MikeFromTokyo

How deceptive are these resort fees with Hyatt? At every hotel where I have encountered them, they are clearly stated at the time of booking, so there are no surprises.

If a grand total including taxes and fees is stated at the time of booking, I say it is the guest's responsibility to understand.

Also, while the hotels may say the fee covers x,y,z amenities/services, in reality I think that tax exemption is a big reason for resort fees as opposed to just charging higher rates that include those costs.

iflyjetz

?? I'm not very familiar with the DOT ruling you're referring to, but this article seems to indicate that it applies to having available seats for the advertised price, not ancillary fees: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/a...r-fare-ads.ece

The DOT ruling may also apply to ancillary fees, but if that's the case both Spirit and Allegiant violate upfront disclosure of ancillary fees on every advertised airfare. I haven't dug through a Spirit fare comparison in quite a while, but Allegiant goes as far as charging different luggage fees on different domestic flights. There's a baggage fee table on this webpage: https://www.allegiantair.com/popup/o...-services-fees
Finding out the exact fare for an Allegiant flight is not an easy task.

I got a chance to watch how bad the baggage fees can be when I was checking in for a Vueling flight in Paris a couple of years ago. The person in front of me hadn't paid for a checked bag (I think her boyfriend bought her ticket) and she had one (overweight +) oversized and one normal bag. The cost of her luggage far exceeded the airfare and (prepaid) bags that I paid for two of us.

While I'd like to see additional transparency on resort fees, I'm not holding my breath. While we're at it, I'd like to see additional transparency on parking fees.

notquiteaff

Just went to Kayak for comparison shopping. It showed a rate of $379 for the Hyatt Regency via Hotels.com (and various other sites). Only once I click "Select" and get taken to hotels.com, do I see in tiny font (compared to the bold big rate of $379) that the rate shown to me excludes a daily $31.41 daily resort fee.

So basically what Kayak showed me, $379, was a lie. I can apparently force kayak to tell me the truth by selecting "Nightly + local taxes and fees" in a drop down list, but that's not the default.

Mary2e

I'm tired of resort fees that include items that I either get or got as part of my status or for things that I never use, such as local & 800 telephone calls.

At the Hyatt Waikiki, they have always provided beach chairs for free. All of a sudden, with the advent of the resort fee, the chairs are now included in it

I can't remember the last time I used a hotel phone to call anyone except the front desk or housekeeping.

In that regard, I feel they are just listing items to justify a ridiculous amount of money for using the "resort."

MSPeconomist

Of course one tries to compare total costs, but resort fees (and other junk fees) can be treated differently for tax and service fees as well as point earning rules.

Kacee

It's deceptive not to show the full cost up front. Suck you in by advertising a low price, and not disclose the full price until you're about to pay is the essence of bait and switch. That's not my opinion, that's the DOT reg.

I'm not talking about ancillary fees. I'm talking about airfare. Some airlines (WN, for example) used to advertise airfare prices before taxes and fees. That's been deemed an unfair and deceptive practice.

It's called the "Full Fare Advertising Rule."

Exactly.

Boraxo

Not to worry, I think it's only a matter of time before the CFPB wades into the water on this topic. I have no problem with optional fees that actually provide valued options. But mandatory "fees" that provide no extras of real value are deceptive at best.

Brendan

Some hotels in various chains exempt award nights from their resort fees. Those who do not, are evading the free-ness of the award nights, which correctly should mean "room provided with zero money paid by the customer to the hotel &or its chain."

Kacee

Marriott charges resort fees on award redemptions, Hyatt does not. I'm not sure whether there's an overall Hilton policy, but HHV waives for elites.

iflyjetz

OK, thanks for the clarification. I thought that you were referring to the ancillary fees.

writerguyfl

Orlando is a market where resort and parking fees all over the place. As an example, there are 7 hotels located next to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney). Those 7 hotels all provide continuous transportation to the theme parks on a shared bus route. Some have a resort fees; some have parking fees; some have both; some have neither. It makes comparison shopping wildly complicated. Here are the three Hilton brands, all using the same shuttle bus and within blocks of each other:

Hilton Lake Buena Vista: $24 resort fee, $15 parking fee
DoubleTree Suites Orlando: no resort fee, $17 parking fee
Buena Vista Palace: no resort fee, no parking fee

roberton

I know that award stays at Hyatt are exempt from resort fees. My question: do you still get the amenities covered by the resort fee? Or does being exempt from the resort fee mean that you don't get those amenities?

Mary2e

You still get the amenities

Often1

The FTC, which could do something akin to the DOT rules for air carriers, has chosen not to. So, the issue of advertising the "total" rate is dead.

This comes down to customers voting with their feet. Apparently they are not. If and when customers start reserving away from properties with hidden or hard-to-find fees, properties will cease the practice. Until then, they won't.

While it's distasteful and annoying, the fact is that it can be a money saver for those who bother to read the full rate rules. As others note, few jurisdictions tax these fees and taxes can easily amount to 20%+ of rates. So, it can be a real savings across a multi-day stay.

Explore

Is the resort fee charged Diamonds on points and cash stays? Thanks.