The UK code asks two things of any price comparison: make its basis clear (3.38) and do not claim a price advantage you do not have (3.39).

The European Union goes further for reductions. In *Aldi Süd*, the Court of Justice held that a reduction announced as a percentage, or as a statement stressing how good the price is, must be worked out from the lowest price the trader applied in at least the 30 days before. That rule sits in the directive on the prices of products, so ask your national authority how it treats holidays and other services. Measuring a travel "was" price the same way is the reading least likely to be challenged.

Whatever your market, keep a dated record of every selling price you publish. A "was" price should be one you genuinely offered, not a brochure figure nobody could book. Comparing with another firm's price needs the same product, dates and basis.

## A worked example: one offer, fixed

Say you sell a 5-night island package. The numbers are illustrative.

- 1,000 per person, twin share, on two departures in May (the 4th and the 18th); 1,300 on the other eighteen.
- A compulsory fee of 100 per person that every guest pays the resort.
- Airport transfers at 60 per person, optional.
- In the 30 days before the offer, the two May departures sold at 1,300 plus the fee.

The first draft reads: "Island escape from 1,000! Was 1,600. Only 3 rooms left. Excl. fees. Subject to availability."

| Draft | What is wrong | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
| "from 1,000" | The compulsory fee is left out, and the price exists on two dates out of twenty | "From 1,100 per person, twin share, resort fee included", with the two dates named |
| "Was 1,600" | Never charged | "Was 1,400": the lowest price in the 30 days before (1,300 plus the 100 fee) |
| "Only 3 rooms left" | Nobody checked | Deleted, or kept only while the allotment shows three, with a dated record |
| "Excl. fees" | Small print contradicting the headline | Gone: the fee is in the price |
| No dates | Reads as every date | "Travel 4 or 18 May. Book by 20 April." |

The fixed advert: "Island escape, 5 nights. Travel 4 or 18 May. From 1,100 per person, twin share, resort fee included. Was 1,400. Book by 20 April. Airport transfers available. T&C apply." It is longer, and every word of it survives a complaint. [What makes a travel flyer sell](/blog/what-makes-a-travel-flyer-sell) shows how to lay it out so the offer still reads first.

## Where iTravel Studio fits

In Studio, the offer templates put the price in one box, with "From" above it and its basis below ("per person, twin share" in the starter templates). Offer templates also carry a dates line ("Valid for travel until 31 March"), and the posters one line of small print above the contact line ("T&C apply."). You rewrite each. A template's words and prices are examples, shown in your currency, never your rates: a group-departure template says "Only 6 seats left", which is yours to say only when it is true.

Before a download, Studio's check flags a price shown without what it covers: "The price does not say what it covers (per person, per room, taxes included or not)." It never blocks the file; you decide. The caption it drafts for a post keeps the price and its basis on one line.

What Studio does not do: it has no field yet for a "was" price or an offer's end date, so it cannot check either, and it does not judge your words against any market's code. Studio is in early access; the [travel flyer maker](/travel-flyer-maker) page describes the rest.

## Before an advert goes out: a checklist

- [ ] The price shown can be booked today, on the dates the advert names.
- [ ] Every compulsory tax, fee and charge most buyers pay is in it (or, where your market lets a tax sit apart, it is shown before payment).
- [ ] The basis sits beside the price: per person or per room, twin share or single, nights, what is included.
- [ ] The travel window and any booking deadline are in the body, not only in the small print.
- [ ] Any scarcity line ("only 3 left") is true today, and you have a dated record of the stock behind it.
- [ ] A "was" price is one you genuinely charged, and in the EU it is measured from the lowest price of the previous 30 days.
- [ ] The small print qualifies the headline and never contradicts it.
- [ ] The price is your selling price, never a net rate, and optional extras are named as optional.
- [ ] Every language version says the same thing, small print included.
- [ ] The photo is one you may use in an advert ([free travel photos for commercial use](/blog/free-travel-photos-commercial-use)).
- [ ] You have read your market's code, and asked a lawyer about anything unusual.