Washington DC Attorney General sues Marriott over "deceptive resort fees"
Jul 9, 2019, 12:55 pm
#1
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Washington DC Attorney General sues Marriott over "deceptive resort fees"
It's about time. Any mandatory non-government hotel charges should be included in the room rate.
District of Columbia AG sues Marriott
District of Columbia AG sues Marriott
Jul 9, 2019, 1:20 pm
#2
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It's about time. Any mandatory non-government hotel charges should be included in the room rate.
District of Columbia AG sues Marriott
District of Columbia AG sues Marriott
Hopefully this will result in a change on how hotels handle this.
I remember when you wouldn't see all the airfare at the beginning of the process.
Of course, the places where this is the worst -- NY, Nevada, and Hawaii -- won't have their AG's join in because they are too tied into the hotel lobby.
Then again, as at head of the NY Hotel Association says -- guests like these charges!
Jul 9, 2019, 1:39 pm
#5
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Wow!
Hopefully this will result in a change on how hotels handle this.
I remember when you wouldn't see all the airfare at the beginning of the process.
Of course, the places where this is the worst -- NY, Nevada, and Hawaii -- won't have their AG's join in because they are too tied into the hotel lobby.
Then again, as at head of the NY Hotel Association says -- guests like these charges!
Hopefully this will result in a change on how hotels handle this.
I remember when you wouldn't see all the airfare at the beginning of the process.
Of course, the places where this is the worst -- NY, Nevada, and Hawaii -- won't have their AG's join in because they are too tied into the hotel lobby.
Then again, as at head of the NY Hotel Association says -- guests like these charges!
One note of interest, the filing states that currently franchised hotels can set whatever room rates they want without Marriott approval, but that resort fees specifically must be approved by Marriott.
Jul 9, 2019, 1:41 pm
#6
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While Marriott is not fully transparent in disclosing these fees on its website and does at times disguise them as local taxes, the decision to charge destination/resort fees is not Marriott’s, but rather made by each property individually (although with Marriott’s permission). In fact, Marriott loses when these fees are charged separately and not bundled into the room rate, as booking commissions are based on the room rate only.
Jul 9, 2019, 1:41 pm
#7
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Bravo.
I have no issues with optional fees that are clearly disclosed. Mandatory fees that exist solely to artificially lower the initially published rate are deceptive.
I have no issues with optional fees that are clearly disclosed. Mandatory fees that exist solely to artificially lower the initially published rate are deceptive.
Jul 9, 2019, 1:44 pm
#8
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While Marriott is not fully transparent in disclosing these fees on its website and does at times disguise them as local taxes, the decision to charge destination/resort fees is not Marriott’s, but rather made by each property individually (although with Marriott’s permission). In fact, Marriott loses when these fees are charged separately and not bundled into the room rate, as booking commissions are based on the room rate only.
obtains Marriott’s approval to charge the fees. Although Marriott’s Franchise Agreements typically allow its franchisees to set their own rates for guest room charges, these franchisees must still comply with Marriott’s resort fee policy, which requires them to obtain Marriott’s approval before they are permitted to charge a resort fee. "
https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/fil...-Complaint.pdf
Jul 9, 2019, 1:45 pm
#9
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While Marriott is not fully transparent in disclosing these fees on its website and does at times disguise them as local taxes, the decision to charge destination/resort fees is not Marriott’s, but rather made by each property individually. In fact, Marriott loses when these fees are charged separately and not bundled into the room rate, as booking commissions are based on the room rate only.
18. Marriott also exercises control over the resort fees its hotels charge. Marriott’s resort fee policies forbid hotels it owns, manages or franchises from charging resort fees unless the property submits a formal request to charge the fees and obtains Marriott’s approval to charge the fees. Although Marriott’s Franchise Agreements typically allow its franchisees to set their own rates for guest room charges, these franchisees must still comply with Marriott’s resort fee policy, which requires them to obtain Marriott’s approval before they are permitted to charge a resort fee. Moreover, Marriott’s Franchise Agreements prohibit charges or billing practices that Marriott determines are misleading or detrimental, including incremental fees or services that guests would normally expect to be included in the hotel room charge.
Jul 9, 2019, 1:54 pm
#10
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Marriott has to approve but it doesn’t make the decision to charge a resort fee. The property does, subject to Marriott’s acquiescence.
As I understand it Marriott currently owns only a handful of properties. Managed properties still have a lot of leeway regarding operational aspects. I do not know who makes the decision to charge a resort fee, but given that several managed properties in very high-demand locations do not charge these type of fees, I suspect this is decided at the property level by its ownership.
Marriott also owns and operates properties that charge these fees.
Jul 9, 2019, 2:03 pm
#11
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True. Marriott International owns The St. Regis New York, which has this notice on its Marriott.com booking page: "Please note - A daily destination fee of USD 50 added to the room rate includes USD 50 food and beverage credit and more."
No thank you. I'll decide how much I'll spend each day on F&B at a hotel. Some days it will be zero — in which case I shouldn't be forced to pay (and lose) $50. Also, unlike F&B charged to the room, resort fees don't count toward hotel-stay Marriott Bonvoy Points.
For a full list of hotel properties owned or leased by Marriott International as of December 31, 2018, see pages 20 and 21 of the Marriott International, Inc. 2018 Annual Report:
https://marriott.gcs-web.com/static-...4-7bd24a381118
No thank you. I'll decide how much I'll spend each day on F&B at a hotel. Some days it will be zero — in which case I shouldn't be forced to pay (and lose) $50. Also, unlike F&B charged to the room, resort fees don't count toward hotel-stay Marriott Bonvoy Points.
For a full list of hotel properties owned or leased by Marriott International as of December 31, 2018, see pages 20 and 21 of the Marriott International, Inc. 2018 Annual Report:
https://marriott.gcs-web.com/static-...4-7bd24a381118
Jul 9, 2019, 2:30 pm
#12
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Nice to see this inept company get sued over something I've long complained about. If they had used Starwood's website which very well disclosed the resort fees and what was included in them, I wonder if they would not have been sued?
Jul 9, 2019, 2:55 pm
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