Gaylord at National Harbor needs to be included in this suit.
17
These "resort fees" are such an incredible rip-off. I am trilled that, for once, our AGs are spending taxpayer dollars on going after things that actually matter to our pocketbooks.
Go after the cable monopolies and mobile phone duopoly next, please.
65
AirBnB can be just as deceptive with their “cleaning fees” and not adding their booking fee to the advertised price of the rental.
73
We used to stay in a lot of respected hotels, and encountered some of these ridiculous fees.
We also noticed they don't deduct for painfully slow room service, elevators shut down for maintenance, non-smoking rooms that reek, loud parties that require multiple calls, clanging A/C vents, or any of the other irritations that can make a stay miserable. We did get moved when a water pipe leaked into the wall and created a gelatinous balloon, but the manager acted like we were the problem.
77
A service fee from a hotel is like McDonald’s charging a food fee or a movie theatre charging a screen fee. It’s ridiculous and should be abolished.
168
While were at it, can we please go back to including baggage fees in the advertised price of a flight?
78
@Frank F
I don't think that's comparable because it's a legitimate extra service that's optional. Resort fees at hotels are not optional so they should be included. You can also join airline rewards for perks like that or fly Southwest
24
These major chains have been ripping off consumers for years, if not decades. I applaud the action by the state attorneys general.
80
This shady practice isn't just relegated to the hotel managements. Local municipal governments frequently get in on the action, too. Lets say your local Parks and Rec guy needs a little more cash to enlarge his fiefdom. Or your local tourism board. Well .. let's just tack on another "tax" that the hotels must bill their guests for. Whether its fees or taxes is somewhat meaningless. I recently booked a simple room near a Colorado mountain resort. $60 in fees and taxes. Yay!
17
@Liberty1000
Your $60 in taxes and fees means nothing unless you also disclose the full cost of room. $60 on a $1000 room is much different than $60 on a $150 room.
17
these fees are also charged by air b&b as cleaning fees and registration fees.
27
I am so glad that these suits have been filed!! I recently stayed in a Hampton Inn (which has now been wholly acquired by the Hilton Corporation) in the small city of Harlingen, TX. When I checked out, the hotel bill totaled $215. When I saw the debited amount on my bank account, I'd been charged $254. I called that Hampton Inn, and I got the COMPLETE runaround. They told me that the $38 difference was a charge to cover any potential damage to the room or theft of an item from the room. They told me that this amount would be credited to my bank account if there had been no theft or damage. Let me just tell you, there was certainly no theft or damage, but I CANNOT get anyone to tell me when this money will supposedly be refunded to me! It's not about the actual $38, it's the PRINCIPLE of this situation! They took extra money from me--which was clearly part of these bogus "resort fees"--and they NEVER intended to refund that money to me. I've now stopped checking my bank account to look for a credit that I know IS NEVER COMING! I didn't steal anything from the Hilton Corporation's hotel, but they stole $38 FROM ME!
116
In past years I have had occasion to stay in a motel (rooms open directly to the parking area) in Santa Fe, NM. I had used the same motel a number of times. However, the last time I arrived to register I was told I needed to pay a "parking fee" in addition to the booking fee that was agreed upon when the reservation was made. I angrily and at length argued that I had no intention to pay to park at a motel and the clerk eventually relented. I now stay at other lodging when in the city.
53
Just say NO. Refuse to stay at a Hotel with "resort fees ". It's a scam, for the hurried and harried. We now refuse to stay at otherwise nice properties that we have used before, because of the "resort fee". Yes, I'm talking to you, Motif in downtown Seattle. Previously my favorite in Seattle, but never again, as long as this fraud is perpetuated.
Seriously.
70
They all do it now, regardless of what they call it. The desk clerks get pretty snotty about it, too. Like they're presenting you with this wonderful opportunity that you'd otherwise miss.
If they could figure out a way to charge you for using your cell phone, they'd do it. Breathing will be next.
42
One of my irritations with these fees is that they are not always obvious when booking, is that you don't see it until you've spent a lot of time on the site and are about to book.
If I have a choice between a property with no fee, I'll book that one, as this hidden and meaningless fee is deceptive.
I definitely look out for this deception and vote against them by staying elsewhere. So, 'resort charge' away, Marriott.
35
If anyone thinks for a nano-second that Trump's hotels don't do it, and do it to excess, I'd like to sell them a bridge to Brooklyn!
21
Universities do this, too. Instead of adjusting the price of college credits, they add fees.
37
@Mark
Best comment I've seen here. Public universities especially since they have more restrictions on increasing tuition and the fees are mandatory and so it doesn't matter to the student, or really should I say "customer"
What's even worse is often fixed portions of those fees go to football and you can't opt out!
33
They are only doing what the airlines are doing -- call it unbundling of services, whatever -- which means you need to read the fine print when you make every reservation.
