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No hotel I've ever stayed at has done this. At least not the big names. At most you'll get a different price for halfboard/fullboard. And a price bump for an ex

by yardie 6y ago

No hotel I've ever stayed at has done this. At least not the big names. At most you'll get a different price for halfboard/fullboard. And a price bump for an extra bed. Also, in my encounters, resort fees are in lieu of being a boarder. The resorts by me, Miami Beach, charge visitors for access to the pools and spas, not their guests.

fredophile 6y ago
Go to hotels.com or any other hotel aggregator. Look at any hotel in New York City or Hawaii. Almost every hotel does this and all of the major chains do this.
cosmie 6y ago
Many hotels have started charging resort/amenity fees for guests as well. Traditionally commissions were only calculated on base room rate, so making up a mandatory fee and shifting some of the rate over acted as a super handy "tax dodge", artificially lowering the commission owed to all their booking partners. The same applies to pre-negotiated corporate and event-block rates – they can win business with an artificially low price, then pad the actual margin of stays via an ambiguously defined and undisclosed but "industry standard" destination/resort/amenity/urban fee. Between that too-easy-to-pass-up profit optimization, and the marketing benefits of deceptively low list price, it's become pretty pervasive. And isn't limited to actual resorts – I've had bog-standard business hotels in the suburbs tack on a $30/night non-waivable "destination fee". Luckily it got to a ridiculous level recently, triggering a lot of media backlash and class action lawsuits last year[1][2]. It's also losing effectiveness, as things like online booking websites start displaying all-inclusive pricing and renegotiate their commission structures to be inclusive of mandatory, non-governmental fees. Between that, all the negative sentiment, the spate of lawsuits and legislation its triggered, the fees are hopefully on their way out. [1] http://killresortfees.com/ http://killresortfees.com/ [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/resort-fees-being-addressed-at-the-federal-level-helping-travelers.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/resort-fees-being-addressed-...

by yardie 6y ago

fredophile 6y ago

Go to hotels.com or any other hotel aggregator. Look at any hotel in New York City or Hawaii. Almost every hotel does this and all of the major chains do this.

cosmie 6y ago

Many hotels have started charging resort/amenity fees for guests as well. Traditionally commissions were only calculated on base room rate, so making up a mandatory fee and shifting some of the rate over acted as a super handy "tax dodge", artificially lowering the commission owed to all their booking partners. The same applies to pre-negotiated corporate and event-block rates – they can win business with an artificially low price, then pad the actual margin of stays via an ambiguously defined and undisclosed but "industry standard" destination/resort/amenity/urban fee. Between that too-easy-to-pass-up profit optimization, and the marketing benefits of deceptively low list price, it's become pretty pervasive. And isn't limited to actual resorts – I've had bog-standard business hotels in the suburbs tack on a $30/night non-waivable "destination fee". Luckily it got to a ridiculous level recently, triggering a lot of media backlash and class action lawsuits last year[1][2]. It's also losing effectiveness, as things like online booking websites start displaying all-inclusive pricing and renegotiate their commission structures to be inclusive of mandatory, non-governmental fees. Between that, all the negative sentiment, the spate of lawsuits and legislation its triggered, the fees are hopefully on their way out. [1] http://killresortfees.com/ http://killresortfees.com/ [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/resort-fees-being-addressed-at-the-federal-level-helping-travelers.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/resort-fees-being-addressed-...