Could Hyatt and other hotel companies be next? (Transparent pricing suit)
 

I don't get the obsession about these things. I find resort fees and the like to be extremely transparent on Hyatt.com. Even on Expedia resort fees are are stated between the nightly price and the 'reserve now' button. I wish the per night tax was listed as upfront as resort fees. Taxes are a bit more hidden, and varies between mid-single digits and north of 20% (i.e. those cities that think tourists should be shaken down to pay for crap like stadiums).

Of course, there is a solution to this -- require hotels to advertise rates that are all inclusive of fees and taxes that are mandatory, much like there are rules on how airlines have to wrap the various required taxes into their advertised fares.

Because just like airlines used to do with breaking out each little fee, companies do not do anything that reduces their ability to make an extra nickel unless they are FORCED to by law and regulation. Airlines used to be exactly the same until they got forced to stop. Hotels won't be any different. Regardless of the fact that they might charge 150 + 50, they know they would do less business by selling it as 200 outright and that is the point. BS way to squeeze customers for more money by slipping in through, even if only 1 out of 5 don't catch it. Even as a glob, I don't pay resort fees at Hyatt, but it is still nonsense and tiresome. Resort fees, destination fees, luxury fees, etc. Absurd.

Lots of discussions in Marriott forum.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...sort-fees.html

I guess I don't think it is 'dishonest' when the resort fees are pretty upfront and easy to see when you are browsing for hotels. I fully support a full upfront pricing law -- as long as it includes taxes too, but heck, this is pretty meaningless because it is the fees for beach chairs, umbrellas, room service surcharges, and food/drink premium pricing etc that are the real kick in the pants (in terms of being shockingly high) and are sometimes barely disclosed onsite let alone online when you are booking. Similarly, the airline is required to put mandatory fees into the fare, but it is the baggage fees, ticket change fees, seat selection fees, etc that are much more onerous to figure out and can be (shockingly) ridiculously high.

(the real problem of course is in healthcare in the US -- but that is an omni thread discussion)

Thanks to the unbundling of the rates and the transparency, globalist have lower rates. If the rate would be an all-inclusive rate with the resort fees included in the base fee, Globalist would not have a benefit. I'm happy the way it is and Hyatt is very very transparent and fair.

I would tend to agree with you. As much as I hate resort fees, they are usually transparent enough that I simply include them in the all-in cost I'm expected to pay. But what really annoys me is when the fees aren't waived for elites, who should receive virtually all of the "benefits" for free.

Since Hyatt does "the right thing" (except for MLife), I'm happy with the current situation.

Marriott is the worst of the bunch, especially with resort fees added to award stays and complete discretion offered to hotels to decide whether to waive them or not on all elite stays.

I guess I have different definition of "transparency" than some of you. If I do a search for properties in a city on hyatt.com or a 3rd party site like expedia or google/travel, I get a list of properties and rates. The rates shown do not include the resort/destination fees and thus distort any price-based comparison. It's not until one clicks 2 or 3 pages further to get to a specific property that there's any mention of the fee. I'd much rather see the all-in cost up front.

Perhaps you should update your profile to remove the reference to Hyatt Diamond. As @59Impala mentioned, if you make it an all-in room rate, then Globalists would end up paying more.

On expedia, it is shown on the first page one clicks for the hotel.
One Hyatt.com, it is shown on the first page one clicks for the hotel.
Maybe Marriott was hiding it more (from what I can see from their thread) but I only stayed at a Marriott a couple of times in the last year, neither of which was a resort so I have no first hand knowledge of how they operate.

Anyways, since hotels can be so drastically different in what they are offering, I have to click around a few properties anyways to look at room types available, amenities offered, location specifics, get a picture to see what the hardware looks like, etc. For Hyatt and most OTAs, resort fees are pretty much the first thing I see when I click on that property specific page before I see those other details that matter. I get that most of the public shoots for the lowest airline price -- in coach, the experience is mostly the same -- but hotels, especially in city and resort locales where fees are used -- the difference in product changes with each hotel so much, even within a given star category...

As a Glob, I'd prefer to see an all-in rate. Even today, I frequently have to spend time at check out to get the fees removed or deal with them after I return from a trip. To me, it would be worth it not to have the headache.