Charge for housekeeping
 

Have you faced unusual add on changes at a hotel?

Business Week, Sept 29th issue discusses all the Fees charged in life now. The one I found most interesting for this board is:

..."The Alexander Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla., will bill you an extra $2.50 daily for housekeeping".

On a recent stay in Hobart, Tasmania, housekeeping changes the bed linen on Saturdays only (unless your checking out Monday, then they wait until then. No housekeeping at all on Sundays. No fee, just no service!

Guess which hotel I'll never be frequenting? Is this some type of new marketing ploy to see how fast they can lose market share? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...m/rolleyes.gif

Some extended stay properties have only limited housekeeping (once or twice per week). It's no big deal if everyone knows in advance and if the price is right.

What if you are checking in/out on week days? Do you check into a room that still has someone else's used linens?

What's next, coin operated showers? Pay toilets in the room?

Some budget hotels and hostels in Europe do have pay showers. 4 Euros is pretty typical for a 5-minute shower.

Linnen changes happen when the guest changes, and once or twice a week at many extended stay places, usually you paying if youwant it twice a week, or more.

As long as I know about them up front it doesn't bother me, it's the total I pay, not the little parts that make up the fee. Don't care if it's a $2 room and $98 in fees like these, or a $100 room, same thing to me.

I agree Cordelli, it is the total amount paid that matters. However, sometimes hotels do not disclose these added fees at the time of booking, thus the guest has no way to make a fair side-by side comparison when trying to decide which hotel to book. They might not feel the need to disclose coin operated pay showers etc, because technically it would be the option of the guest whether to use that service or not. Even if the charges are disclosed, having to deal with all the little fees and scrounging for coins can be a hassle.