if someone asked me to sign a consent to an undisclosed energy surcharge, I would probably smile and write in cursive, "I do not agree" and hand it back to them.

The J.W. Marriott Phuket throw on a "donation" charge of a buck for "the turtles".

This is highly ironic, as the Thai government had prior to the hotel's construction mandated no development along this particular stretch of coastline in order to protect the turtles' habitat. Obviously, an exemption was made and now the J.W. is the "saviour" of the turtles and their egg laying proclivities. But J.W. has his hand in your pocket to pay for his sins!

Spending 150-200 nights a year in hotels, I've found that 75% of the time my bill is incorrect. I never use express checkout. Actually, I've found it best to stop by the desk the night before checking out and getting a printout of your bill and fixing all the charges then. When I stay at a hotel 10-15 days, I do this about every five days.

Also, never believe the clerk at 5:00 am when checking out that the manager will fix the account when he/she comes in. That's just a ploy to get you to sign the bill and leave. You're now no longer the clerk's problem

Cheers,
Leo