5 Crazy Hotel Fees That Could Ruin Your Stay

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Most travelers hate surprises — probably because most of the unexpected events road one encounters when on the road are bad.

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Take undisclosed fees. Behind that great room rate you scored online may be hidden fees, deposits and surcharges for things you never expected — and are not even using.

And we’re not just talking about paying a couple of dollars a minute for a local call — most travelers know the score and act accordingly. For decades, “room service” has been a code phrase for a $15 hamburger with a 15%-18% “service charge. But if you’re not careful, even the savvy traveler can get soaked by so-called “drip pricing.”

While airlines have long been notorious for their benignly named “ancillary fees,” hotels are getting a bigger piece of the action. U.S. lodging industry fees and surcharges will hit a record $2.14 billion in 2014, according to a study by New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management released this week.

So what’s a poor traveler to do? Read the fine print before booking — literally. Hotels are required to disclose mandatory fees that are not included in the basic room rate, but hotel fees are often detailed separately as policies, hotel facts or amenities on websites. And you’re assessed those hotel fees whether you take advantage of the amenities or not.

Here are five crazy hotel fees to look out for.

Crazy Hotel Fees – Resort Fees

Traveling to a hot vacation destination like Florida, the Caribbean or Las Vegas? Many hotels charge a “resort fee” — even when the hotel in question is not, per se, a resort. Resort fees of $25 to $30 a day — and sometimes more — are commonly charged in top vacation cities now for formerly free amenities like newspapers and access to a gym or pool.

What’s worse: Those mandatory charges usually are not included in the advertised room rate.

In Las Vegas, hotels like Caesar’s Palace (CZR) have resort fees of $25 a day, which includes Internet, access to the fitness center and local phone calls. In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission warned 22 hotel chains to review websites to make sure fees were spelled out.

Business travelers are encountering variations on the resort fee theme too. The $20 a day “urban fee” at San Francisco’s Serrano Hotel — which includes “complimentary” services like a newspaper and Internet access — came under fire on travel websites earlier this year.

Crazy Hotel Fees – Cleaning or Housekeeping Fees

Most travelers know that housekeeping staff work very hard for their money, and tip accordingly. Increasingly, though, hotels are tacking on mandatory housekeeping or cleaning fees that are in addition to the room rate — resulting in an additional $10-$30 tacked onto your bill.

A bigger issue: cleaning fees for smoking in a nonsmoking room can reach $250 or more. The Ocean View Hotel in Santa Monica, California, for example, says a “$300 cleaning fee will be billed to your account if smoking occurs in/outside your room.”

Even nonsmokers can get dinged with these fees, as this Washington Post story illustrates.

Crazy Hotel Fees – Parking Fees

If you plan to drive to your hotel, prepare to pay — parking fees have become a huge source of hotel fees.

Consider the DoubleTree by Hilton (HLT) Metropolitan in Manhattan, which charges guests $55 a day for valet parking ($43 for self-parking) — SUVs are charged an extra $15 — and there are no in/out privileges.

Some hotels even have mandatory valet parking, so be prepared to add a tip.

Crazy Hotel Fees – Minibar Madness

Resist the temptation to open the minibar — your wallet could take a hit even if you have the willpower to pass up its pricey indulgences.

Travelers have always found minibars to be a sort of resident evil, luring lodgers with $8 bottles of water and $10 bags of peanuts, but the combination of technology and the quest for bigger profits has bred creativity.

Advanced minibars employ infrared, magnetic or micro-switch sensors that can detect when an item is moved or the size or weight changes. That means you can be automatically charged for that $8 bottle of Dasani if you picked it up … even if you put it back.

Beware if you’re using the mini-fridge to chill your own drinks — some hotels will charge you. MGM’s (MGM) Aria Resort and Casino in Vegas, for example, charges a $25 a day “personal use fee” if you put your own drinks in the minibar.

Crazy Hotel Fees – Wi-Fi

If you can get free Wi-Fi at Starbucks (SBUX), it seems logical that you should have at least the same level of free access at a hotel. In a recent survey, 87% of travelers believe that Wi-Fi should be a free amenity.

Nevertheless, in-room Internet access often is not free — and “high-speed” is a relative term.

Oddly, high-end properties are more likely than economy hotel chains to charge up to $15 a day — per device — for Wi-Fi, and performance can be spotty. For example, the upscale Taj Boston offers Wi-Fi in guestrooms for $10.45 a day, but the expected speed is a glacial 2.9 megabits per second (Mbps) according to Hotel Wi-Fi Speed Test — a site that helps travelers know Wi-Fi speed before they book.

As of this writing, Susan J. Aluise did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/08/5-crazy-hotel-fees/.

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