Hyatt in Sydney - fee to pay bill with credit card!
 

I just made a telephone reservation at the Hyatt in Sydney, Australia.

Just before I ended the call, I was advised if I use a credit card to pay my hotel bill, I will be assessed a credit card processing fee.

Prior to calling Hyatt reservations, I tried to make the reservation with Hyatt online. As I was finalizing the reservation, a notice popped on the top of the screen and said that if I use a credit card to pay my hotel bill, I will be assessed a credit card processing fee.

I thought the notice was an error so I signed out and signed in again to redo the reservation. However, the same notice appeared.

I never heard of being charged a processing fee to use a credit card to pay a hotel bill.

Does hotel management in Australia think that guests walk around with currency to pay their hotel bills and other expenses?

In today's world, credit card payments are norm. I have never previously heard of such a scam.

In my opinion, it would be better for the credit card fee to be included in the room rate as it is in all other hotels I used in different countries. Adding the fee to a customers' bill is petty and unprofessional.

Here is an Australian article that discusses credit card fees that are added to bills if customers and guests pay by credit card. Apparently a new law was passed last year that prohibits merchants from charging more than the actually processing fee the merchant is charged by whichever credit card processor they use.

EFTPOS, credit card surcharges: Excessive fees to be banned across all businesses - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

As I said above, this is a tacky procedure.

Very common that Australian business's charge a % fee to pay by credit card. Amex is often a higher fee than Visa. But some business's do & some business's do not charge the % fee.

Before the law change the % surcharge was much higher. Airlines & hotels were among the high surcharge rip off culprits.

There are other threads on FT on the cc surcharge.

As above, this is Australian practice and legal. Businesses can pass on the cc processing fee. Good luck finding a hotel, restaurant or anything other than a retail store that doesn't apply the surcharge.

If you don't like it then pay cash at checkout.

Common business practice down under. Have you purchased tickets on Qantas website? ;)

Then, they need a popup to explain cash discount. Customers can pay by bank transfer, cash, Hyatt gift checks, debit cards and other means. IMHO, it just adds to confusion.

Yes, I learned this on a stay at the O&O Hayman Island. There was no advanced notice, just some small print on the back of a paper you signed during the transport (boat) to the island. I was surprised, and mentioned I was surprised when checking out. They said that I knew about it, and signed the paper. I told them that I only found out about it right before we docked at the island, and wondered if I disagreed would they turn the whole boat around with all the other guests on board. They didn't take checks, I guess they thought I would have 18k in cash in a suitcase. I don't like it, but at least I am happy if there is a notice at reservation time, rather than once you get there.

It is common practice in Australia. Recent legislation has made these fees more reasonable, but they are still a surprise for many.

On the other hand, it is surprise for many Aussies to find that when they travel elsewhere, there are no such fees.

Just like many things in life, it really does pay to research the practices of foreign lands before travelling there (or not to research and just go with the flow).

I am reminded of the fits thrown by UK relatives when I was little because their hotel in the States had the temerity to charge for breakfast. Something simply "not done".

I had visited Australia several years ago. However, I did not have a credit card fee added to my bill for that trip because I had prepaid the hotel charges in advance from the U.S. There was a fairly large discount for prepaid hotel stays.

Although I travel to many different countries, I have never seen this type "fee" added to a bill because of using a credit card to pay a hotel bill.

As I previously expressed, it does seem tacky and unprofessional.

We live in an electronic age now. Most people don't walk around with a wad of cash in their pocket to pay large bills.

It seems having to carry cash to avoid a credit card fee could be a safety hazard if a robber took advantage of the fact that many people pay their hotel bills with cash.

Just curious, are statistics of robberies of individual in Australia higher than in other countries?

No, and it isn't even close.

You've got to be kidding.

I've been charged credit card fees for:
1) Qantas
2) Westin Sydney
3) Sheraton Sydney
4) Hyatt Regency Perth
5) Grand Hyatt Melbourne
6) Westin Melbourne
7) InterContinental Perth
8) Westin Perth
9) O&O Hayman

Welcome to Australia! My recommendation is to look for prepaid rates where they charge your credit card before you get there.

Honestly though, you're really not paying anymore, it's just being disclosed. If this wasn't a practice, it would be built into the base rate in order to cover the cost of doing business. You may think it's tacky, but I think still signing for credit cards is tacky. Different places, different rules.

Is this any different to the US experience visitors find of the posted price not being what you pay? "Plus tax"?

Those taxes ARE built in in Australia...so...swings and roundabouts....

Excellent analogy -

When I created my thread, I had not encountered this credit card fee add on practice.

Although I travel a lot, I always visited countries that do not have this "rule" with respect to credit cards.

I do see your comparison to sales tax added onto a product in the U.S. which is generally not done in many other countries.