Magnifying glass reveals the real deals

The care companies take in writing advertisements and brochures varies from year to year. Prose tends to tighten when the Federal Trade Commission makes headlines prosecuting businesses for misleading commercial statements. When things calm down, some companies become negligent about making fair disclosure. Unfortunately, 2004 is a time when the travel industry seems to be slipping into bad habits.

Here are some things to watch for:

* A leading Caribbean tour operator is advertising remarkable prices for its air-and-land packages to tropical islands. Yet in the small-type statement of conditions (the tiny print), it reads: “A $25 booking fee for reservations made inside 21 days or $15 fee for bookings made outside of 21 days is not included in listed prices.”

So regardless of when you book the trip, you always pay more than the advertised price.

* Another seller of air-and-land packages to capital cities in Europe and Asia appended this tiny type to its offers: “Prices are per person based on double occupancy and a 30-day advance purchase. Purchases within 30 days will incur additional shipping and handling fees.”

What this means is that practically everyone booking the package pays additional “handling fees” (which should be included in the headlined price of the package).

* And then there’s the Internet tour operator that offers such packages as a week’s stay in an Orlando, Fla., hotel, combined with round-trip air between New York and Orlando, for $359 per person. But in the small print appears the statement: “Taxes/Service Charges: $149 additional per person.” Less than a third of that amount, in my estimate, relates to government-imposed taxes; about $100 is a “service charge” imposed by and paid to the tour operator. Instead of charging a realistic $459 for the package, the price is a misleading $359 -- to which $100 more is added in an almost-overlooked surcharge.

It’s always best to look closely to make sure taxes are included in packages you consider buying. Most tour operators properly include the cost of hotel taxes in the total price of their air-and-land packages, but some don’t. One such company discloses in tiny type that passengers will be obligated to pay an additional sum -- often amounting to as much as $100 -- for hotel taxes.

By handling the matter in that fashion, it appears that the price charged is $100 less than that of its competitors.

The travel industry, of course, is not unique in using such tactics. Try to obtain a mail-in rebate, for instance, after buying an electronic product. The paperwork needed to collect the rebate is so tedious that the offer approaches the level of fraud.

But the travel industry seems to suffer from just as many tricky disclosures and nondisclosures. For the public, the lesson is that you must look closely to determine what you are receiving and the final price you will pay.

The Better Business Bureau has reports on 2 million U.S. organizations. To check out a company or charity, go to www.bbb.com. To file a complaint on a company with the Federal Trade Commission, go to www.ftc.gov.

Caveat emptor. In fact, caveat emptor many times over.