hotelfanatic

As many have posted, I should not have to paid for anything I do not use. And if I do use the internet, it should be comped for Plats as stated in T&C. Another issue is my company will not pay for the resort fee which will end up coming out of my own pocket and I myself don't want to paid this when using points for my stay. It may be $10 today but maybe $15 next yr. As an example, I was in Kauai and stayed at the Westin on points and at the end of my stay, there was a $75 resort fee tab. And when I moved to the Hyatt, the resort fee was comped because of my Diamond status.

What is more concerning is this may be a trail balloon to see if spg can expand it to other hotels in the city or the country. This is just another form of money grab - no different from the airline baggage fees. It would be easier if LPM just hike the rate by $10 than do this.

And now that Lisa has confirmed there are no plans to comp plats, I for one will not be staying here on business or pleasure.

FWIW - the Shearton Towers is only a few more blocks from Central Park and the rates are lower and no resort fee, for now.

craz

1- AFAIK SPG doesnt own a single Hotel anywhere, *W corp does but most Hotels are Franchised id bet the LPM isnt corp owned as the Hawaiian Hotels arent either

2- they cant add it to the rate and then get it from those staying on Pts or C&P

B-
if they add it to the rate most likley they will lose some reses as people will see that HotelX is $10 cheaper per day and go with that 1. Pretty much why those Carriers who charge a surcharge dont add it to the Fare instead of having it as a separate fee

3- yea I agree that as more and more Hotels start playing with How can we scam our guests out of more $$$ others will climb aboard

suite2suite

Are you saying the Grand Hyatt Kauai waived its resort fee for diamonds?
That must be recent. The only Hyatt I know of waving the resort fee is the Hyatt Regency Honolulu.
Please clarify.
Thanks

sbtinme

Pretty sure *wood still owns a handful of those Hawaiian properties. Certainly at least the Westin Maui and the Sheraton Kauai

HNLbasedFlyer

Correct, the Westin Maui and Sheraton Kauai are Starwood owned.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....=irol-property

TRAVELSIG

I agree this is at best far-fetched.

Flews

Well said. ^

Cheers

Flews

I send a email to the GM to explain my reasons in such instances. Just did it a couple weeks ago, in fact, when I wasn't happy with how a property in NYC was handling my booking.

Ended up staying at the LPM, ironically. Stay and service were outstanding. I certainly would not hesitate to return for the sake of $10 measly bucks.

Cheers,

craz

the ones in HNL arent corp and I thought they were the 1st to tag us with this Resort Fee for what are really non-resort properties.While Maui & Kaui are more akin to being a Resort since they arent city based and thought *W just went along with all the others

On Oahu I think only the HHV,JW and Turtle Bay up north are the only real resorts on the Island could be I left 1 out. While on The BI,Kaui and Maui almost every Hotel is a Resort atmosphere

clublounger

How much would it take for you to hesitate?

Flews

The $90 charge per cot per night per child at the St. Regis.

Cheers,

DHAST

IMHO, it's not about $10 measily bucks -- it's about a practice that most of us find under handed, misleading, and shady. We're talking about what, 3% of the base rate? Really? If $10 measily bucks is no big deal, why can't they bake it into the rate? Who would even notice? Keep in mind that this property already did something that I've never seen before -- charge a pool access fee. What's wrong with keeping that?

I'm a big proponent of fair and honest pricing. I head straight to the rate T&C on everything I book through SPG.com (the place that describes taxes and cancellation policy) and if one can't list their fees there, then I really don't think much of them. That practice generates a lot more ill will than a $10 increase ever will. Not to mention that these fees can't be expensed or waived on award bookings. At the W Viques, it's what, $60/night? I like unbundling, but only when it presents me a real choice.

DHAST

See, that's the thing. Consumer sales and marketing is actually a very complex business designed to extract the most amount of money possible out of a given consumer's pocket. I prefer dealing with businesses who are fair, open, and honest about their pricing. I don't like dealing with businesses who have to engage in shenanigans to get me to hit the "buy" button. I consider that to be somewhat disrespectful and generally insulting. It does not start the relationship out on the right foot. It creates tension and hostility when it isn't warranted. I get insulted when someone thinks they need to tell me that a given practice is for my own good. I'm a well-educated, reasonably intelligent human being -- I think I can figure out if something is for my own good, or "is going to save me money," thank you very much.

Companies complain about customers who are out for a deal, and not to establish a long term business relationship with them. I complain about companies who can't be upfront about their pricing.

As a side note, I'm an avid user of Groupon. Right now they're running a "Groupon Getaways" deal for a property in Myrtle Beach, SC. The fine print on the deal (which I always read) says that the rate does not include a $30 checkout fee and 25.4% tax. I called Groupon today to complain about the deal. A checkout fee is a non standard fee that should be included in the rate. Furthermore, the taxes looked high, and since SPG likes to break them all down, I did a check at neighboring properties. Turns out that there's only a 15.4% tax in Myrtle Beach, so it looks like the property is taking 10% for themselves and lying about it.

I'm a fan of open and honest pricing. If you don't want to be open and honest, I generally don't want to be a customer.

aCavalierInCoach

Well put. And thanks for taking the time to speak-up on bull - I'd love to know the property so I can avoid it.

DHAST

You're welcome. The property is the Prince Resort North Myrtle Beach.

I do a lot of complaining on the internet (well, actually I don't, I take it on the chin most of the time) but this is the one topic that ires me enough to actually complain about it. On top of the Groupon complaint, I decided to drop a line to the GM; I think it's the first time I've done so at a property I've never stayed at. Heck, it's the first time I've dropped a line to a GM, period.

I don't know why the "hidden fees" topic bugs me so much. I know there's a psychological factor called "anchoring" that is at work here, but have no idea why the anchoring topic gets to me as much as it does.

Strangely, on the topic of unbundling, I'm ok with the airlines charging separately for optional services. This is especially true with AA's new offerings, which I like a lot. I don't know that I will actually purchase them, but as a non-status flier, I like the fact they're offering me additional services at an affordable price. I do consider checked baggage to be an optional service (stems from my days as a ramp agent traveling standby -- try telling my wife a checked bag is "optional.") I think the painful thing here is that bags used to be a service that was included in the price. $50 round trip is a steep "increase" in price on most domestic fares.

There's a few things going on with the LPM fee that drive me bonkers. First, they're charging me extra for something that is supposed to be free as part of my status. They don't advertise the fee in a place that is natural for a frequent traveler to look. I never read the "special conditions"; I always read the rate calculation page, and below, the cancellation T&C. Either one makes me pissed, together they make me really pissed. Third, mandatory fees for optional services just suck. Fourth, these are fees that aren't waived on award stays.