Originally Posted by grumbler
It's not rocket science - if a hotel could build the costs that people have referred to above (F&B service, internet, etc.) into the rate, I suspect that people would be less fussed, because you know what you are getting up front and avoid the incidental annoyance.
And I agree with a previous poster - as many luxury hotels are tacking on service charges to the nightly rate, additional incidental charges are harder to swallow.
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
Your first comment is absolutely accurate. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The properties that offer a lot of "freebies" recover it in some other way. I personnaly learnt that lesson in my previous life as a menswear retailer, we built up the cost of alterations in the price while other stores would hammer you with a 5£ charge to take your trousers up, the goodwill we got out of it was amazing. In the property I am currently developping, we have adopted an all inclusive system. The rack rate is stiff and we offer no discount but one gets the best of everything from Smythson stationnery to Vve Clicquot on tap. I can do this because we are a boutique property, larger chains despite their ambitions of exclusivity are still governed by price points and competition. Eg: The Shangri La can't raise their rack rate in Manilla in order to offer some freebies because they still will be compared to the Pen or other simillar properties. One way they circumvent this is by the introduction of Club floors, Horizon floors etc.
Mind you, not all boutique properties see it this way, I want to visit North Island in the Seychelles and I was horrified to see that depite being probably one of the top 5 most expensive hotels in the world, their all inclusive formula includes alcoholic drinks but not...cocktails!! Now this is nickel and diming, because they have chosen an item they know people will crave on a tropical island. I have therefore decided to go there with my own shaker, I will order a gin, a dry vermouth and olives and lemons as nibbles and I will mix my own
