Resort / resident fees at Accor -an unwelcome development
#31
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An interesting Wikipedia page to read about those fees
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resort_fee
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resort_fee
#32
#33
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: NJ
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Just checked out of the Washington DC Sofitel today and was pleasantly surprised that the “resident fee” was not on my bill. Front desk person explained they do not charge Gold and Platinum members.
perhaps Goldorak made enough noise that they listened
perhaps Goldorak made enough noise that they listened
#34
#35
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"frais de service" : a new scam ?
I just found another "trap" and I am posting this here in this thread because I think we are in the same kind of problem...
As you may have seen, I recently stayed at Pullman Tokyo (I just posted my review) and, as usual, I was checking my LCAH account to see if the correct number of points have posted. As I had the feeling it was not correct (missing a few hundreds), I had to make further checks with the invoice. As too often, the hotels do not make our life easy : my invoice was only displaying the total amount, taxes included. So I went back to my booking confirmation email to see what kind of taxes we have and I just saw this (look at 1st item on the screenshot):
Which can be translated into:
Additional information : a 15% service fee is included in the price. Those fees are not eligible for points earning for LCAH members.
What is this new joke ???
Indeed, if I exclude VAT, city tax (those 2, OK no problem we know it is excluded from the calculation) and those "15% service fees", my number of points is correct. But I have the feeling I have just been robbed of 15% of my points
Any comment ?
As you may have seen, I recently stayed at Pullman Tokyo (I just posted my review) and, as usual, I was checking my LCAH account to see if the correct number of points have posted. As I had the feeling it was not correct (missing a few hundreds), I had to make further checks with the invoice. As too often, the hotels do not make our life easy : my invoice was only displaying the total amount, taxes included. So I went back to my booking confirmation email to see what kind of taxes we have and I just saw this (look at 1st item on the screenshot):
Which can be translated into:
Additional information : a 15% service fee is included in the price. Those fees are not eligible for points earning for LCAH members.
What is this new joke ???
Indeed, if I exclude VAT, city tax (those 2, OK no problem we know it is excluded from the calculation) and those "15% service fees", my number of points is correct. But I have the feeling I have just been robbed of 15% of my points
Any comment ?
Last edited by Goldorak; Jun 9, 2019 at 11:55 am
#37
#39
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 938
Well, the LCAH T&Cs explicitly exclude service charges from earning points so IMO it's pretty clear. IIRC, the 10% service charge collected by all hotels in Hong Kong also is excluded from earning points. Please see the relevant part from T&Cs below:
The following expenditures do not qualify for earning Points:
- taxes (notably VAT), tips, taxis, transfers to/from the hotel, service charges and other applicable charges
- taxes (notably VAT), tips, taxis, transfers to/from the hotel, service charges and other applicable charges
#40
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As for the resident/resort fee : not acceptable IMHO
#42
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An interesting article in Le Figaro yesterday (sorry, in French) about resident fees in Mariott hotels
Les hôtels Marriott accusés de dissimuler le prix réel de leurs chambres
A Google Trad translation:
Marriott hotels are being sued by the Washington attorney general who accuses them of concealing the real price of their rooms to customers and charging undue fees to boost their profits.
Karl Racine filed a lawsuit in local courts on Tuesday against the hotel giant, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In his complaint, he claims that the hotel chain has an opaque pricing policy: concretely, it would boast an online price often very different from the amount paid by the customer when finalizing his reservation. Marriott hotels, according to the magistrate, charge the customer a "mandatory" fee called "resort fees" or "destination fees". They correspond to basic services (wi-fi, gym ...) available on the sites. It is difficult for the client to protest because these costs are included in the "taxes" section that must be paid.
"At least 189 Marriott properties around the world charge these hidden fees, which range from $ 9 to $ 95 per room per day," says the prosecutor in his complaint. "Marriott's unfair, misleading and deceptive practices and the fact that it did not disclose these charges have affected consumers," says Karl Racine. Believing that the hotel chain "has reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by misleading consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms," Karl Racine demands financial compensation for "tens of thousands" of residents affected by his region.
Contacted by AFP, Marriott hotels, whose pricing policy, like that of their competitors, is in the viewfinder of the US states, said they did comment on ongoing court proceedings. "We will continue discussions with other states," said a spokesperson by email to AFP. According to the Attorney General of Washington, by being unclear about the fees he charges, Marriott is preventing consumers from "comparing the actual price of a room in a Marriott hotel with that offered by competitors." In addition to damages, Karl Racine wants the court to ask Marriott to be more "transparent" about its prices, especially at the time of booking.
Let's hope that Mariott and all other hotels having this unacceptable practice will change.
Les hôtels Marriott accusés de dissimuler le prix réel de leurs chambres
A Google Trad translation:
Marriott hotels are being sued by the Washington attorney general who accuses them of concealing the real price of their rooms to customers and charging undue fees to boost their profits.
