Washington DC Attorney General sues Marriott over "deceptive resort fees"
Jul 11, 2019, 1:18 am
#61
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
As I understand it, the DC District Attorney is representing the residents of DC and saying that Marriott is engaging in deception at all of their hotels that charge resort fees across the world. The suit isn't about whether Marriott hotels within DC can have resort fees.
If he prevails, the ruling would only apply to residents living in DC. At that point, Marriott could create a separate reservation process ("Residents of DC: Click Here to Search for Hotel Prices" on the main page) just for those people or they could simply force the mandatory fees to be included in the search results for everyone. Given that other jurisdictions might start copy-cat suits, I'd guess that Marriott would choose the later option.
In theory, all other hotel chains would voluntarily make changes to avoid a lawsuit. Since most online travel agencies (OTAs) pull rates from the chains, they would end up still having the same rates. Although if it happens, the changeover is going to be a mess.
I don't think the FTC applies here, since the ruling only affects residents of DC.
That's my take on it. For the record, I'm not a lawyer, although I did play one on TV once (seriously).
If he prevails, the ruling would only apply to residents living in DC. At that point, Marriott could create a separate reservation process ("Residents of DC: Click Here to Search for Hotel Prices" on the main page) just for those people or they could simply force the mandatory fees to be included in the search results for everyone. Given that other jurisdictions might start copy-cat suits, I'd guess that Marriott would choose the later option.
In theory, all other hotel chains would voluntarily make changes to avoid a lawsuit. Since most online travel agencies (OTAs) pull rates from the chains, they would end up still having the same rates. Although if it happens, the changeover is going to be a mess.
I don't think the FTC applies here, since the ruling only affects residents of DC.
That's my take on it. For the record, I'm not a lawyer, although I did play one on TV once (seriously).
Jul 11, 2019, 5:02 am
#62
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Why do people keep saying resort fees are tax exempt?
From Sheraton Waikiki:
From Sheraton Waikiki:
Please note-Daily resort fee of USD 36 plus tax will be added to room rate-includes Internet, bottled water, Go Pro rental and more.
Jul 11, 2019, 5:23 am
#63
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,683
I’ve always been charged tax on resort fees in the USA. Incidentally the EU does say the price shown in the initial search must include all fees. So if I search on say hotels.com I’ll see say 3 nights £450. If I then go to book it might be £390 charged with a message stating I’ll have to pay $75 at the hotel. Still a bit of a muddle but at least it makes the search return a realistic price.
Jul 11, 2019, 6:55 am
#64
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 74
You generally can't overrule the FTC and Washington DC will have to convince the District Court of DC that 1) It has jurisdiction which DC justifies as violating their Consumer Protection Law 2) Marriott is hurting DC consumers, and 3) The much harder one - That the DC Consumer Protection Law supersedes the regulatory decisions of the FTC and that law pertains to the advertising of hotel pricing in the District.
The DC Attorney General does this for a living and knows what he's doing. There's never a guarantee that you'll win a case by bringing it but he's smart enough not to bring a case that's completely dead on arrival. Especially when the target is a semi-local business that can make big donations to his next election opponent. Give the guy a little credit for thinking this through before suing.
Jul 11, 2019, 9:52 am
#65
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
If it becomes a Federal Case other States can join in.
And this isn't even in a State Court - it is in a District Court.
To really get the resort fees in the room rate - this really comes down to creating a Federal Law or the FTC making a ruling such as they did in airline pricing.
And this isn't even in a State Court - it is in a District Court.
To really get the resort fees in the room rate - this really comes down to creating a Federal Law or the FTC making a ruling such as they did in airline pricing.
See https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/fil...-Complaint.pdf
Jul 11, 2019, 11:03 am
#66
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, United Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 2,276
Hotel taxes vary by jurisdiction. In the United Sates, often there are multiple taxes, such as sales tax, state lodging tax, and local hotel occupancy tax. There may be places where the scam fee is taxed at a lower rate than the room itself (or possibly not at all, although I assume this is very rare).
