Annoying fees
#16
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
Posts: 1,407
Originally Posted by prncess674
The majority of hotels cater to the business market who seem to have endless supplies of money. Being a wealthy person you are welcome to make choices but frankly by NOT ordering the club sandwich you really aren't hurting anyone and the hotels really don't care. Your protest of one isn't even a blip on the radar screen. The super wealthy individual traveller is few and far between and if they truely are that wealthy they usually pay for the $20 club sandwich if they want one.
#17
Originally Posted by grumbler
BTW, I think you would be surprised at how many people (who are not millionaires) do pay for luxury travel on their own dime.
It the same point in going to a fancy restaurant. Part of the $20 club sandwich is service even if it is room service. If I order a club sandwich from the Ritz-Carlton I expect it to be served on a white linen covered wheeled table, along with a votive candle, fresh flowers, etc. If I order a club sandwich from the Hampton Inn for $6.95 I expect very little.
I wouldn't go into Morton's steakhouse and say that I could go buy that slab of meat at the local butcher for $10. Part of the $40 steak price is SERVICE.
HSIA was originally installed for the business traveler who could expense the cost. However, many personal travelers now have laptops and I think with time HSIA may become a free amenity.
#18
I think it is value for money which is key..... I may order a $20 club house sandwich but usually I need to order fries or salad with it, say another $5.00, but with the tray charge, taxes, and service charges, a $25 meal charge plus tray charge of roughly $5 make this a $40 meal.
Most certainly a business traveller can expense it but that does not change the fact that this is a rip-off -- someone else is still getting stiffed for it.
Interestingly, at One Aldwych Hotel in London a mini-bar 200mL Diet Coke is 2. At the Lobby Bar, itis a 1.90 plus service. The same mini-bar Diet Coke at the Dorchester and Lanesborough was over 4. There is gouging and there is fair pricing -- at least some hotels, while not cheap, charge an amount that is reasonable for the amenity they provide.
Another pet peeve is the $9.00 first minute long distance phone call charge at many NYC hotels..... simply outrageous
Most certainly a business traveller can expense it but that does not change the fact that this is a rip-off -- someone else is still getting stiffed for it.
Interestingly, at One Aldwych Hotel in London a mini-bar 200mL Diet Coke is 2. At the Lobby Bar, itis a 1.90 plus service. The same mini-bar Diet Coke at the Dorchester and Lanesborough was over 4. There is gouging and there is fair pricing -- at least some hotels, while not cheap, charge an amount that is reasonable for the amenity they provide.
Another pet peeve is the $9.00 first minute long distance phone call charge at many NYC hotels..... simply outrageous
#19
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: cathay pacific
Posts: 25
While I appreciate that nickel and diming guests in luxury hotels is a very bad move, I thought I would give you the point of view of a hotelier. The F&B department of most luxury hotels is often run at a loss in countries where wages are above slave labour level. I will not bore you with extract of departmental P&L accounts, but suffice to say that it costs a great deal of money to keep staff level in relation to guests expectation( there is a lot involved in a simple club sandwich, from the guy who takes your order to the laundry staff who will clean your napkin). Believe me the chap who sells the $6.95 club sandwich is probably making more money on it than the RC or FS on its $20 one. That said I am the first one to complain about exhorbitant telephone charges because once you have amortised the equipment the running costs are peanuts. So I think that what luxury travellers can complain about is the quality of the service associated with the item, if your club sandwich is perfect, served on nice china and with a smile then tip the poor guy who delivered it and enjoy.
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 131
Is the $500+ per night rate per night not enough to offset the loss that the F&B department faces on keeping a few extra staffers around? That, to me, doesn't justify the price - and I'm not just talking about food here either. Phone charges, internet charges, etc. are a pain too.
#21
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 244
What really bothers me is the hotels that bill themselves as having such great service and then nickel and dime you for all of the little things that make up that service. I stayed at the Peninsula Beverly Hills with my mother last January, paying about $500 for the room for one night. Hotel was lovely, service was lovely, and upon checking in, we were asked what newspaper we would like in the morning (open ended question, no options given). I said I would like the Washington Post "if you have it." The gentleman at the desk said that he wasn't sure if they had the Post, and I said that was fine, and if they didn't I would take a NY Times. In the morning, there was a NY Times outside our door, so I didn't think anything else of it until we were leaving the room to check out and I saw that there we had a second newspaper - a photocopy of the Washington Post. Well, upon checkout, there was a separate $5 charge for the photocopied Washington Post. Not enough to fight over in the grand scheme of things, but it left a bad last impression of the hotel.
