Hotels Resort Fees- Are They Compulsory?

[john storey]

Having stayed at a few 'Downtown Disney' hotels in the past, I was wondering how compulsary the 'resort fees' was. When we asked what it was for, most of the items mentioned were either useless or facilities you would expect to be included in the price to stay there anyway. For instance,pool, park transportation, in room coffee making, daily newspaper (really useful when you are coming from UK (NOT))room safe, + others I can't even remember. If you suggested that you would not be using any of these "perks', would you still be obliged to pay? Does anyone have any views on this.

 

[DianeV]

Depends on the hotel. I agree with you. I wonder when they will start charging for the water for a shower?

 

[floridagirrl2]

Yes, you are still obligated to pay. Resort fees are very annoying, but not optional. If you don't want to pay, you should make sure you stay at a hotel that doesn't charge a resort fee. There are plenty of hotels that do not require resort fees.

 

[DianeV]

Not anymore there arent! I see even 2* hotels charging resort fees!

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by floridagirrl2
Yes, you are still obligated to pay. Resort fees are very annoying, but not optional. If you don't want to pay, you should make sure you stay at a hotel that doesn't charge a resort fee. There are plenty of hotels that do not require resort fees.

Resort fees and parking charges are charges the customer has to consider when looking at a room rate.

What's unfair is that people booking on Hotwire and PL aren't aware of the amount of those charges (if any) in advance of making a non-refundable reservation. In general I think mandatory fees should be included in the room rate, in the case of reservations in which the customer has no way of finding out in advance the amount of the charge THE HOTELS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO inlude the resort fees in the rates they list with Hotwire and PL.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Lewisc
the customer has no way of finding out in advance the amount of the charge

I totally agree that all charges should be included in the room rate and not tacked on later to make the rate look artificially cheap. However, I do think it is the responsibility of the guest to find out all the charges before booking. No matter how you are making your reservation, you can still phone the hotel first and ask the total charges. I always do that even when I'm booking online. I ask how much tax is, if parking is free and if there are any other charges like a resort fee, a charge for the in-room safe, a charge for phone usage, etc. Most hotels have toll-free numbers so its usually a free call (unless you are outside the US). As with most things, it is buyer beware.

 

[DianeV]

I think the point was that with Priceline and Hotwire for instance you dont know what hotel you are going to get so there is no way to know of any resort fees and how much they are (in advance)

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by DianeV
I think the point was that with Priceline and Hotwire for instance you dont know what hotel you are going to get so there is no way to know of any resort fees and how much they are (in advance)

Sorry. I misread that. I agree with you there. I wonder if the hotels that make themselves available through Priceline and Hotwire tend to charge higher extra fees to make up for the lower rates.

My comments still stand, however, for folks booking a specific hotel. While I oppose the practice of tacking on fees, I think someone who books the room and complains about the fees at checkout didn't do the proper homework before booking.

 

[DianeV]

AGREED!