onedog

That would be a great idea. It would make it easier to scan which hotels to avoid when planning a vacation or at least I would know ahead of time and could make an informed decision. Save me the time and hassel of calling the hotel, being put on hold forever, shuttled from the front desk to the concierge to the operator to the administrative office and then accidently hung up on, just to be given wrong information that there is no resort fee.

If I go into a stay knowing that there is a resort fee then at least I know what I am getting myself into.

Onedog

BonnieSEA

Maybe we could start a website that has the list (other hotels too, not just SPG), plus links to related news stories and "How You Can Help" like write your Congressman, Consumer Reports advice, contact the Class Action Suit, etc.

That would be doing some good in this world.

wahoo99

Seems easy enough, that's why Wiki sites are so great. I set up a page and added the St Regis to the site (I am also holding a reservation there and went through the recent process of uncovering the fee and what was included with it). Please add others that you all know about, anyone can edit this Wiki.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Starwood_Ho...Fee_Properties

nissan motor

May I share with you what I did in the past>

Either> Refuse to pay (i.e. sign the bill and write "don't agree with resort fees")
or> Have the charge back department from my credit card to charge it back
or> Involve the BBB (www.bbb.org)
....

Always worked out @:-)

User Name

Hmmm.... all the text seems to have been removed from the page.

zombietraveller

deleted

hedoman

I like it.

Recent freebie stay at Parker Palm Springs. They fought like hell to get me to cough up $25+ daily resort fees. Had to back peddle and have SPG send original confirmation stating "resort fee included in rate."

Worse, the envelope is constantly pushed upwards. Worser....the resort fees are being added to mostly very (to me) high rates.

BonnieSEA

Could you give more details?
>Do you write on the bill and stick it in the express box, or write it and point this out Checkout? If you say so in person, don't they argue with you, go fetch a manager?
>You call the your credit card company and "dispute the charges" but what if the hotel did say ahead of time (at Checkin) that there was a "Resort fee" -- then doesn't the CC company say 'We can't charge this back, it's valid'
>Ha! involving the BBB is great. Action like that is how we (as U.S. consumers) can eventually get this changed. But how exactly do you do so -- write a letter to the hotel and threaten them... or what exactly?

pinniped

To me, this entire concept should be illegal. It's completely designed to deceive the customer - there really is no other purpose to it whatsoever.

It's exactly like fuel surcharges by the airlines. Nobody buys a plane ticket expecting that the aircraft has no fuel and cannot move.

I have been to a couple properties in the past 2-3 years that have what I would consider ethical resort fees. At check-in, you get a card explaining the fee and what you get with it. If the guest elects not to pay it, he/she can purchase the individual services on a one-off basis. Stuff like snorkel gear, kayak rentals, gym access (if your status doesn't already include it), etc. To me, that's perfectly acceptable: the fee was optional and the items included were things you would reasonably expect to pay for at any hotel.

Tak

Some resort fee includes free parking, free internet, free local calls.....
I am sure many people never use those during the stay.

Personnaly, I do not like the charge.
I want to pay whatever I use.

nissan motor

>Do you write on the bill and stick it in the express box, or write it and point this out Checkout? If you say so in person, don't they argue with you, go fetch a manager?
- I usually write next to my signature for the invoice something like "don't agree with the resort fee"
- Yes, sometimes there are (hefty) discussions with some management staff and often they just waive the fee (e.g. in the Planet Hollywood).
- My advice: Explain in a friendly way that you don't see any reason why you should pay the so-called resort fee. If this does not help, you may want to be loud and blunt

>You call the your credit card company and "dispute the charges" but what if the hotel did say ahead of time (at Checkin) that there was a "Resort fee" -- then doesn't the CC company say 'We can't charge this back, it's valid'
- I always fill-out the charge back form. My argumentation is often "I did not agree on this fee, plese refer to the hotel invoice" or "Unethical and/or illegal business practice" etc.

>Ha! involving the BBB is great. Action like that is how we (as U.S. consumers) can eventually get this changed. But how exactly do you do so -- write a letter to the hotel and threaten them... or what exactly?
- Yes. First email and/or call to the hotel. Explaining that I did not agree on that when I signed the form. Threat them to involve the BBB. Eventually fill-out the online form on the BBB website

In almost every case I was successful

pinniped

I've seen those packages too...even at places that haven't been deemed as a "resort" by their respective owners. As long as the package is optional, I have no problem with it. If it's mandatory, it should be illegal to add it on outside of the base room rate. (Of course, the hotel can charge whatever it can get for its room rates....)

mikeef

You mean like the Westin Casuarina in LV, where half the items on the "fee" list are freebies for Plats anyway and others are seasonal, such as the pool? Odd, the fee doesn't drop in the winter when the pool is closed.

Of course, it's no longer a "resort fee" here. Just a service fee.

Mike

itsaboutthejourney

I wonder if some of the properties in question are deleting the truth? <cough> Westin Casaurina <cough>

jfulcher

The Westin Dawn Beach in St. Maarten also charges you $25 which is ridiculous. I recently paid $175 for a 7 night award stay there.

Owned by the same people as the Westin Casaurina.