I was staying at an Embassy Suites the other day in D.C. (why doesn't Embassy have a rewards program?) and before I went to my meeting, I checked out but checked my bag at the hotel until the afternoon.

The Bell-Hop asked me if I needed a cab later (there is a cab stand outside the hotel and cabs are waiting-- it wouldn't be a problem getting one by myself) and I said yes. He asked what time and I told him 4pm.

He said he would have a car waiting for me...

I got back early at 2:30pm and decided to go to the airport early.. I get my bag and I see a line of cabs outside waiting for passengers.

A different bell-hop asks me if I needed a cab or did I already get one outside when I walked in? I said I hadn't and he said he would have a cab for me in 5 minutes and asked if I would take it?

I said yeah...

Is there some kind of side dealings here between cabbies and bell-hops?

Unless I'm mistaken, Embassy Suites is going to become part of Hilton's program with the acquisition of Promus. There was some discussion of this previously in the Hilton forum. This is great news, because I also get annoyed when I stay at their properties and they have no program.

Justin:

Big time deals.

Especially in areas served by several taxi companys. The Hotel staff get "tipped" by either the driver or the car service company.

I've found it's important to check the local taxi rates in advance, by calling the taxi company directly. Sometimes the Bell staff will arange for a private car service and I've had ones that tried to charge me far more than the standard taxi fare.

Some times I've seen taxi drivers slip a few bucks to the bell-hop.

I even reported one obvious rip-off attempt to the hotel.