Congress Hates Resort Fees As Much As You Do
Nothing saves you the hassle of vacation planning like finding the hotel you want to book with a resort fee. Maybe you were intrigued by the hotel’s low cost of rooms, and the photos of the rooms and amenities captivated you. But when it’s time to order, an extra charge is added, making the total per night much higher than you’d expect.
Resort fees, which may also appear as “cleaning charges” or “service charges” on your hotel bill, cover additional services the hotel may provide, from gym and pool to in-room Wi-Fi. Hotels can charge any fee they wish to offer whatever privileges they please, but they usually present these daily resort fees separately from the rate you pay for your daily room rate.
This is why resort fees are hated so much – not because they exist, but because it is not always easy to understand what you are paying for. We can all agree on this – even politicians hate resort fees! Congressmen Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Karen Bass (D-CA) recently teamed up to introduce the Hotel Advertising Transparency Act of 2019 , which requires hotels to display full information before taxes. room price before booking.
Hotels are still not required to list taxes and government fees. If accepted, the rule will be followed by the FTC. This does not apply to long term stays, only hotels, motels and inns that advertise nightly, hourly or weekly rates.
This is a problem that has been accumulating over the past few years. In 2012 and 2013, the FTC warned 35 hotels and 11 online travel agents that their resort fees were not clear enough. In 2017, the FTC published a white paper on how difficult it is to quantify resort fees for the consumer. And in 2019, DC sued Marriott and Nebraska sued Hilton for “hiding the true price of hotel rooms from consumers and levying hidden resort fees to increase profits,” Johnson explains in a summary of the bill.
What really covers your resort fees
If you think you’re immune to resort fees because you usually book a vacation in hotels that don’t have many amenities like pools, spas, and drinks with tiny umbrellas inside, think again. Nobody is insured! The whole point of resort fees or all-inclusive fees under any other name, as we explained earlier , is to advertise a lower room rate and offset the discount as soon as you arrive. You are tempted by a rate that seems reasonable, so when you see your last tab that includes fees, you say, “Okay. At least I got a good price for the room. “
The average resort tax, which can be a flat rate or a percentage of the room rate, is around $ 21 per day and can include any (or all!) Of the following:
- Business center
- Daily newspaper delivery
- Gym or pool
- Landscaping and landscaping
- Internet if they advertise “free” Wi-Fi
- “Service charge”, which may include tips to staff.
If there is support for the bill, you may see hotels make it easier to understand and easier to calculate resort fees before you make your reservation. For now, if you are a member of the hotel’s loyalty program, you can agree to pay some or all of these fees. But as The Points Guy points out , it’s probably easier to double-check hotel options to avoid those that charge resort fees, rather than trying to arrange at the hotel’s front desk upon arrival.