Originally Posted by WillCAD

Does the base rate include the water, sewer, and electric utilities? Does it include heating and air conditioning? Does it include the TV and bedside clock? I've never seen any of those items listed as resort fee amenities - every one of them is included in the room's base rate, at every hotel and motel I've ever patronized.

Any other item that the owners wish could likewise be added to the base rate. Everyone knows, and FULLY accepts, that the installation and upkeep of these items imposes costs on the owner of the property, which they must pass on to the customer. We are all fine with that. We believe in it. We encourage it. The argument is whether those costs should be bundled as part and parcel of the base rate (which I personally think they should) to enable the guest to compare the true, complete, fully-disclosed cost of the room, or broken out as separate reimbursement fees.

The argument is also that if these items are broken out of the base rate as separate reimbursement fees, then every single one of them should be non-mandatory, optional, a la carte charges that are not assessed on those guests who chose not to use the items.

Put simply, if I ain't drinkin' yer coffee, I shouldn't have to pay fer yer dern coffee. If I don't work out in yer gym, I shouldn't have to pay fer yer gym.



I don't use three of the four items in question here - I use internet, but not coffee, not bottled water, and not phone calls.

At YOUR hotel, if I deny usage of these items and they are removed from my room, is my resort fee reduced by 75%?

At YOUR hotel, if I deny usage of ALL of these items and they are removed, is my resort fee waived entirely?

How difficult is it to get the resort fee reduced or waived due to denial of usage? Can I do so when I book the room online or by phone with Marriott? Can I do so when I book by phone directly with your hotel?

Is it disclosed ANYWHERE during booking or check-in that these items may be denied and removed, and the resort fee reduced or waived? Either in writing or verbally by your staff? Because I don't doubt that there are plenty of guests in your property who use none of the resort fee amenities other than internet, yet pay the full resort fee as a matter of course.

"That's just the way it's done, it's the industry standard," is not a sufficient argument for recouping your costs in this manner, when you can recoup your costs in some other simpler and easier manner which does not deceive the customer, i.e. building all mandatory costs into the base rate, and not automatically assessing fees for optional items that the guest did not specifically request and may or may not use.