Marriott now shows upfront the all-in price, including Resort Fees
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
The 2 Westins in San Diego used to list their base rate at $200 ish and after fees and taxes would be $250 - 275 per night. Now they're all in prices are $225 at the gas lamp and $202 at the downtown location.
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
I am seeing more properties offering AAA parking rates or parking packages (San Diego) Might be their way of getting higher rate by bundling parking into the rate. Which I am fine with since bundling it gets you points for parking while unbundling will usually exclude the points for parking.
#18
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,172
I wonder if this is related to some settlement of Washington, DC vs. Marriott: Microsoft Word - Marriott Complaint FINAL (dc.gov).
#19
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fort Worth TX
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 474
I wonder if this is related to some settlement of Washington, DC vs. Marriott: Microsoft Word - Marriott Complaint FINAL (dc.gov).
#20
#21
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: UA Premier Platinum, DL Platinum
Posts: 596
That's great news. The argument that hiding taxes and fees (especially "resort fees," which now apply to every tertiary suburban hotel) is anything other than an effort to mislead consumers doesn't pass the laugh test.
I recall some whining, maybe from the airlines, about how it was important to advertise fares without taxes included because that way passengers would be able to see/appreciate how much the government was taxing travelers. To which the obvious answer was: If you want to drive home how much the taxes and government fees are, highlight that in big, bold type just like Spirit does when it displays, bitterly, the "Government's Cut."
If someone has a strong argument for why vendors, especially in travel, should be permitted to market a price that is below what a consumer must pay to get the product, I'd love to hear it. Especially when the advertised price excludes fees imposed by the vendor that are retained by the vendor. Until then, this new Marriott pricing display sounds like a great change.
I recall some whining, maybe from the airlines, about how it was important to advertise fares without taxes included because that way passengers would be able to see/appreciate how much the government was taxing travelers. To which the obvious answer was: If you want to drive home how much the taxes and government fees are, highlight that in big, bold type just like Spirit does when it displays, bitterly, the "Government's Cut."
If someone has a strong argument for why vendors, especially in travel, should be permitted to market a price that is below what a consumer must pay to get the product, I'd love to hear it. Especially when the advertised price excludes fees imposed by the vendor that are retained by the vendor. Until then, this new Marriott pricing display sounds like a great change.
#22
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: UK
Programs: BA GfL & GGL, FB Platinum, MB Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,346
Welcome to the civilised world.
I just pulled up a rate for a hotel in the UK, and with the "Show rates with taxes and all fees" box checked it displayed a price with a "Taxes and all fees included" footnote. When I unchecked the box, it displayed the same price, but removed the "Taxes and all fees included" footnote. Seems like UK consumer law is overriding Marriott's desire to display the ex-VAT price.
#23
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: DCA, EGE, IAD
Programs: MR LTT, BA Gold, AA LTP, UA Silver
Posts: 6,075
FYI, article about settlement agreement with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office over the disclosure of resort fees:
https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...agreement.html
https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...agreement.html
#24
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Delta Skymiles
Posts: 1,982
I may be in the minority, but I do also like being able to see what the cost is without the taxes and fees. It helps me determine whether something is a good points redemption or not - especially with resort properties where I am still going to have to pay some sort of resort fee, no matter how much I dislike it.
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
#25
Join Date: Feb 2018
Programs: Bonvoy :Ambassador , ALL :Diamond, Skywards :Silver, Krisflyer :Silver
Posts: 2,778
Good news!
Other hotel chains already doing this for years.
Its great to be able to see what the final price is rather than to see a price then slugged with higher price at the property due to "resort fees"
Other hotel chains already doing this for years.
Its great to be able to see what the final price is rather than to see a price then slugged with higher price at the property due to "resort fees"
#26
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: YXU / YUL
Programs: AA LT Gold, Aeroplan, Marriott Titanium (LT Platinum), HH Diamond
Posts: 405
I may be in the minority, but I do also like being able to see what the cost is without the taxes and fees. It helps me determine whether something is a good points redemption or not - especially with resort properties where I am still going to have to pay some sort of resort fee, no matter how much I dislike it.
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
#27
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
It will be interesting to see where things go with resort/destination scam fees (by whatever name it goes) when it comes to award nights. As and when properties can no longer use this scam fee approach to try to bait consumers on regular cash rate bookings, will they eventually end up stopping the use of these scam fees to also bait those searching to redeem award night space?
The iOS app was updated 4 days ago, and it still retains the toggle option — under the filter selection — about whether to include or exclude all taxes and fees.
The iOS app was updated 4 days ago, and it still retains the toggle option — under the filter selection — about whether to include or exclude all taxes and fees.
Last edited by GUWonder; Nov 20, 2021 at 10:09 am
#28
#29
#30
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,876
I may be in the minority, but I do also like being able to see what the cost is without the taxes and fees. It helps me determine whether something is a good points redemption or not - especially with resort properties where I am still going to have to pay some sort of “resort fee”, no matter how much I dislike it.
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
I have enjoyed being able to toggle. Can I still do that with the new system?
It will be interesting to see how this change is handled for OTAs, as they're not bound by this settlement. You'd think Marriott would want to make OTAs include resort fees in the rate so that people aren't confused into not booking direct because they think the OTA rate is lower.
Last edited by rucksack; Nov 21, 2021 at 1:27 pm