Budget Shocks

[Josh Hendy]

The nastiest budget shock we had on our most recent vacation (Jul-Aug 2011) was the cost of counter-service meals. I wish I had studied the menus from AllEars more carefully. It wouldn't have saved us money but it would have prepared us a little better.

The other shock, which was again from lack of homework, was the parking and resort fees at our hotel (the Peabody). We loved staying there and probably wouldn't have changed our plans had we known, but IMHO not including the parking, resort fees and taxes up front (e.g. on expedia) is a racket that hotels have been getting away with for too long. I think that the resort owners should watch out that they don't start to tick off too many customers ... the perception of fairness is as important as the actual price.

One thing that saved us a lot of money and didn't cause any pain was driving a long way to get a far cheaper air ticket. It was almost a 10 hour drive Ottawa - Philadelphia but the weather was pretty good and the trip seemed to zip by pretty quickly. We managed to slip in some shopping on the way too. I would do that again any time, as long as I have a bit of latitude to leave a day early in case of a bad weather forecast. The money we saved paid for Da Fambly's 2-day tickets to Universal to see the "all important" Harry Potter land, which was kind of an extra on top of our Magic Your Way tickets. The day that we wasted on each end of the trip driving would have been wasted anyways if we had flown from Ottawa because of the nasty flight/connection times of the cheapest available flights (which were almost double the cost of flying at decent hours out of PHL).

We loved our Orlando vacation ... but overall, looking at our CC bills afterwards, and seeing how our incomes are not going up anywhere near as fast as the prices, we decided that we'll be taking shorter vacations closer to home for a while. I have a tent and I'm not afraid to use it !!!!

Now that we're safely home again we have to definitely start looking at cutting back our grocery bills ......... but that'll be another thread.

 

[robinb]

I can understand the price difference between flying in/out of Ottawa and crossing the border into the US to fly ... but why didn't you fly out of Syracuse?!? We have family in Ottawa and we always fly into SYR to get to them. It's only about 3.5 hours. I can't imagine that it would save that much to drive an extra 6-7 hours!

Secondly, Expedia doesn't hide extra charges like taxes. They probably also mention resort fees and parking (!). Sorry that you were not paying attention. I think that it stinks that the hotel charged both a resort fee an a parking fee. I hope the used it to feed their darn ducks . Those extra charges, plus the parking at WDW makes a good deal into no deal at all.

And yeah ... Counter Service meals are unusually expensive. I budget about $11 per person per meal.

I'm glad, all in all, you had a good time .

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is all copied from Expedia's room rate page for the Peabody, all directly under the box that shows the various rates:

* Prices are per room/unit and do not include taxes and service fees or any extra guest charges.

HOTEL POLICIES & FEES

The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
Know Before You Go
There are no room charges for children 18 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding.
Policies
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Guests must show current government-issued proof of identity at the time of check-in.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
Pets not allowed
Resort fee charged at hotel/condo
Check-out time is: noon
Check-in time starts at: 3 PM
Fees
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
Self parking: USD 12 per night
Valet parking: USD 20 per night
Refrigerator: USD 15 per day
In-room microwave: USD 15 per day
Rollaway bed: USD 15 per day
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
Mandatory hotel-imposed fees
The following mandatory hotel-imposed fees are charged and collected by the hotel either at check-in or check-out.
Resort fee: USD 9.59 per room, per night
Hotel resort fee inclusions:
Internet access property-wide
Phone calls (local)
Use of fitness center
In-room bottled water
Additional inclusions
The above list may not be comprehensive. Mandatory hotel-imposed fees may not include tax and are subject to change.

 

[scrapquitler]

The following mandatory hotel-imposed fees are charged and collected by the hotel either at check-in or check-out.
Resort fee: USD 9.59 per room, per night[/COLOR]
Hotel resort fee inclusions:
Internet access property-wide
Phone calls (local)
Use of fitness center
In-room bottled water
Additional inclusions
The above list may not be comprehensive. Mandatory hotel-imposed fees may not include tax and are subject to change.

I think that resort fees stink. They should just add the $10 to the price of the room. Next thing you know, there will be a housekeeping fee of $10, a shower charge of $5, a watching tv charge of $5, an opening the window fee of $Z5 and before you know it, your room charge will be double. It's just stupid.

 

[JennyKS]

The original poster already admitted they didn't do their homework on the resort fees/parking fees, I see no sense in pointing them out.

I'll agree with the original poster. Sometimes it's the little things you tend to forget about or not think about that kills you in the end.

This statement I argree 100%:
seeing how our incomes are not going up anywhere near as fast as the prices

Two years ago I took a 5% pay cut. Fortunately I still was able to keep my job. This year we finally got a raise (small raise) it was 3%, but I'm still not back to where I was 2 years ago. Gas prices, food prices, and I completely noticed the cotton increase when I bought my daughter school clothes this year are the things I have noticed the most.