I remember reading a NYTimes column about Resort Fees when they were brand new, and I emailed the writer and asked him what was included the recent hotel stay to which he alluded. One of the things included was "unlimited bottled water."
I told him I would have called the front desk and ask that 10 cases of bottled water -- included in my resort fee -- be delivered to my room daily throughout my stay.
I'm sure that loophole has already been eliminated. Still, you've gotta figure out ways to fight the madness.
25
Airline fees - for bags, food, selecting a seat in advance - though annoying, are usually presented in such a way that a traveler can opt out, and they are generally presented in advance. Not so with hotel resort fees.
43
For me, the key objection is not about the fee or charges, it's about the deceit of not including them in the quoted price per night to begin with. If I have to pay the fee to stay, it's integral to the actual price, and needs to be disclosed up front.
95
Never underestimate the power and ingenuity of American businesses to "do you" out of more money than you expected.
37
It's not only consumers who are hurt by these fees. Fees are not subject to local hotel taxes, so cities are deprived of revenue. The hotels get to pocket all the fees, another reason their use is expanding.
53
Palm Springs, are you listening? Every hotel in Palm Springs charge these. They could be $40 a day or $40 per stay, for example.
18
Some websites like hotwire allow you to book rooms without seeing the actual hotel. The problem is there is no way to see if the hotel you just booked has a 'resort fee' until after you have paid for a non-refundable room. I have had this happen to me three times in the last 2 years!!
20
Figures about "less than 2% of properties worldwide" having this resort fee are deceiving also. In the USA, every major Marriot or Hilton hotel I've stayed at for work or vacation, including most of the Starwood line ones, have had these fees. These are not just one time "$30" fees. But when you multiply it by a 7-10 day vacation, it is now $210-$300 additional fee, usually paid separately at checkout to mask it from the main fee. Plus the taxes that appear with this all, which aren't just sales tax but hotel tax rates of 14% too. All this adds huge amounts to the rates you use to price compare and choose a hotel. Only revealed at the end.
For vacations that I plan months ahead, I may compare 2-3 major hotels, and include these total numbers in the comparisons, with some decent work to figure them out. But for short term business trips, they're usually overlooked in a rush. That's the goal of the hotel, to have you overlook or not notice them until the end of the trip at checkout.
40
When hotels tack on fees, when you're poorer or middleclass and have to tightly budget your rare vacations, that is money you aren't spending elsewhere. I went to New Orleans. The hotel tacked on $50 a day for parking. Since I have to be careful with money, that's $50 a day I wasn't spending in restaurants, bars, museums, or stores. I'd think local businesses would hate added fees at hotels. That's money that isn't being spent at their small businesses.
49
Saying the price advertised is just for your room and you have to pay separately a mandatory "resort fee" for hotel amenities is like paying for a concert ticket and being told your ticket was just for the seat and you have to pay an extra "music fee."
88
To all the brilliant executives and MBAs at the hotel companies who so far have said, "Let the customers complain; we're getting away with it because they always pay anyway." -
Sure, but let's see how many of them sign letters of support for your lawsuit. Let's see the army of loyal customers tweeting about how much they love your fee and all the "value" they get from it. Let's see what happens when congressional hearings start. Let's see how many times people will chime in with "I hate resort fees, which reminds me of all these other things I don't like about your hotel ..."
You can get away with detestable business practices for a while but it will catch up to you, like it has for airlines and utilities. They somehow don't teach that in MBA school.
32
I’ve often wondered what a “destination fee” was. Everybody who books a hotel room has a destination in mind! These fees should be included in the room charge. That should be a federal law. But Americans will have to stop electing politicians who take bribes from corporations.
45
It's called hide what the real cost of your vacation will be. Almost died when I got a $900 bill for two nights in Scottsdale after taxes and resort fees. Nice room, but seriously? I thought it was going to be around $500 which is even a stretch for me. Worse than landing in an ER.
43
I wonder what the Trump hotels add on as a resort or other named fee?
9
Wonder what the fees are at the hotels and resorts owned by our dear current Oval Office occupant...
11
Just stayed at a hotel in Tucson (not a true resort but just a hotel with outdoor pool) that surprised us when we checked in, with a resort fee. Why is this a resort, I asked. The clerk seemed taken aback, but replied that it had a gym, pool, and pool table and a shop (a few souvenir items, snacks, etc.). I groused that most other hotels also had these but didn't charge the extra fee. She didn't budge.
What was the real icing on that cake was the 20 percent tourist tax per day attached to the resort fee!
Since then, I've noticed on Hotwire that if you click on the next screen where it says what the property may be, it will tell you if there is an extra fee (you can also select for properties that have free parking).
15
In my experience (mostly Marriott and Ritz Carlton properties), resort fees are adequately disclosed. Nevertheless, there is no excuse for not including these mandatory fees in the basic room rate. Next, there will be separate charges for towels, sheets, pillows, etc.
