Hotel charges "Resort Fee"

[Bamaman]

The Resort Fee on rooms is like a Documentary Fee when you buy a car.

It's just 100% profit. Car dealerships are beating their salesmen out of part of their commission by not paying them any of the Doc Fee.

 

[rk911]

I just spent 3 nights in a nice hotel. I don't get around much. When I go somewhere I usually pack a tent.

Anyways, I booked a nice hotel for DW and I and when I got to the check in there was a 10% "Resort Fee" added on top of the room rate. At first I thought it was sales and local taxes, which seemed about right. But no, this 10% "Resort Fee" was on top of all that, plus, there was sales tax on top of the
Resort Fee.

When I looked at the bill it explained that the "Resort Fee" was for access go guest amenities such as the pool, games and complimentary coffee in the lobby.

Never seen this before.

I don't blame a business for charging what it needs to provide a service, but please, just include it in your base price. It reminds me of the time I was at a bar and the bar charged an extra $.50 for ice....just bill me for the final product.

Rant over.

how is the coffee 'complimentary' if the guests are charged for it? non-coffee drinkers are sunsidizing those who do indulge. we don't do hotels, either. we usually pack an RV.

 

[travelover]

Hotel charges "Resort Fee"

AirBnBs have some similarly ridiculous add on fees. For a condo in Hawaii we were charged over $300 for a "cleaning" fee. Seriously, it costs $300 to clean a condo? They don't pay house cleaners $100 an hour and it doesn't take 3 hours to change the sheets and vacuum. And, cleaning between guests is not part of the "rent" anyway?

Then, AirBnB has their service charge and the local government has to grab off some additional cash. Geesh.

 

[SecondCor521]

Could it have been the internet? Insanely slow internet is included in the resort fee IIRC

Ah, that could be. That would make more sense, and it would be something that would have annoyed me, and I travel with my laptop. Thanks!

 

[Chuckanut]

AirBnBs have some similarly ridiculous add on fees. For a condo in Hawaii we were charged over $300 for a "cleaning" fee. Seriously, it costs $300 to clean a condo? They don't pay house cleaners $100 an hour and it doesn't take 3 hours to change the sheets and vacuum. And, cleaning between guests is not part of the "rent" anyway?

Then, AirBnB has their service charge and the local government has to take grab off some additional cash. Geesh.

Renting a private room or residence started out as a cheaper way to get a room in high cost areas. Rent a nice bedroom with a bath, or a small studio apartment for less than the price of normal hotel room. Today, I have found that ordinary hotel rooms that include breakfast are often cheaper than the many AirBnB prices when all the extra charges are added in.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Should be illegal. Any non-optional fee that goes directly to the company is also known as "the price".

 

[Koolau]

Should be illegal. Any non-optional fee that goes directly to the company is also known as "the price".

I agree. Even the added taxes should at least be clearly shown upon booking. The "tourist" taxes here in the Islands are insane and keep going up. Sooner or later, we'll have (another) down turn and the hotels will sit empty - again. I will have very little sympathy (except for the w*rking stiffs who will be out of a j*b.)YMMV

 

[Montecfo]

I do recall getting one waived at a Doubletree in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was not in a beach type location. But they said it was for the pool and towels or somesuch. I told them I did not want to pay the fee as we were not using those facilities and they waived the fee.

Which is logical that they would. Had they not I would have really had a problem.

I think it was $20 or $25 a night.

I really try to avoid places that do this as if seems dishonest.

 

[Badger]

When I go somewhere I usually pack a tent.

I did for decades. Even if flying somewhere to vacation we brought our tent, sleeping bags, and pads then rented a car to drive around that part of the country. For the early years I had a VW bus that I converted for travel. For safety and to save money I parked at Holiday Inn or Howard Johnsons and used their pool if not at a National or State Park. A couple of times when between destinations a no HI or HJ I would wait until the local VW dealer closed and park among the used cars. I thought that would be a safe place.

These days a restored air-cooled VW bus is almost as much as a Mercedes Sprinter RV. If I find a reasonably priced Sprinter in excellent condition it may only take 600 days of use to break even or maybe just half that time if I sell it later. Do some Walmarts still allow overnight parking?



Cheers!

 

[Masquernom]

Local town has added a hotel tax now on top of the sales tax. Easy way to make money from folks passing through town. City gets extra cash, residents aren't hit with another tax.

 

[WestUniversity]

Agreed! Why don’t they call it what it really is…. revenue enhancement!

 

[sengsational]

on the plus side...

"But honey, the room rate is only $100" might smooth over a disagreement, even though the 3 night total is $500

 

[conversationalphrase]

FYI, many hotel chains don't charge the resort fee to higher tier loyalty club members.

 

[Chuckanut]

I think it was $20 or $25 a night.

I really try to avoid places that do this as if seems dishonest.

