Originally Posted by
southlondonphil
Funniest 'benefit' I saw recently, amongst the F & B credit, a whole $2 off a city bus/trolley tour that retails for ~$60, 'premium' WiFi and 'access to the gym' was a collectible fridge magnet souvenir on departure! (Hyatt Regency Boston, in case anyone is curious). Can't be long before working AC is cited as a benefit of the 'Resort Fee'.
The USA is particularly awful for hotels nickel-and-diming every last cent (to mix denominations!) from guests with all sorts of 'facility fees' on top of the already substantial State Taxes, City Taxes, Tourism Fees and of course there's always a crappy 'convention center' that the municipality owns and everybody who even sets foot in the city has to pay for.
Combine that with the egregious and excessive 'tipping culture' and I'm surprised anyopne ever vists the place at all
Moral is, you suck it up or go elsewhere, because it will never change for the better.
Indeed!! I was furious the other week to learn that Manchester charges a 'city tax' now and I am booked in the Crowne Plaza for a couple of nights next month. It is only a quid a night or something... but a quid a night, to visit bloody rainy Manchester! But the USA takes the biscuit. Considering the cities are pretty similar size, at least population wise (553k Manchester England vs 654k Boston USA), my Crowne Plaza stay is costing me £155 per night for a Premium Executive Room, with Breakfast, No resort fee (although have to add on the £1 per night city tax), lounge access, and a couple of hours open bar each evening- and I won’t even have to shell out a single quid in tips during my stay.
Americans coming over here must be laughing all the way to the bank!
I basically have these last two trips, a few nights in Boston, and another separate trip with a few nights in NYC before a transatlantic Cunard Cruise back to good old resort fee-free Blighty! Then I honestly can not see myself going back to the USA for a while.
There are so many great cities in Europe where it costs half the price to goto without these rip off resort fees and similar (along with the tipping nonsense).