22
I was astonished to find "amenities fees" popping up at middle-of-the-pack hotels in Portland OR a couple years back. At least it was disclosed at the time of booking so I could take my business elsewhere.
20
These fees are not limited to "resorts": many Manhattan hotels run by Marriott and Hilton charge "urban destination fees," and whether they're up front or not, they pay for services one doesn't necessarily want or can't use. Example: one New York hotel at which I stay has a 30-dollar-per-night fee, 10 dollars of which can be spent per day in the hotel's convenience store, the other 20 of which must be spent at the bar. And the charges go by the day, so if you don't spend it on a given day, you lose it. I have protested multiple times at the front desk to the complete indifference of the clerks and managers. As a result, I look for the few hotels that don't charge the fee, even if they have higher room rates. It's just the principle of the thing.
82
Hotels are pikers compared to the entertainment industry. They figured out how to advertise a concert ticket for one price and then tack on fees that doubled (yes,doubled) the advertised price 30 years ago. With no way around them. I would say Hilton and Marriott need lessons in how to be good capitalists who gouge the consumers and then shrug their shoulders. But I do agree with the advice to stand at the counter and protest the charges as loudly and for as long as one can tolerate.
12
It used to be called lying and stealing, now it's just standard American business practice.
114
Everyone knows that the law protects the corporations...
30
This is like absurd "shipping and handling" fees it should not be allowed. Airbnb is often as bad as anyone.
14
@Ivan - thanks for the reminder of infamous olden days. I don't see any handling fees anymore. These always gave me a shiver and wonder, What exactly are they "handling" and who asked them to? Shipping fees are more fair because there should be different rates depending on location and speed.
6
Hilton one time charged me an undisclosed “resort fee” of $30 a day. I asked what it was for. I was told it was for beach towels. I have not stayed at a Hilton since.
61
I just stayed at a Hilton resort hotel for a conference. The service was excellent, but what I resent was having to plunk down over $400 in advance as a "deposit" on the room. I wish this practice would stop.
11
Stayed at a Westin Hotel in Honolulu recently using hotel points, yet I still received a bill for something like $40/night for resort fees - for that we received two bottles of water a day, WiFi, maybe the gym, maybe free newspapers and some other amenities that we did not use or need. May have included free self-parking, but we did not have a vehicle. Like the airlines, the hotels realize that they can charge and continue to charge and there is no recourse.
These charges at hotels that are not resort-like seem really contrived. Some hotels even state that they don't charge "resort fees" now, yet still offer those limited services like WiFi, self-park, gym access.
18
@David You obviously did not receive free newspapers or free self-parking. Nothing in a hotel, in its grounds or on its beach is free.
5
I'll be staying at the Residence Inn Myrtle Beach in a few months. I did notice the fees tacked on to the total, which purport to be for things like the "bicycle rental". I haven't yet disputed the charge because I do enjoy bicycling! Of course I will need to use the hand operated bicycle, because I am a paraplegic who has reserved the wheelchair accessible room. I'm sure they would have one for me.
36
@Tomas - oh please please please slap them with an ADA suit if they forced you to pay for a resort fee but failed to provide accessible resort amenities.
36
Basically you just want to know how much you will be paying for your stay including taxes. You want to know up front so you can plan your vacation within the budget you have reserved. Transparency leads to trust and repeat customers.
46
I wish they would sue all hotels for this deception. I booked a room for Saturday in DC and saw that there is an amenities fee. I called the hotel to inquire as to what the fee was about. The person on the phone told me it was for bottled water and internet service. Huh, I thought! Hotels just need to come clean and advertise the all-inclusive rate up front. Don't think we're dumb consumers. Thanks to the attorneys general for pursuing this dishonesty and fraudulent behavior by hotels.
37
There is also the occupancy charge for NYC hotel rooms, or there was several years ago. Yes we will rent this room to you for this price, but if you want to actually occupy said room you will have to pay us more money. Charming welcome for visitors.
26
These kinds of deceptions are one more reason I travel more in Europe than in the US. This summer I spent a week in Rome at a lovely 3-star hotel in the city center. A generous breakfast was included and the total room rate was a mere $85/night with no hidden fees. On top of that, a week-long pass on the metro was only 24 euro, and but for the Vatican and the Colosseum, I paid nothing to see an untold number of churches, architecture and ruins. Rome is far more interesting than Las Vegas/Orlando/Hawaii, the food is better, and comparatively, it was a bargain. And then there's the gelato!
64
@Steve725 That’s the difference between socialism( capitalism with social responsibilities)in Europe & Vulturous capitalism in US for rampant greed with no respect for any citizens including their customers too. They don’t stop that but spends billions in buying stooges in capital hill who barks against SOCIALISM & European nations as SOCIALISTs.
