Marriott shoots self in foot re: resort fee disclosure
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,257
Marriott runs these ads about the golden rule - I am confident they wouldn't like it if their suppliers, vendors, franchises or anyone tried to pull the same stunt on them.
#19
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
Isn’t the complaint about the resort fees being hidden or not disclosed at booking? This tweet tells me where to find what is included in the fee. No different than details of what is available on property.
I’ve found the fees to be prominently disclosed at the top of the page displaying room rates within the app
I’ve found the fees to be prominently disclosed at the top of the page displaying room rates within the app
#20
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,140
And businesses never pass on higher taxes/fees/tariffs/surcharges to consumers, right? A 50% tax would double the fees for consumers.
Last edited by mahasamatman; Aug 11, 2019 at 5:17 pm
#21
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: UK - Hampshire & London
Programs: Mucci de Guardian des Celliers des Grands Crus 1e Classé, plus BAEC.
Posts: 2,734
I'm less concerned about resort fees per se, other than the vulgar money grab, than their lack of transparency. Such fees should be built into comparative room rates in search engines, as should all mandatory hotel / resort fees. I get mightily pissed off at hotels who tell me the room will be under $200 a night, then suddenly its up to $250 with fees.
#22
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
No, the issue is resort fees not being disclosed at price discovery, not booking. In this case Marriott is demonstrating that in addition to being used as a way to hide costs, it’s also quite difficult to find out what you’re actually buying - which makes sense because nobody ever pays a resort fee because they’d like to pay $40 a night for waterpolo lessons.
#24
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
This year alone, I had to call 3 properties just to figure out what the destination fee included. Marriott does a good job, letting you know there is a resort/destination fee, but trying to figure out what that fee exactly covers is one big CF.
#25
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,044
Marriott does NOT do a good job at disclosing resort fees, even when booking via its own channels. That is the entire point of this thread.
#26
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: The Airport
Programs: Delta PM
Posts: 183
#27
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
I hear this all the time in US debate and really can't understand it. If Marriott could just double resort fees, why don't they just do that now? Pricing in industries like hotels hasn't been based on costs for 50 years.
#28
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
I hope they don't seriously mean that the hotel can change the resort fee after a reservation is confirmed and the guest will be expected to pay the new (higher) resort fee? Yeah, of course *government imposed* taxes can change, but a hotel shouldn't be able to change the rate (presumably without any notice too) after a reservation has been confirmed.
Certainly, it's imprecise language. But, they just write taxes because some fees are required by law. For example, the extra $5/night hotel's must charge in the state of Georgia is called a fee but it's required by law.
This one: https://dor.georgia.gov/state-hotel-motel-faq
If the Georgia government decided to change the fee to $10/night starting tomorrow regardless of when the reservation was made, the disclaimer protects the hotel. And rightfully so (to me), because the hotel doesn't directly benefit from that fee.
#29
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,880
The bigger issue is that there is very limited visibility into resort fees when booking through third-party channels like OTAs. You could book a room on Expedia and then have no notification of resort fees until you check in. This is deceptive since there’s no reasonable justification for carving out these fees from the nightly rate when they’re mandatory.
#30
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: PHX, ICN
Programs: OZ Diamond Plus, Marriott Gold
Posts: 502
But if the government taxed all resort fees at 50%, you'd see either:
- a change to the specific category of fee to avoid the letter of the law but still charge you;
- a matching (or more) increase in price to the consumer - because if the tax is uniformly applied, to the consumer it just means "all hotels cost more now";
- or an elimination of resort fees, and an increase in all other revenue streams to cover the lost revenue.