Royal Plaza fees!!

[kaytieeldr]

You know what irks me the most of all the extra charges on the OP's bill? The TWENTY-SIX PERCENT tax on the PARKING FEE!!!!!!

 

[shan136]

I've noticed the less expensive the hotel, the more free-bees they throw in. Hilton's aren't giving you free hot breakfast in the morning, but Comfort Inn's are. The people who appreciate the free stuff don't want to spend the $ on a Hilton. Hotels provide services to their target audiences. People who are comfortable spending a lot on a hotel room will pay for internet, and pay for their breakfast. Higher end hotels don't have to offer free stuff.

I don't think that is really true. For years I've worked in sales of luxury home goods and have worked with many clients who live the wealthiest towns in CT and everyone I have worked with wants something extra for their money, no matter how much they have or how much they are spending. If you click the link to the Hotel News Today article I posted earlier, the chart breaks down demand for services by segment and it shows that not everyone wants a free breakfast (because they usually s**k anyway) but every market wants wifi.

For me, there are two problems with attaching a separate fee for internet service:
One, breaking out the "perks" of a resort like pool, newspaper, wifi etc. and attaching fees to it actually cheapen the experience of the resort by nickel and diming for amenities.
Two, I don't think that internet service should be considered the same as a free breakfast or a pillow top mattress. Just as basic cable television service in a hotel is standard, internet service should be standard. It's not 1999 anymore.

 

[WDW Enabler]

Well I wasn't able to get a normal DVC room anywhere so I decided to stay off property and booked a room on priceline but am regretting it now. I had read several reviews and was okay with bidding for a room in the downtown disney area. Well I got Royal Palms for 60 a night but now see it will be more like 76 a night wish I had bid less. Oh well. That is what I get for booking late and with priceline.

 

[Swimalie]

Hilton's aren't giving you free hot breakfast in the morning, but Comfort Inn's are.

Some Hilton hotels are. Depends on which ones and where. My husband travels for work and only stays at Hilton properties. He usually picks Hampton Inns because they offer free hot breakfast. Same for me when I travel for swim meets.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just as basic cable television service in a hotel is standard, internet service should be standard. It's not 1999 anymore.

But the hotel provides the television. To make "free" internet access equitable, they'd have to provide (and maintain) in-room computers. There's no valid reason my room rate should include the cost of internet access if I don't have a computer.

Some Hilton hotels are. Depends on which ones and where. My husband travels for work and only stays at Hilton properties. He usually picks Hampton Inns because they offer free hot breakfast. Same for me when I travel for swim meets.

Hilton owns Hampton Inns, but Hampton Inns aren't Hiltons. You don't get the same amenities, the same features, the same levels of service...

Properties at the Hilton level - Marriott's another good example - offer many upscale amenities, but free internet generally isn't one of them. They 'compete' with each other. Hampton Inn competes with Fairfield Inn or Courtyard - so yes, all would provide some type of free breakfast along with free internet connections.

 

[mikehn]

The rental car companies are just as bad if not worse

 

[Lewisc]

A lot of posters don't understand the difference between hotels that cater to leisure/cost sensitive guests and full service hotels which cater to business guests.

Free internet, free breakfast and generally free parking is found in chains like Hampton Inn, Courtyard etc.

Full service hotels like Marriott and Hilton generally charge for internet. Guests at full service hotels are concerned with the availability of room service more then a free breakfast.

Royal Plaza is trying to attract guests with lower posted rates but then make money with extras. Charging a resort fee and a parking fee for this hotel seems excessive. Charging a resort fee to a PL guest is unethical. How can PL say we found a hotel who agreed to your price when the hotel only agreed to accept your bid if you also pay a resort fee ($8 in this case) which isn't disclosed until after your credit card is charged. I don't care what PL says, the paractice of charging a fee required by the hotel in additiion to the amount of the bid is unethical and possibly illegal. I'd file a credit card dispute.

Nothing wrong with charging for internet or parking. Free parking and free internet isn't an ameniy promoised by PL. Guests who book convnetionallly should check the price of amenities that interest them before booking.

Sometimes booking a hotel with free breakfast, free parking, free internet and no resort fee can give a guest a better deal then booking a hotel through PL and having to pay extra.