How to avoid resort fees?

Old Jun 21, 2019, 5:29 pm
  #1  
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How to avoid resort fees?

I just booked two nights at the Waldorf Phx and there is an add'l $35/night resort fee. Any chance or experience with Diamonds getting this waived at all?
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 5:44 pm
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Pay with points and the resort fee is gone. Otherwise no chance.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 1:46 am
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I was done with the BS fee's. I now mostly book Hilton Garden Inn as Diamond member. The resort fee's are BS and worthless for Diamond members.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 2:58 am
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As long as people keep staying at resort fee hotels, hotel chain management will keep saying that customers don't mind paying, or even worse garbage about appreciating the value received.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 3:13 am
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I guess I just don't get it...hotels have always had lots of fees, most of them imposed by localities looking to skim money off of a captive population. No, none of these have ever been visible on the first page pricing screen. Hotels then realized that they could employ this practice to their own advantage, especially for business travelers whose travel policies generally limit just the base rate, not the full price. Yes, it is a sneaky practice. Yes, the fact that it is a "fee" rubs people the wrong way. But at the end of the day, it is part of the price, and the price can be viewed before booking.

I'm not defending the practice, and pricing transparency right up front ("all-in" rates versus base rates) would be a great consumer-friendly measure, but what I don't get is the ratio of time taken off people's lives complaining on Flyertalk about this (decades) versus impact it has had on the practice (zero). Just click to the full price, decide if you want to pay it, and get on with your lives...

And, for your own sake, my goodness, don't ever book a rental car...you'd have a heart attack reading the itemized invoice.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 9:01 am
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Sorry to inform you but resort fees/destination fees ect are here to stay. No hotel company bows down to FTers because they are too small of a population. As long as the general population just wants to see low rates online that is what they will see and have the resort fees added. No skin off of my back. Just green backs in my pocket.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 9:44 am
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Originally Posted by enviroian
I just booked two nights at the Waldorf Phx and there is an add'l $35/night resort fee. Any chance or experience with Diamonds getting this waived at all?
Was the fee not disclosed at time of booking (doubtful)?
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 10:30 am
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Originally Posted by smmrfld

Was the fee not disclosed at time of booking (doubtful)?
At the very end. It wasnt indicated next to the daily rate.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 10:36 am
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Originally Posted by enviroian
At the very end. It wasnt indicated next to the daily rate.
In other words, it was fully disclosed, you chose to accept it, and you now have no argument against its imposition. Unlike air carriers which are required to post the full price of a ticket, all in (and then provide a break down), no such requirement exists under federal or any state law, for hotels.

There are hundreds of threads on this topic on FT, including many relating specifically to Hilton. No need for yet another one. The answer is always the same:

1. You may dislike the fees and that is your choice. But, they are here to stay and their use is increasing. Finding places without them is increasingly hard and that leaves you with tougher decisions to make if you are prepared to boycott their use.

2. The time to make these decisions is prior to agreeing to pay the fees. If they bother you, do not book. Same as lengthy cancellation terms, and anything else that gives you heartburn.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:07 am
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Originally Posted by enviroian
At the very end. It wasnt indicated next to the daily rate.
So it was indicated prior to confirmation. End of story, IMO.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:51 am
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Originally Posted by smmrfld

So it was indicated prior to confirmation. End of story, IMO.
Why don't they just add it to the daily rate? It would be nice not to be deceptive and advertise one rate then get wacked with the resort fee at the end. Ridiculous and misleading.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:59 am
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I believe at this very property, to Diamond members, the secondary disclosed fees are partly wavered by issuing food stamps.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 12:14 pm
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Originally Posted by enviroian
At the very end. It wasn’t indicated next to the daily rate.
Is Hilton showing you different info from a US ISP? Using a UK IP address the fee is shown very clearly next to the room types summary - it only isn’t shown on the original list of PHX hotels. EU law is tougher of course.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 12:35 pm
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Originally Posted by enviroian
Why don't they just add it to the daily rate? It would be nice not to be deceptive and advertise one rate then get wacked with the resort fee at the end. Ridiculous and misleading.
Because then you will complain that the rate is xyz dollars higher. Just accept that resort fees are here to stay.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 1:48 pm
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Originally Posted by hotelboy
Because then you will complain that the rate is xyz dollars higher. Just accept that resort fees are here to stay.
1. You're probably right.
2. You're probably right.
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