28
Search engines should have a setting that excludes properties with mandatory fees. I don't want to give my money to crooks.
34
Pay for the room upfront. Any other fees they tack on at checkout refuse to pay. I had a credit card company refuse to delete fees like this and I paid my balance without those charges and cut up the card. Go ahead and sue me, my credit rating changes nothing in my life as I already have everything I need, all paid for.
23
A few years ago we stayed at the El San Juan (Hilton) in Puerto Rico.
Payed in advance for townhouse room overlooking the ocean.
The room we got was not Oceanview and waited 2 days to get the room we booked. Then at checkout was hit with resort fee over $1000 dollars.
When back home tried to fight but yeah in small print at bottom of receipt was the phrase resort fee.
I love the people of Puerto Rico but learned my lesson regarding big hotels and their hidden fees.
16
I hope the lawsuit includes parking fees which are often hidden someplace on the web site. Some hotels just disclose that there is a parking fee and others disclose the cost.
27
@Michael Schnipper I stayed at a Hyatt Regency last weekend that charged parking fees. There's no way anyone staying there would not have a car -- not close enough to an airport for a taxi -- it was pure dishonesty.
28
@Michael Schnipper
I can see charging for parking if it's a place like SF where space is very expensive and many travelers don't need and can get by w/o a car. Those not renting a car shouldn't be expected to subsidize people who do.
However, virtually every room I've booked the past couple years (outside of central WA anyway) has these noisome resort charges included--often not a lot--maybe $20-30, but all they are offering is a gym with a treadmill and cable machine. I don't need to use their internet either; if you're charging me for wi-fi I'll just use my own data...cheaper for me.
It's best for hotels to honest about what the room really costs (they are not fooling--only irritating people when they don't)--and resort fees should be optional if they are being listed separately.
10
Once again, we see the weak consumer protections in the USA, both state and federal, being exploited by rapacious corporations. It has always been thus in this country. When, eventually, enough people get angry enough at the gouging, things will change. I guess it is a form of democracy in action, really. All Democratic & Republican politicians are totally owned by big businesses and will do their utmost to not upset their bottom lines. They are the job creators, don't you know.
Businesses will always try to extract as much money as possible from their customers, especially captive ones. That's why it's illegal to hide these fees in all 28 states of the European Union and most other developed countries too. They simply ban hidden charges. You can charge an extra fee, but not hide it from view. it must be declared right upfront, in the room rate.
Even worse offenders in this vein are the airlines and their baggage fees, seat allocation fees, Wi-Fi fees and many other fees that used to be included in the ticket price. Once again, weak consumer protection laws make this reprehensible behavior inevitable.
100
Don’t stop at resort fees. Include taxes, too.
Just like airlines. (Although many have de-bundled...)
11
@C I can't speak for hotels, but airlines do it to improve the amount of products they offer. I take a lot of little trips, and don't need a bag, so I book tickets that don't include a bag. I don't really care where I sit, so I don't pay extra for priority seating. It's a two hour flight and I bring a water bottle, I don't need to pay for snacks and drinks. Being on an airline that allows me to avoid paying extra for services I don't need saves me money. The issue is that people don't look at what's included in the fare, even veteran travelers. I had to tell my Dad last month that he had a basic economy ticket and that's why he wasn't getting to check in when it opened. It was a service that used to be included, that no longer is because some of us really don't care about it.
4
Recently, in Japan, upon checking out of a hotel I was presented with a bill for having RECEIVED two telephone calls on my room phone. I told them to sue me and left.
49
I stayed at the Yotel on 10th last January, having booked it on a hotel discount site and was very pleased I got such a great rate. I got my bill, saw the $35 resort fee tacked on each day and was very unpleased. At that rate, I could have book a much better room at a higher end hotel without the fees I missed when I booked Yotel. Lesson learned and buyer beware.
63
Kudos to DC and Nebraska for doing something about this! Nearly all hotels in Vegas charge these resort fees. On a recent trip, it nearly doubled the cost of my room. I booked on Hotels.com which I generally find very reliable, but these resort fees were not included in the prepaid room charge. If the fee was in fine print, I didn't see it. I was not even told about the fee at check-in. It was charged only when I checked-out. Price is certainly one factor in choosing a hotel room and comparisons cannot properly be made when the full cost of a room is not known. This problem was fixed in the airline industry some years ago when regulations changed so that taxes and fees were required to be included in the ticket price. The same rule is needed for hotels.
128
I've been charged these fees, much to my surprise when I saw my final bill. If you know to look for it or ask about it you can avoid it but these fees suddenly getting tacked were a new thing and no one knew to look for them. It's like you go to a restaurant, get the lamb chops for $18, then when you're done you get a bill for $20 because they charged you for the potatoes and broccoli that came with the lamb chops.
35