But that doesn't mean it's a wonderful deal for guests, especially not for Elite guests.
A Titanium Elite guest earns 17.5 Marriott Bonvoy Points per $1 spent — but not for taxes and fees.
Jul 11, 2019, 1:34 pm
#67
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At the end of the day, I'm just glad this is getting some traction and I hope it generates some mainstream media coverage. Exposing this fraud on a bigger stage can eventually lead to some PR troubles for those who perpetrate it and - maybe - some change as a result of that.
Jul 11, 2019, 3:02 pm
#68
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 3,097
The problem if you let every District/State/City regulate the online advertising of hotel prices is different laws everywhere and these advertisements certainly go across state lines. If you want confusing, lets say no resort fees in the District, resort fees ok in Hawaii but need to be disclosed, resort fees ok in Las Vegas and don't even need to be disclosed, and so and so on if you don't have Federal regulation.
Jul 11, 2019, 6:33 pm
#69
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I think what bothers me the most about these resort fees is I am forced to buy something I don't want and would never buy!
- photo taken by a photographer
- discount coupon for men's clothing shop
- discount coupon to aquariums that imprison dolphins
- bottles of water
- hula lesson
- ukulele lesson
etc
It's all nonsense. And if there is something of value like a free drink, then that's only available once even though you have to keep paying the resort fee every day!
- photo taken by a photographer
- discount coupon for men's clothing shop
- discount coupon to aquariums that imprison dolphins
- bottles of water
- hula lesson
- ukulele lesson
etc
It's all nonsense. And if there is something of value like a free drink, then that's only available once even though you have to keep paying the resort fee every day!
Jul 11, 2019, 7:34 pm
#70
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Great business strategy. The "wives" cause the hotel to incur negligible marginal cost in terms of room cleaning and preparation; but they eat and drink, resulting in additional spend with basically zero additional cost.
Jul 11, 2019, 8:18 pm
#71
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Jul 11, 2019, 9:34 pm
#72
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 557
I don't think Marriott loses overall. They get management fees for operating hotels as well as bonuses for hitting revenue and profit targets, so resort fees certainly help Marriott earn money in other places. I suspect if Marriott was 'losing' they wouldn't allow it. I think some management contracts call for a straight % of revenue so that would include resort fees.
Jul 12, 2019, 6:36 am
#73
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 3,097
I think what bothers me the most about these resort fees is I am forced to buy something I don't want and would never buy!
- photo taken by a photographer
- discount coupon for men's clothing shop
- discount coupon to aquariums that imprison dolphins
- bottles of water
- hula lesson
- ukulele lesson
etc
It's all nonsense. And if there is something of value like a free drink, then that's only available once even though you have to keep paying the resort fee every day!
- photo taken by a photographer
- discount coupon for men's clothing shop
- discount coupon to aquariums that imprison dolphins
- bottles of water
- hula lesson
- ukulele lesson
etc
It's all nonsense. And if there is something of value like a free drink, then that's only available once even though you have to keep paying the resort fee every day!
Jul 12, 2019, 7:17 am
#74
Join Date: May 2010
Location: TPA
Programs: All The Programs
Posts: 2,204
I think margarita girl makes a good point, though. With maybe one exception (at an actual resort), I think I've always looked through the list of 'amenities' and decided I don't care about any of them except for wifi. The hotel is clearly making things up to justify the scam.
Jul 12, 2019, 7:21 am
#75
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 902
I don't think Marriott loses overall. They get management fees for operating hotels as well as bonuses for hitting revenue and profit targets, so resort fees certainly help Marriott earn money in other places. I suspect if Marriott was 'losing' they wouldn't allow it. I think some management contracts call for a straight % of revenue so that would include resort fees.
Marriott loses the booking commission even if the negotiated management or franchise fee is based on gross revenue. That’s probably why properties’ decisions to apply resort fees have to be approved by Marriott. A $50 resort fee bundled into the room rate would generate Marriott some ~$7 in booking commission on top of whatever management or franchise fees those $50 would already generate as standalone resort fee.