Tropicana rant

[lovebug33]

A wee bit off the topic, but can somebody explain why hotels charge parking fees?I remember being miffed about a parking fee at Doubletree somewhere in Anaheim because I spent all day at Disney. Why was I having to pay Disney 15 bucks a day and Doubletree 12 bucks a day? We did a naughty thing and pricelined a hotel. Didn't know you had to pay for parking, so we won't do that again, but it just seems ridiculous to charge for the parking!

 

[azdisneylover]

Wow!
I am speechless! Thank you for sharing your situation with us all, so we can plan accordingly. I think they will adjust their policy again once they get a barrage of complaints, coupled with the decline of vacationers.

I just scratched them off my list of choices for hotels.

Thank you very much, once again for giving us all a heads up!

I hope you can get this resolved soon without any more drama from Tropicana.

 

[DahliaRW]

A wee bit off the topic, but can somebody explain why hotels charge parking fees?I remember being miffed about a parking fee at Doubletree somewhere in Anaheim because I spent all day at Disney. Why was I having to pay Disney 15 bucks a day and Doubletree 12 bucks a day? We did a naughty thing and pricelined a hotel. Didn't know you had to pay for parking, so we won't do that again, but it just seems ridiculous to charge for the parking!

A lot of hotels are doing this now (and adding in other fees) so that their room rates look cheap. So rather than raising the cost of your room by $12/night, they charge you parking. That way they get ranked better when you're searching for hotel deals on expedia and other travel sites. It's pretty much the airline model.

 

[skiingfast]

A wee bit off the topic, but can somebody explain why hotels charge parking fees?I remember being miffed about a parking fee at Doubletree somewhere in Anaheim because I spent all day at Disney. Why was I having to pay Disney 15 bucks a day and Doubletree 12 bucks a day? We did a naughty thing and pricelined a hotel. Didn't know you had to pay for parking, so we won't do that again, but it just seems ridiculous to charge for the parking!

Parking fees are charge too bring in more customers. Customers look primarily at the price before the extra charges. So a hotel can say our rate is $100. People think that looks fair. Then you get the bill for $158 a night. Because tax is added, then resort fees, safe fee, parking fee, energy surcharge ect....It's a simple way to increase revenue without boldly displaying your advertised rates have gone up.

 

[richfei]

I'm staying 6 nights at the Tropicana and booked before this new parking policy went into effect
I called getawaytoday just now and they said that Tropicana agreed to pay half and Getaway the other half to cover their new parking costs of $9 day plus tax
I'll be asked to pay half the amount when I check in
But Getaway has issued an advance credit to cover it

Perhaps the OP should check and see if this will also be done

 

[CrabbyPatty]

That still doesn't seem right. If you booked before the parking fees were announced, there should be NO parking charged - period. While it's nice that the agency is paying half of the fee and then reimbursing you (sounds like a LOT of unncessary paperwork), the hotel should have done the honorable thing to begin with and honored the conditions under which your stay was booked.

 

[richfei]

When this thread was opened, I called getawaytoday and they indicated that nothing will be charged, and they had sent Tropicana a list of all bookings made prior to this policy coming into effect

I only knew about this credit when I received a receipt back to my card

So my out of pocket will be zero
But yes, this should have been handled better to begin with

 

[pycees312]

Sad this happened to the original poster so don't get me wrong, and I think the response time was a bit long. But usually these type of changes are passed down from corp and there isn't much the front desk can do until someone with authorization can get to it. I find it interesting of the people who now choose to not book with Tropicana due to this one incident.. better for all of us who love this hotel lol.. Most hotels off harbor are doing the same thing as well.. at least some resolution was made although may not be favorable to all but there was an attempt to do something.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well, I never planned to stay there anyway, but if I was considering it, the parking fee isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is why it took a manager so long to talk to her. The manager should be right there for any issue. That would have me worry about any issue that comes up - will there be a manager to help with my problem in a timely manner.

 

[HappyHaunt]

We are staying there soon, and I agree that they didn't handle this very well. We also got the email long after we reserved our room. And honestly well after I could find something else for a decent price. It's frustrating, and it's annoying that just because all these motels are so close they have you when it comes to fees like this. I do like how close they are, and have enjoyed our stays in the past. But it doesn't make me happy how they handled this whole situation.

 

[azdisneylover]

I find it interesting of the people who now choose to not book with Tropicana due to this one incident.. better for all of us who love this hotel lol.. Most hotels off harbor are doing the same thing as well.

I chose to cross Tropicana off my list for a few reasons. The way they chose how the situation was horrible, and it makes a person wonder (especially this Murphy's Law person) how they would be if something else happens. Granted, most hotels do charge for parking now, but not HOW they are charging. If you arrive prior to check in ( check in at 3, you arrive at 12) and expect to park there, because you are staying there, you must pay an extra day. That does add up. Other hotels that do charge do NOT do that. They will let you park, but not charge you for another day.