#22
Originally Posted by oliveANDatwist
While I appreciate that nickel and diming guests in luxury hotels is a very bad move, I thought I would give you the point of view of a hotelier. The F&B department of most luxury hotels is often run at a loss in countries where wages are above slave labour level. I will not bore you with extract of departmental P&L accounts, but suffice to say that it costs a great deal of money to keep staff level in relation to guests expectation( there is a lot involved in a simple club sandwich, from the guy who takes your order to the laundry staff who will clean your napkin). Believe me the chap who sells the $6.95 club sandwich is probably making more money on it than the RC or FS on its $20 one. That said I am the first one to complain about exhorbitant telephone charges because once you have amortised the equipment the running costs are peanuts. So I think that what luxury travellers can complain about is the quality of the service associated with the item, if your club sandwich is perfect, served on nice china and with a smile then tip the poor guy who delivered it and enjoy.
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
Posts: 1,407
It's not rocket science - if a hotel could build the costs that people have referred to above (F&B service, internet, etc.) into the rate, I suspect that people would be less fussed, because you know what you are getting up front and avoid the incidental annoyance.
And I agree with a previous poster - as many luxury hotels are tacking on service charges to the nightly rate, additional incidental charges are harder to swallow.
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
And I agree with a previous poster - as many luxury hotels are tacking on service charges to the nightly rate, additional incidental charges are harder to swallow.
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
#24
Originally Posted by grumbler
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
#25
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: cathay pacific
Posts: 25
Originally Posted by grumbler
It's not rocket science - if a hotel could build the costs that people have referred to above (F&B service, internet, etc.) into the rate, I suspect that people would be less fussed, because you know what you are getting up front and avoid the incidental annoyance.
And I agree with a previous poster - as many luxury hotels are tacking on service charges to the nightly rate, additional incidental charges are harder to swallow.
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
And I agree with a previous poster - as many luxury hotels are tacking on service charges to the nightly rate, additional incidental charges are harder to swallow.
Having said this, I have happily bought the 2 quid coke at One Aldwych in the past !
Your first comment is absolutely accurate. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The properties that offer a lot of "freebies" recover it in some other way. I personnaly learnt that lesson in my previous life as a menswear retailer, we built up the cost of alterations in the price while other stores would hammer you with a 5 charge to take your trousers up, the goodwill we got out of it was amazing. In the property I am currently developping, we have adopted an all inclusive system. The rack rate is stiff and we offer no discount but one gets the best of everything from Smythson stationnery to Vve Clicquot on tap. I can do this because we are a boutique property, larger chains despite their ambitions of exclusivity are still governed by price points and competition. Eg: The Shangri La can't raise their rack rate in Manilla in order to offer some freebies because they still will be compared to the Pen or other simillar properties. One way they circumvent this is by the introduction of Club floors, Horizon floors etc.
Mind you, not all boutique properties see it this way, I want to visit North Island in the Seychelles and I was horrified to see that depite being probably one of the top 5 most expensive hotels in the world, their all inclusive formula includes alcoholic drinks but not...cocktails!! Now this is nickel and diming, because they have chosen an item they know people will crave on a tropical island. I have therefore decided to go there with my own shaker, I will order a gin, a dry vermouth and olives and lemons as nibbles and I will mix my own
#27
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,965
I was at Claridges earlier this year and upon check-in was asked what daily paper I would like at my door in the morning. I said either USA Today or IHT. Upon check-out, I saw a 5 daily charge for a newspaper. Wouldn't you think that 1) paying ~350 per night that a newspaper would be included or 2) they would actually say that they are going to charge you for it. That frosts my butt. (They took the charge off my bill eventually.)
I stayed at the IC Barclay in NYC. No laptop, wanted to use the computers in the Business Center. $30 an hour! I asked where the nearest Kinko's was and walked the three blocks to use theirs at $12/hour.
And these were both business trips. I don't mind paying a little extra, but don't insult me.
I stayed at the IC Barclay in NYC. No laptop, wanted to use the computers in the Business Center. $30 an hour! I asked where the nearest Kinko's was and walked the three blocks to use theirs at $12/hour.
And these were both business trips. I don't mind paying a little extra, but don't insult me.
#28
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: cathay pacific
Posts: 25
a 5 daily charge for a newspaper.
There it's not a case of nickel and diming but more obvious rip off. Shame as Claridge's is a great property and would do well not upsetting guests who by judging the rate you mentionned aren't discount hunters. The secret to a healthy balance sheet for a luxury hotel is in not dropping their rates, if they do even high occupancy won't save them. I hope that for that price the paper had been ironed first
There it's not a case of nickel and diming but more obvious rip off. Shame as Claridge's is a great property and would do well not upsetting guests who by judging the rate you mentionned aren't discount hunters. The secret to a healthy balance sheet for a luxury hotel is in not dropping their rates, if they do even high occupancy won't save them. I hope that for that price the paper had been ironed first
#30
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: AA Lifetime PLT , BA Silver , BD RIP , HH Gold, SPG / Marriott PLT , EF Subscriber
Posts: 6,698
I stayed at a 5* Hotel In Bangkok last week, 30 Minutes Internet access in the Club Lounge was [300 Baht]$6.50...Rack of Lamb, Lunch Special in their De-Luxe Steakhouse was also [300 Baht] $6.50...Go Figure.