We have a disney vacation planned for November, but next years vacation will have to be closer to home.

 

[snowy76]

I can understand the price difference between flying in/out of Ottawa and crossing the border into the US to fly ... but why didn't you fly out of Syracuse?!? We have family in Ottawa and we always fly into SYR to get to them. It's only about 3.5 hours. I can't imagine that it would save that much to drive an extra 6-7 hours!

Fares out of SYR to just about anywhere are horrendous. You can't fly to MCO for much less than $300 pp - we live in Syracuse and prefer to drive to Rochester to get lower fares.

PHL airport is about a 5 hour drive for us door-to-door. I'm not sure we'd drive that far for the fare difference, but if it was a direct flight it would be a consideration.

 

[Marionnette]

I think that resort fees stink. They should just add the $10 to the price of the room. Next thing you know, there will be a housekeeping fee of $10, a shower charge of $5, a watching tv charge of $5, an opening the window fee of $Z5 and before you know it, your room charge will be double. It's just stupid.

You're getting a little facetious with those claims. A resort fee is not unusual in a tourist destination. The fees were spelled out on the Expedia website and it's not the hotel's fault that you didn't read the fine print.

The airline industry has been playing with extra fees for years now (extra charges for pillows, in-flight entertainment, meals, baggage, etc.). Yes, it stinks to have to be diligent about educating yourself on the costs, but you always have the option of voting with your wallet and taking your business elsewhere.

 

[Karenj2]

Drive about an hour & a half further south to the BWI (Baltimore/Washington) airport!

We live between the two (1hr from Philly, and 1.5 from BWI), and flights are generally cheaper at BWI (sometimes as much as $100 per person), and BWI's long term garage (with a free shuttle to the airport) is only $8 per day, vs Philly's, which is $20. (I've parked offsite in Philly, and it's not horrible, but it's not as nice as BWI's.)

The only time we fly out of Philly is if we're flying with relatives, or my inlaws who live 15 minutes away can drive us to the airport.

 

[thomas998]

You're getting a little facetious with those claims. A resort fee is not unusual in a tourist destination. The fees were spelled out on the Expedia website and it's not the hotel's fault that you didn't read the fine print.

The airline industry has been playing with extra fees for years now (extra charges for pillows, in-flight entertainment, meals, baggage, etc.). Yes, it stinks to have to be diligent about educating yourself on the costs, but you always have the option of voting with your wallet and taking your business elsewhere.

I don't think that is facetious at all..

Too many places just try to add on little fees here and there because they don't care whether a customer comes back to them or not.. it is especially true in places like Orlando where they know that even if they upset a customer, that their will still be more to follow that don't know that they are being raped with fees.

It also irks me that cities hit people with fees simply because they rented the car from the airport... we never bother with getting our rental car at MCO anymore we always get a taxi and go to a rental place outside the airport to avoid those fees... the taxi fee is way less than the special airport fee.

 

[robinb]

It also irks me that cities hit people with fees simply because they rented the car from the airport... we never bother with getting our rental car at MCO anymore we always get a taxi and go to a rental place outside the airport to avoid those fees... the taxi fee is way less than the special airport fee.

I will often recommend that very thing to people who are looking for a car rental over Christmas. It never fails that someone finds out that a minivan is $1000 a week. I suggest a $30 cab ride that ends up saving people hundreds of dollars. I should be on commission!

 

[Marionnette]

I don't think that is facetious at all..

Too many places just try to add on little fees here and there because they don't care whether a customer comes back to them or not.. it is especially true in places like Orlando where they know that even if they upset a customer, that their will still be more to follow that don't know that they are being raped with fees.

It also irks me that cities hit people with fees simply because they rented the car from the airport... we never bother with getting our rental car at MCO anymore we always get a taxi and go to a rental place outside the airport to avoid those fees... the taxi fee is way less than the special airport fee.

Opening a window fees and watching TV fees are not facetious?

Okay then. Whatever

 

[Danibelle]

You're getting a little facetious with those claims. A resort fee is not unusual in a tourist destination. The fees were spelled out on the Expedia website and it's not the hotel's fault that you didn't read the fine print.

The airline industry has been playing with extra fees for years now (extra charges for pillows, in-flight entertainment, meals, baggage, etc.). Yes, it stinks to have to be diligent about educating yourself on the costs, but you always have the option of voting with your wallet and taking your business elsewhere.

I paid a rather high parking fee at the Marriott World Center and Renaissance at Sea World. I also remember paying some extra fees at the DLR awhile back. It is not just the Peabody. The Swan/Dolphin also charge fees (parking and resort, I believe).