Once again, I am grateful this original poster shared her opinion with all of us so we all can make a choice. I have a friend staying there next month, and I am anxious to hear how her vacation went. Hopefully, in a few months, their policy on parking will be tweated to fall more into line what is being done by others on Harbor.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Wow what a bummer! I just recommended this hotel a few days ago because of their location and free parking! You should not have to pay, but it doesn't sound like they're going to back down without a fight. Good luck and I agree with a previous poster that I hope you still have a good vacation despite this annoyance.

Seriously! I just stayed there in April, and the free parking was a large reason why we decided to stay there! Would have liked free wireless, but we were willing to forgo using the internet for the free parking.

I guess next time we go back we'll be staying at a hotel with free wireless (i believe BWPPI has free wifi), if we're going to be paying for parking wherever. That's sad, because we really liked the Tropicana and had fantastic experiences there.

 

[tlovesdis]

I have never had the desire to stay at the Tropicana, but now it comes off the list! I cannot deal with bad customer service, especially in an area where there are so many choices for a place to stay. I will never again stay at Anaheim Plaza or the Desert Inn and Suites because of their customer service, among other things!

Luckily my list is short, but if I keep reading things like this it's gonna grow fast!

 

[starkweatherink]

I'm sorry for your situation but did you put your email down when you reserved? I received notification a long time ago about the change in parking fees to both Camelot and Tropicana (Obviously since they are sister hotels)

If not, then yes they should have notified you by mail. If you simply missed their email notifying you of the change, then maybe you should be looking to apologize for the misunderstanding.

 

[ducky_love]

I'm curious if the OP was able to get the remaining 3 nights credited by disputing through their CC?

 

[jory29]

I consider this scenario with the OP to be like this:

I went to buy something at a store, and it wasn't available, and they gave me a raincheck for another time. Great, right? But what if I went back and found the product available and then they said that the raincheck was not going to be able to be applied toward the product I wanted to buy, (because the price had now gone up.) If they told me that I could still buy it, but at the new higher price, I would feel upset.

This is essentially a hotel booking is for. You book at a price and you read about any extra fees, charges, and taxes you may have to pay. You budget and plan accordingly. When a hotel creates a change in policy, (parking fees) you can't 'go back' after the deal is written up, and tell the client they need to pay more. Was a credit card dispute taken up with the credit card company on your behalf, OP? I can't think of any credit card company who would stand for that type of thing. Any hotel should be responsible enough that if they implement a change, that those who booked prior to the change will not have to pay the fee. Their records should state what date the booking was created, and then they would know if they had to charge the guest for parking. $9 a day on every single booking - rakes in the cash - but their poor methods of early check in = pay for 2 days of parking is more than a little ridiculous. They may think they are raking in the cash but I know because of how management handled it, we too, would never stay there. I know lots of people enjoy the Tropicana, and those who have stayed and liked it very likely will remain; but this is certainly an eye opener to any potential new guests, and any profit they make on the parking will likely be lower now due to fewer guests wanting to give them a try.

Management, and how they problem solve, speaks volumes to me. This incident was speaking volumes to me too, but just not on a positive note!

 

[oumagic]

I know lots of people enjoy the Tropicana, and those who have stayed and liked it very likely will remain; but this is certainly an eye opener to any potential new guests, and any profit they make on the parking will likely be lower now due to fewer guests wanting to give them a try.

100% agreed from my personal experience. With the amount of hotels in the area, when a hotel gets their own thread like this on here or other similar forums, it does tremendous damage. When I was picking a hotel for my October stay, Tropicana didn't even get a look because of this situation and how it was handled. The only way that I will look at them for my future trips from AZ is if they were significantly lower in price than their competition and that defeats the purpose of the parking fee (or if I get put there when using Hotwire or Priceline at a significant discount).

I know that they will probably still be busy during peak times, and might not miss my business having never had it in the first place, but I often wonder how businesses in the service industry can't realize how much $50 (like in this case) can cost them thousands in the long run?

As many have said, it isn't necessarily that they charge for parking. It is that if you book a rate ahead of time, it should be locked in and if they charge you more management should resolve it immediately.

 

[GrandBob]

As many have said, it isn't necessarily that they charge for parking. It is that if you book a rate ahead of time, it should be locked in and if they charge you more management should resolve it immediately.

Exactly right. This is a bait and switch. And I don't do business with companies that engage in such practices. I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it fraud.

OP, can you come back and let us know if you did a CC dispute, and did the CC company refund your money?

-Bob

 

[jory29]

Exactly right. This is a bait and switch. And I don't do business with companies that engage in such practices. I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it fraud.

OP, can you come back and let us know if you did a CC dispute, and did the CC company refund your money?

-Bob

Well put! I agree with everything you said.

 

[qoodoo]

I took a large family of 8 to WDW last summer and because of that we decided to stay off-site last October for the Halloween Party. I chose Tropicana due to reviews...but let me say I'm never staying off-site again. The room had terrible weather stripping and water damage from leaks in the corner of the roof. The toilet was also leaking and the handle broke the 2nd day. Anyways next time im just gonna spend like I did at WDW and stay at GCH.