MSPeconomist

Do ladies and gentlemen who stay at the StR in NYC bring their own bathrobes?

goldtiger

Lol. I put the nightly fee toward F&B credit for a fruit plate and ginger ale... it came out to $50.59 - most expensive fruit plate I’ve ever ordered for sure. They don’t bring checks/receipts anymore for room service which was weird (you don’t sign for room service orders and instead it’s now called “automatic billing”)... I guess they do this to leave surprises for the folio at check-out. You have to specifically ask for the order total now on the phone with room service or they won’t let you know until checkout.

MSPeconomist

For a StR, that fruit plate looks disappointing as well as being lopsided on the plate. Also, it's on a silver tray, but did they really deliver it with the wrinkled white placemat/napkin?

goldtiger

It’s pretty rough ... maybe $5-10 worth of value. yes, they delivered it that way. A bit off topic but just got back to the room and the bathroom didn’t have any toilet paper and I had two shampoos and a conditioner in shower (no body wash)... seems like this place is kinda falling apart service-wise when it comes to details. I would expect a few of these issues from economy hotels but certainly not from luxury properties charging usually 1k+ a night.

Another weird thing was when I asked for a shaving cream (forgot my travel size one at home), the one that came was the cheapest looking thing I’ve seen (looks shipped in bulk from China wholesale for a couple cents a unit). even at a Fairfield they give you a name brand or decent size one. Not really going to complain about the shaving cream because it’s free/my mistake for forgetting though. Just kinda intertwines with the “maximum profit” theme I’m getting from StR NYC

I wonder if they have an internal way of detecting room service orders to “use up” the F/B credit... idk, either way it’s laughable

moondog

Upon reviewing the list again, I advise goldtiger to go with 3 of the $17 items (e.g. shirts/pants). This would allow goldtiger to use up the entire $50, and only spend $1 out of pocket.

MaxFlying

The 50 credit is still way better than the StR Bal Harbour which is utter garbage. The welcome champagne seems nice until you realize you have paid $40.00 for it in amenity fee.

I asked about the alternate amenity as plat given that wifi was in the amenity fee. They wrote back to say that "Being a Platinum Elite, you have access to the premium Wi-Fi complimentary for the duration of your stay. That is one of many of our amazing amenities included" which was not what I asked (and hardly amazing). I wrote back with the T&C and again asked re the alternate amenity and never heard back again. Typical for this hotel.

I will not stay at another hotel with a amenity fee that covers nothing. Just pathetic.

Kacee

What really irks me about Marriott is that unlike Hilton and Hyatt, they charge the resort/destination/amenity fee on award stays. It's basically a $35-50 per night tax on the use of your Marriott points at many of the properties where I'm most likely to burn points. This is probably the #1 reason I'll focus on Hyatt next year.

3544quebec

A lot of labour goes into slicing a banana

RobotsRock

I stayed at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter hotel a few weeks ago on business. At time of booking, a "Daily local fee" of $25/night was clearly specified on the Marriott website and on my reservation - as still is the case: "Please note - Daily local fee-US25 plus tax-may apply"

I thought about this as a local tax that all hotels must charge in the area given the wording, and believed it complied with my company's policy to stay within a certain threshold with all hotel fees, excluding taxes. I didn't think much else of it until check-in - when I was introduced to what was 'included' with the fee - most of which I already had included with my Titanium Elite Status and was otherwise useless for a business traveler.

At check out, my folio showed a $25/night "DESTINATION AMENITY FEE" and "DESTINATION AMENITY FEE TAX" at $3.19/night. When I challenged that I never agreed to a resort fee or destination amenity fee of any kind, and requested the property to change it to the 'local fee' as advertised, this was refused. Despite my complaint, including in writing afterwards, the property still has not revised their wording of the fee to indicate it's a HOTEL-imposed fee and not locally imposed.

Luckily my company didn't make a fuss when I tried to get reimbursed, but I can't help but feel scammed by this property and to try do something about this. Resort and hotel fees are bad as they are, but masquerading under a local tax to get away with it feels fraudulent to me. Any similar bait-and-switches on fees at other properties? Is this common? Debating whether to report this to the AG, but wonder if anyone will really care (and weary of retaliation given my lifetime status and point balance...)

mikew99

I recently had a stay at Best Western Orlando Gateway Hotel in Orlando, and they had added a $1.50 charge (plus tax on $1.50) per night to my bill that was not on the final quoted price. When I questioned this, the front desk agent explicitly stated that it was a "local tax" that was mandated by the county and could not be removed. This explanation sounded suspicious, because it's a rare taxing authority that charges a tax and and then charges a tax on the tax itself. I refused to pay the "tax" and it was removed with "REFUSED TO PAY" stamped all over my bill.

I have no proof, but it's my guess that people are less likely to push back on these hotel fees if the hotel lies to the customer by calling it a "tax." I didn't follow up on the issue further, but it left a bad taste in my mouth after what was otherwise a decent stay.

MSPeconomist

my *guess* is that this "tax" was really some contribution to the local tourist/convention office to promote the area. It would benefit local merchants but probably not most visitors.

SamOF

Honestly, if you have the time and inclination I would absolutely report this to the state AG. Especially in states with consumer-friendly offices, it's worth getting this on their radar over and over again, and I suspect one will one day pursue it as a deceptive practice.

SamOF

In California, it's just a handy webform:

https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-...ess-or-company

jrbirnba

There are some local taxes that apply in San Diego, but they are percentages of the hotel cost, not a fixed fee.

www.sandiego.gov/treasurer/taxesfees/tot

writerguyfl

Having seen that wording, I never would have jumped to the conclusion that it was a government tax.

Frankly, I don't see why a hotel would comply with your request. You appear to have misinterpreted the wording. As long as the total charged matched the total listed on the reservation, the wording of the fee isn't particularly relevant. You agreed to the total price when you made the reservation.

You weren't scammed. You simply read something into the wording that wasn't there. Even in a consumer-friendly state like California, I doubt you'd get any action. The hotel didn't attempt to masquerade a fee as a tax. Nothing fraudulent happened and there was no bait-and-switch. For it to be fraud, the hotel would have to specifically call the fee a mandatory local tax. They didn't do that...they used the term "fee".

Important: Please don't attack me or assume I'm okay with these types of fees. I firmly believe that resort/local/destination fees shouldn't be allowed. I'm merely stating my opinion of the way this particular fee was listed was not fraud or even slightly confusing.