Hotel Chain Launches a Campaign To End Hidden Charges
Vadim Liberman August 13, 2014
The Thistle chain of hotels urges the hospitality industry to stop charging guests minimum fees.
Hotel guests can sometimes end up paying $40 for a bottle of water at luxury establishments that have minimum-charge policies in guest rooms, bars and restaurants. Even if guests order nothing more than a light snack or a drink, they often must pay a hefty minimum fee, unless they buy enough food or beverages. Recently, the United Kingdom-based Thistle hotel chain launched a new campaign urging the hospitality industry to abolish such policies.
Thistle’s efforts come at the heels of a high-profile incident in which Edward Heaton, a guest at London’s Wellesley hotel, ordered three bottles of San Pellegrino sparkling water at the cigar bar, according to The Telegraph. At a supermarket, he might have paid about 60 pence ($1) a bottle. At the bar, he received a bill for £75 ($125). Aghast, Heaton, who claims that he was not told in advance about the minimum charge, tweeted a photo of the bill, which detailed the following:
- £16.50 ($27.5) for three bottles of Pellegrino
- £50.17 ($83.74) for “Minimum Spend”
- £8.33 ($13.90) for Service Charge
On Amazon, Healy could’ve bought 24 such bottles for £15.78 ($26.33) — with free shipping.
The Wellesley stood by its decision, telling The Telegraph that it “applies a minimum spend of £25 per person as standard after 4 p.m. for guests occupying the hotel’s cigar terraces.” The hotel went on to say, “Guests are made aware of this policy on arrival and the rates are printed on the menus distributed on the terraces.” The property also pointed out that this is standard practice at other luxury hotels.
Indeed, The Telegraph found several other London accommodations with similarly high minimum charges at their bars. A spot check revealed:
| Hotel | Minimum Spend Charge | When Imposed |
| Shangri-La at the Shard | £30 | During bar opening hours |
| Churchill Hotel Terrace | £25 | After 4 p.m. |
| The Dorchester | £20 | After 6 p.m. |
In a quest to end such practices, Thistle’s CEO, Mike DeNoma, announced in a press statement: “Whether it is £75 a day for just enjoying a soft drink in a bar or spending up to £20 on Wi-Fi — minimum or hidden charges make it very difficult for people to enjoy doing business or leisure in U.K. hotels.”
Still, even without a minimum charge, bottles of Pellegrino at Thistle hotels in Central London remain relatively pricey — £1.50 to £3.85, depending on the size.
“Clearly, we’re always going to charge more for bottled water than supermarkets as we’ve got lots of overheads,” said DeNoma, “but we’re so passionate about the ability to be a great place to stay and do business.”
[Photo: Edward Heaton]
Minos, the £16.50 is included in the minimum spend of £25 per person incl; service charge! The £50.17 is the difference between actual consumption vs. minimum spend. Darthbimmer, he did not expect supermarket prices of 60p per bottle. He expected to pay £5.50 per bottle, not bloody £25 per! Swampz, spot-on! I bet the policy was started to discourage people from ordering minimally while occupying a table for hours!
I have no respect for the idiots who have no sympathy for these charges. This is outright ridiculous price gouging. Yes, we all know not to expect supermarket prices at hotels, but come on, let's be reasonable. Hotel rates, even at Holiday Inns (not luxury hotels) are 8 to 10 times what they were when I had my first job in the 70's. I would sure love to have a salary today that is 8 -to 10 times the salary I made in the 70's. With big corporations only giving out 1-3% raises per year these days, the only way to increase your salary is to jump ships.
No it is minimum spend of 25gbp /person, so 3x £25 = £75 The water is included, the bill is for a total including water, minimum charge uplift, vat, service all becomes total £75. I'd have asked for a bottle oof unopened wine to value of the extra £59, maybe Op did not as he wanted to challenge the bill once his guests had gone.
I wonder if the information regarding the minimum spend is written multilingually and the font is the same size as the rest of the menu?
It's hardly a "hidden charge" if it's actually printed on the menu. Misleading title. And you can't really compare the cost of stuff you can get at a store for your personal consumption with the prices bars charge.