Yup, the problem is that ALL the hotels charge such fees (well, most of them by now - I faintly remember Renaissance 57th, when it was still a Renaissance, not charging us a fee a few years back but maybe it's my brain wiping out the bad memories...), so any hotel who stops doing that is immediately at a disadvantage, as most guests choose and book their hotels based on rates seen online.
The Novotel seems to be better than some American hotels by informing you of the charges upfront at booking. Would you remember if the charges only appear AFTER you booked, or are they included in your booking total much like city taxes are in most locations that apply them?
As I said, BF was included
To me, "BF" is "boyfriend", and at first I thought it was nice that they thought of including your BF (in extending the benefits, if any, I guess), and later thought it would be nice if lonely top-tier members were provided with a complimentary BF for the duration of their stay...