Karl Racine filed a lawsuit in local courts on Tuesday against the hotel giant, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In his complaint, he claims that the hotel chain has an opaque pricing policy: concretely, it would boast an online price often very different from the amount paid by the customer when finalizing his reservation. Marriott hotels, according to the magistrate, charge the customer a "mandatory" fee called "resort fees" or "destination fees". They correspond to basic services (wi-fi, gym ...) available on the sites. It is difficult for the client to protest because these costs are included in the "taxes" section that must be paid.
"At least 189 Marriott properties around the world charge these hidden fees, which range from $ 9 to $ 95 per room per day," says the prosecutor in his complaint. "Marriott's unfair, misleading and deceptive practices and the fact that it did not disclose these charges have affected consumers," says Karl Racine. Believing that the hotel chain "has reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by misleading consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms," Karl Racine demands financial compensation for "tens of thousands" of residents affected by his region.
Contacted by AFP, Marriott hotels, whose pricing policy, like that of their competitors, is in the viewfinder of the US states, said they did comment on ongoing court proceedings. "We will continue discussions with other states," said a spokesperson by email to AFP. According to the Attorney General of Washington, by being unclear about the fees he charges, Marriott is preventing consumers from "comparing the actual price of a room in a Marriott hotel with that offered by competitors." In addition to damages, Karl Racine wants the court to ask Marriott to be more "transparent" about its prices, especially at the time of booking.
Let's hope that Mariott and all other hotels having this unacceptable practice will change.
#43
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Saint Brieuc
Programs: HHonors, Accorhotel Platinium, Nordic Choice Platinium
Posts: 966
An interesting article in Le Figaro yesterday (sorry, in French) about resident fees in Mariott hotels
Les hôtels Marriott accusés de dissimuler le prix réel de leurs chambres
A Google Trad translation:
Marriott hotels are being sued by the Washington attorney general who accuses them of concealing the real price of their rooms to customers and charging undue fees to boost their profits.
Karl Racine filed a lawsuit in local courts on Tuesday against the hotel giant, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In his complaint, he claims that the hotel chain has an opaque pricing policy: concretely, it would boast an online price often very different from the amount paid by the customer when finalizing his reservation. Marriott hotels, according to the magistrate, charge the customer a "mandatory" fee called "resort fees" or "destination fees". They correspond to basic services (wi-fi, gym ...) available on the sites. It is difficult for the client to protest because these costs are included in the "taxes" section that must be paid.
"At least 189 Marriott properties around the world charge these hidden fees, which range from $ 9 to $ 95 per room per day," says the prosecutor in his complaint. "Marriott's unfair, misleading and deceptive practices and the fact that it did not disclose these charges have affected consumers," says Karl Racine. Believing that the hotel chain "has reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by misleading consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms," Karl Racine demands financial compensation for "tens of thousands" of residents affected by his region.
Contacted by AFP, Marriott hotels, whose pricing policy, like that of their competitors, is in the viewfinder of the US states, said they did comment on ongoing court proceedings. "We will continue discussions with other states," said a spokesperson by email to AFP. According to the Attorney General of Washington, by being unclear about the fees he charges, Marriott is preventing consumers from "comparing the actual price of a room in a Marriott hotel with that offered by competitors." In addition to damages, Karl Racine wants the court to ask Marriott to be more "transparent" about its prices, especially at the time of booking.
Let's hope that Mariott and all other hotels having this unacceptable practice will change.
Les hôtels Marriott accusés de dissimuler le prix réel de leurs chambres
A Google Trad translation:
Marriott hotels are being sued by the Washington attorney general who accuses them of concealing the real price of their rooms to customers and charging undue fees to boost their profits.
Karl Racine filed a lawsuit in local courts on Tuesday against the hotel giant, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In his complaint, he claims that the hotel chain has an opaque pricing policy: concretely, it would boast an online price often very different from the amount paid by the customer when finalizing his reservation. Marriott hotels, according to the magistrate, charge the customer a "mandatory" fee called "resort fees" or "destination fees". They correspond to basic services (wi-fi, gym ...) available on the sites. It is difficult for the client to protest because these costs are included in the "taxes" section that must be paid.
"At least 189 Marriott properties around the world charge these hidden fees, which range from $ 9 to $ 95 per room per day," says the prosecutor in his complaint. "Marriott's unfair, misleading and deceptive practices and the fact that it did not disclose these charges have affected consumers," says Karl Racine. Believing that the hotel chain "has reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by misleading consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms," Karl Racine demands financial compensation for "tens of thousands" of residents affected by his region.
Contacted by AFP, Marriott hotels, whose pricing policy, like that of their competitors, is in the viewfinder of the US states, said they did comment on ongoing court proceedings. "We will continue discussions with other states," said a spokesperson by email to AFP. According to the Attorney General of Washington, by being unclear about the fees he charges, Marriott is preventing consumers from "comparing the actual price of a room in a Marriott hotel with that offered by competitors." In addition to damages, Karl Racine wants the court to ask Marriott to be more "transparent" about its prices, especially at the time of booking.
Let's hope that Mariott and all other hotels having this unacceptable practice will change.
#45
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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Novotel New York Times Square
just read my last experience about this fee at Novotel New York Times Square
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32156112-post22.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32156112-post22.html