writerguyfl

Given that you were being charged a fee that wasn't disclosed, maybe you should consider contacting someone in government. I'm not sure who that would be in this case. Perhaps the City Attorney for Henderson?

https://www.cityofhenderson.com/gove.../city-attorney

There is a public email address on that site. Even if the City Attorney doesn't care (or if that's not the entity that covers this sort of thing), sending an email with a copy also sent to the hotel might be enough to scare the hotel into stopping this nonsense.

dlaue

I have my own set of undisclosed fees which I reveal when checking out:

No maid service (-$5/night)

Shower pressure inadequate (-$3/day/person)

Waiting for elevator more than 2 minutes (-$2/minute/incident)

Elevator out of service for > 5 days (-$100/elevator)

Internet download speed < 5Mbps (-$ 1/Mbps/minute slower than 5)

Internet requires logging in after first login ($35/occurrence. $50 if the additional login is required between the hours of 10pm and 8am)

Services listed as included in "resort fee" but which are not actually available (-$25/missing service/night)

Schwann

Don't forget the $7.50++ difference between the $15 breakfast credit and the actual cost of breakfast.

twitch76

Just an update on this.

The HH Ambassador reached out to me and asked me to send an email to customer care detailing my experience.
I have emailed the GM of the hotel, alerting him of my experience and expressing my concern and disappointment. I informed him that I would be unlikely to return to his hotel, and that I would copy him on my emails to the City Attorney and Hilton Customer Care. (I also told him that if he should consider paying housekeeping more if he thinks that $5 is an appropriate gratuity for a one-night stay.)
I emailed the City Attorney, indicating that while I am not certain of the legality of the practice, I wanted to alert his office to my experience.
I emailed Hilton, and attached my emails to the GM and to the City Attorney.

I have no interest in this becoming a "new normal," and so the scorched earth approach seemed appropriate.

jmanrunner

I have one experience in discourse with a GM and the second I mentioned I would be unlikely to return the GM shut down all communication and ignored me. This was over a housekeeping incident when I extended my stay by a week and housekeeping cleaned my room out completely because they did not get the message I was extending and thought I had checked out and left all my stuff in the room. Not the same hotel, not even the same brand. The point is probably don't mention you are not coming back.

Sisosig

I wonder if the $5 was per night or per stay. In the latter case I would find it a great convenience, otherwise a bit expensive, still maybe even worth it. You would not know how hard it is for us foreign tourists, used to only pay contact-less, never having any real currency at hand except maybe some larger bills in case everything breaks down. It is so hard to get all those needed $-bills together or even $5 or $10 bills (like when you get an upgrade to a nice 1-bedroom.) Only to realize: I cannot afford to tip $10 each day, my next stop will be at a primitive campground that doesn't even charge $10 a night. So, you’ll leave on the "do not disturb" sign on the room every second day.

Why not raise all hotel room rates by a couple of dollars to let everyone be able to get a decent pay and stop all this 'tipping the housekeeping' nonsense? Like only tip when some extra service has been provided.

twitch76

That's certainly a compelling observation. In this case, I don't require, nor particularly expect, a response from the GM. The $5.42 was removed from the folio. I don't expect any compensation (you certainly deserved compensation in your story).

My purpose at this point is to do whatever small part I can in preventing this from becoming prevalent at other properties in the hotel chain without appropriate oversight and the ability to opt-in/out and set your own tip.

twitch76

I want to be careful that this stays away from a discussion on tipping... I've seen those get out of hand! Having said that, I actually agree with you -- pay people a good wage and reserve gratuities for TRULY EXCEPTIONAL service with no expectation otherwise.

Additionally, I also agree that the ability to easily add housekeeping gratuities to the folio would be a great convenience -- probably for everyone involved (except for those employees who currently choose to underreport their gratuities to Uncle Sam).

Having said that, there needs to be some established, brand-wide policies regarding this:
1) Such a system would have to be opt-in by nature, with the ability for the guest to choose whether or not and how much to tip housekeeping.
2) Clear assurances, possibly with corporate audit, that the gratuities are actually going directly to the housekeeping staff, and are not merely used to supplement the hotel's payroll expenses.
3) An explanation as to whether these tips are pooled and divided among all service staff, or all housekeeping staff, or simply to YOUR housekeeper.
4) If a multi-day stay, an explanation as to whether the tips are divided among all housekeepers who served your room, or go to the housekeeper who serviced your room at the end of your stay.
5) Clear communication about whether or not gratuities added to the folio are taxable, and whether or not they qualify for HH points.

(I want to be clear -- I'm not opposed to paying housekeeping staff well... or even tipping them well. I AM opposed to undisclosed, automatic tipping.)

gbdbld

Yeah like how rideshare apps do it, having the option to add tips when you check out on the app and have it 100% of it going to the staff that cleaned your room

Sisosig

Got your point, I'm only living under the delusion that Hilton cares about what our community's general opinion is. Couple of months ago I wrote down here that I didn't care that much anymore about a free breakfast, having regained a healthy weight by doing just a little more excercise and taking it easy on the breakfast. Only to find that Hilton is "temporarilly" cutting the free breakfast in the US. Maybe they'll follow up on this thread too.

Westcoaster

Opt-in gratuities on the folio would be fine for those who want them. On multi-night stays, though, I would prefer tipping in cash each day they clean. I can't be the only one here who has noticed that at some hotels I get extra good service after they know that I'm tipping daily. Plus I want to know that the right person gets the money.

DiverDave

Oh gosh, I hope Marriott doesn't pick up on this. It's bad enough that some Marriotts are already chock full of tip envelopes and tip jars.

LondonElite

The City Attorney? For a few bucks? Just have them take it off the bill and express your irritation a few people later and the message will get through.

dlaue

I disagree.
Your recommended tactic only worked during the nacant days of "resort fee" charges. Now, resort fees are practically non-negotiable.

twitch76

Yes. The City Attorney.

To be clear, I don’t expect him to do anything. But I’m not convinced that this wasn’t outright illegal. By emailing the City Attorney and copying the GM on my email, the GM may consider how problematic the policy is.