It does make me wonder about the ethics of those companies that do these things. It also makes me renew my subscription to Consumer Reports each year. As long as this type of thinking is considered OK by many in business we need to stay informed.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We are very careful about these fees when we book anything and avoid where possible. We certainly do not get surprised as I call if it is not clear when booking. We have managed to avoid any fees that are not included with a "Package".

It is a shame, and as usual the buyer has to be savvy. Not all are, I think that is what they bank on. So yes, I think it is dishonest and underhanded. Welcome to the 202x's, as more and more folks just accept it, it will not change.

 

[Time2]

I live across the bridge from a resort town, I have a buddy that lives in the resort town. On Thursday he told me they went out to a dinner and the bill included a 20% additional charge, not a tax not a tip, just an additional charge as additional profit to the restaurant.
Then we noted the breakfast restaurant we were in, raised our breakfast price almost 15% from the week before. At least the prices were shown on their price board.

 

[sengsational]

I really appreciated eating over in Europe where the prices on the menu were exactly what I was expected to pay. The low-brow places, you see a sign "meal for €10", you hand them your card, €10 on it, you sit down, somebody brings you you food. You leave when your ready.

The hotel operators are acting as agents for the government by collecting tax for them, so I understand posting a price that does not include the tax (as annoying as that is, and different than the European low-brow place example, above). But there really is no excuse for not posting a price that's all inclusive of what goes into the revenue stream of the hotel, like the "resort fee".

As I've said before, because we on this board are better at this game than most, we probably get the advantage over the average person, because there's a group that consistently get hoodwinked. We, on the other hand, either fight or switch.

I don't see that the hotels splitting their fees into various buckets is harmful if it's clearly disclosed. But it's so often the base room price, not including the extra fees, that's used for decision making. And I find it annoying that on the booking sites they attempt to wash their hands of it... "I know you just shopped (by price) for a room, but that price might increase, and we're not responsible if you take the hit. Have a nice day."

Talking about Consumer Reports, I think they helped win a battle with cable companies and their BS of doing the same thing..."Internet $30/mo" becomes $55 somehow. It takes drive and patience to be a consumer.

 

[garyt]

It's the norm in Vegas. Overall, it is dishonest, since it is tacked on afterwards on all rooms. It ought to be illegal.

I could have sworn I read an article while in Vegas saying that resort fees actually are illegal (maybe only in Vegas?) but nobody challenges it in court. I was looking to see if I could use reward comps to pay for resort fees when I found it.

 

[garyt]

I just checked, just to make sure...We've stayed there before...Don't remember a fee

Circus-Circus Reno, rooms for $39.95!

So I checked and I was amazed...$100/day resort fee. Gobstruck! How does the fee exceed the room?

Gonna buy a boat.

Circus circus rooms aren't worth $39 without the resort fees, place is a dump

 

[travelover]

As I've said before the petty thieves wear hoodies, the big crooks wear suits and have lobbyists..

 

[scrabbler1]

It's another way to advertise fake prices legally. Also see car dealer "doc fee", pay TV "broadcast TV fee" and "regional sports fee", etc. Thank corporate lobbyists, what would we do without them.

Those cable-TV "Broadcast TV" and "Regional Sports" fees have been annoying me for years. They started off at maybe $2 a month but together they are now about $20 per month! By listing them separately, they could keep their base price low and stable, building increases in the total monthly fee into these surcharges.

But, to my shock, my local Cable-TV provider just began including these fees into their regular monthly rate. Of course, the total monthly rate rose by $25 while the $20 surcharges disappeared, an overall $5 monthly increase.

And here in NY, at least some of these fees appear because the big sports cable TV networks force the TV providers to put their channels on Basic cable, not as an optional premium channel (like HBO or one of the many movie premiums). This means I have to pay the surcharge even if I never watch the channel.

 

[zinger1457]

If you want to see some crazy resort fees check out some of the all-inclusive (meals included) resorts in Mexico. If the room is booked and paid separately from a 3rd party site you have to purchase a meal plan from the resort that can run in the $400/person/day range at some resorts.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

If you want to see some crazy resort fees check out some of the all-inclusive (meals included) resorts in Mexico. If the room is booked and paid separately from a 3rd party site you have to purchase a meal plan from the resort that can run in the $400/person/day range at some resorts.

Maybe now, we have not REALLY checked and booked recently. We had been going to them annually up until 2019 and we never had such an experience. We have been keeping tabs on prices since and have never seen any. We usually booked through Xpedia or Bookit (Now off line), but CheapCaribbean seems to be OK now.

Just waiting for all the testing shenanigans to subside before we go again.

 

[qwerty3656]

people keep saying this is common. I travel quite a bit and have never seen it.

 

[zinger1457]

Looked at some all inclusive resorts offered on Interval International for Cancun, the room rates are reasonable but they mention the required meal plan and refer you to this web site https://all-inclusiveplanestimator.palaceresorts.com to find out what the meal plan will cost. The meal plan cost varies by resort and travel dates but... (1BR Moon Palace Cancun, $9313 for 2 people for 1 week end of Feb). I'm sure there are more reasonably priced all inclusive resorts.