Originally Posted by
pinniped
This entire business practice is so disgusting that unfortunately I can't agree with any of the proposals in the OP. (No offense to the OP...I understand where you're going with the whole idea...)
Mandatory resort fees should be illegal, period.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
As for the "Announcements" pages, the big problem there is that data usually doesn't carry forward to all possible channels through which a guest might book a room. If you aren't on SPG.com, Marriott.com, or Hilton.com, you probably never see any of the text that properties put into "special" rate rules. We Flyertalkers tend to book through our preferred chain's home site, but I suspect most of the world still uses Orbitz, Expedia, etc. I've checked before - I know that hidden fees usually do not show up at all on those sites. (Same holds true for certain bogus rental car and airline fees - it's not just a hotel thing.)
I think a compromise would be not to ban resort fees, but to require that any mandatory fees be included in any rate quote or advertising directed to consumers. This is analogous to the way that fuel surcharges are legal but also must be disclosed in any fare quote or advertised fare.
That way, when a consumer goes to Orbitz to compare hotel rates by price, those hotels with lower total prices (combined rate and resort fee) rise to the top.