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> the taxes are discriminatory in nature - they are only levied against hotel customers, nearly all of whom are not residents of the jurisdiction in question an

> the taxes are discriminatory in nature - they are only levied against hotel customers, nearly all of whom are not residents of the jurisdiction in question and who have no meaningful recourse to have the fees changed It could also be said that hotels are the ones being taxed(it lowers demand and how much they can charge customers) and they are profitable businesses just like car dealerships and (can) have a lot of lobbyists that influence local governments. > the taxes are disproportionate to the local government services that out of town hotel guests might plausibly use. In other words, they provide no value Hotel guests profit a lot from good roads, police, regulations, fire departments etc. etc. If your point is that out of state residents are taxed unreasonably, then the I-95 tolls in the small part of the highway that goes through Delaware is a better example. Junk fees are generally referring to fees that are only shown at the very last point of purchashing, right before payment after you have already invested a lot of time picking your choices based on the lower cost it showed earlier. It makes comparison shopping harder. There's no reason why initial advertised prices couldn't include taxes, except the hotel's greed to make it look more attractive and then claim 'look, the govt also charges fees, ignore the ones we have tacked on'.

marcus0x62 3y ago
> It could also be said that hotels are the ones being taxed(it lowers demand and how much they can charge customers) and they are profitable businesses just like car dealerships and (can) have a lot of lobbyists that influence local governments. Funny, every time I've stayed at a hotel, they charged me those taxes. Trying to say the hotels are being taxed is semantics. > Hotel guests profit a lot from good roads, police, regulations, fire departments etc. etc. In my experience, not to the extent of the additional taxes. The additional taxes frequently add up to 10% above and beyond the base sales tax rate for every single guest, for every single room night. > If your point is that out of state residents are taxed unreasonably, then the I-95 tolls in the small part of the highway that goes through Delaware is a better example. I'm sure someone else could come up with an even more egregious example. I don't think that obviates my example, particularly when the source article specifically discussed fees at hotels. > Junk fees are generally referring to fees that are only shown at the very last point of purchashing, right before payment after you have already invested a lot of time picking your choices based on the lower cost it showed earlier. .... That's what these are ... > There's no reason why initial advertised prices couldn't include taxes, except the hotel's greed to make it look more attractive and then claim 'look, the govt also charges fees, ignore the ones we have tacked on'. Any of these fees can and should be disclosed ahead of time. I don't see why you think it is unreasonable to discuss whether or not these fees should even be charged in the first place, though, or point out that it isn't always big, bad businesses that are the source of all of these fees.

marcus0x62 3y ago

> It could also be said that hotels are the ones being taxed(it lowers demand and how much they can charge customers) and they are profitable businesses just like car dealerships and (can) have a lot of lobbyists that influence local governments. Funny, every time I've stayed at a hotel, they charged me those taxes. Trying to say the hotels are being taxed is semantics. > Hotel guests profit a lot from good roads, police, regulations, fire departments etc. etc. In my experience, not to the extent of the additional taxes. The additional taxes frequently add up to 10% above and beyond the base sales tax rate for every single guest, for every single room night. > If your point is that out of state residents are taxed unreasonably, then the I-95 tolls in the small part of the highway that goes through Delaware is a better example. I'm sure someone else could come up with an even more egregious example. I don't think that obviates my example, particularly when the source article specifically discussed fees at hotels. > Junk fees are generally referring to fees that are only shown at the very last point of purchashing, right before payment after you have already invested a lot of time picking your choices based on the lower cost it showed earlier. .... That's what these are ... > There's no reason why initial advertised prices couldn't include taxes, except the hotel's greed to make it look more attractive and then claim 'look, the govt also charges fees, ignore the ones we have tacked on'. Any of these fees can and should be disclosed ahead of time. I don't see why you think it is unreasonable to discuss whether or not these fees should even be charged in the first place, though, or point out that it isn't always big, bad businesses that are the source of all of these fees.