 

[StuckInKS]

but IMHO not including the parking, resort fees and taxes up front (e.g. on expedia) is a racket that hotels have been getting away with for too long.

This was our third trip and our first time staying on-site, and this is one of the issues that made planning more stress-free for me. Once our hotel was paid, it was PAID. I didn't have to worry about what "extra fees" would await me when I showed up or how much they were going to tie up on our card as a "hold." It really irks me to think I am getting a good deal and then be required to pay $20-$30 extra per day for fees and parking once I arrive We often have to get two rooms to accommodate our large family, so these $20+ daily fees are usually double for us, plus TWO holds on top of it. It really is a pain. OK, rant over

As far as CS, yes, that IS a shock. We usually pay anywhere from $50 to $70 (Mexican CS at Epcot) for a CS meal at Disney. After dining at Disney, I never flinch at the bill when eating out at home. Well, except maybe T-Rex...they seem to think our local location is in Disney, too.

 

[chabs]

I feel your pain. I almost dropped dead when we got our bill at Via Napoli. $230 something, which with tip came out to about $275. NOTHING we ate there added up to that amount of money-quality wise. We had one salad, 5 chicken parm dinners, 5 sodas and 5 desserts. One of the reasons why it was so much was because 3 of us didn't want the potatos that came with the chicken parm so they asked for spagetti instead. They told us that they wouldn't subsitute but could bring us a side of spagetti for a "small fee". Their small fee was $7 each, which shocked me for a tiny portion. I wouldn't have minded if the food was fabulous, but most of us agreed that we wouldn't bother with it again-it was just ok. I still say to my DH-can you believe how much it cost us to eat at Via Naploli? and he just rolls his eyes. Not that we can't afford it, but it kills me to spend that kind of money on dinner in a theme park that was just so-so and I wasn't expecting the bill to be so large because I never pay attention to the prices.

 

[thomas998]

I feel your pain. I almost dropped dead when we got our bill at Via Napoli. $230 something, which with tip came out to about $275. NOTHING we ate there added up to that amount of money-quality wise. We had one salad, 5 chicken parm dinners, 5 sodas and 5 desserts. One of the reasons why it was so much was because 3 of us didn't want the potatos that came with the chicken parm so they asked for spagetti instead. They told us that they wouldn't subsitute but could bring us a side of spagetti for a "small fee". Their small fee was $7 each, which shocked me for a tiny portion. I wouldn't have minded if the food was fabulous, but most of us agreed that we wouldn't bother with it again-it was just ok. I still say to my DH-can you believe how much it cost us to eat at Via Naploli? and he just rolls his eyes. Not that we can't afford it, but it kills me to spend that kind of money on dinner in a theme park that was just so-so and I wasn't expecting the bill to be so large because I never pay attention to the prices.

That would have been a good timeto forgo any tip, and if they tried the automatic gratuity, a ggod timeto have it removed.

 

[swilshire]

That would have been a good timeto forgo any tip, and if they tried the automatic gratuity, a ggod timeto have it removed.

You would blame this on the server why?

I'm sure they make good money, but I would never under tip a server because of the price policies of the restaurant. He/she probably assumed that someone eating in an expensive restaurant wouldn't blink at an extra $7. I wouldn't have been there in the first place, but if I did go there, I would expect to tip accordingly if the service was satisfactory.

Maybe it would have been fair to only tip on the amount minus the $7 add-ons if you felt the server wasn't clear on the cost. Anything less would be unfair in my opinion (assuming otherwise satisfactory service).

Sheila

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

This is why we stay onsite and use the dining plan. Last time I thought we could get away without the DP and we went to Cape May to eat. I looked up the prices online first, before we left, and they were something like $25 pp... fast forward to the trip. Turns out we're in some new "season" and the price is now like $40 pp. I couldn't beat the system! Back to dining plan next time. We'll go when we can afford to do it...

 

[maxiesmom]

That would have been a good timeto forgo any tip, and if they tried the automatic gratuity, a ggod timeto have it removed.

Why? The server didn't do anything wrong, why shaft them because you didn't read the prices before ordering? Seems a pretty sleezy thing to do, not leaving a tip because you don't like how much the food costs.

 

[toesmom]

I will often recommend that very thing to people who are looking for a car rental over Christmas. It never fails that someone finds out that a minivan is $1000 a week. I suggest a $30 cab ride that ends up saving people hundreds of dollars. I should be on commission!

where would you recommend for closest offsite rental

thanks

 

[bdcp]

We'll be staying at the Peabody in a couple of weeks and I've known for quite a while that they charge a resort fee. It's pretty easy to find and also find what it covers.