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I want you to please take it off my bill," I instructed the front desk associate. "Your $3-per-night 'technology fee' was never mentioned when I was first quoted a room rate. And, I discovered it only upon later reading the fine print on the key envelope given to me at check-in."
This unexpected charge was for wireless access in the atriums and Internet bar, plus free local phone calls. I didn't bring my computer on this trip, and made no local calls. Besides, who uses hotel phones anymore when cell phones are all around?
"Didn't the receptionist tell you about our technology charge at check-in?" the front desk associate asked. "They're trained to do so."
"No," I answered, "and if it's not a voluntary charge, how would that information be of any use to me?"
To my additional surprise, it took two protracted calls to get the technology fee removed from my bill. It wasn't the money that motivated my initial angry reaction, but the deceptive style.
According to a recent article in The New York Times entitled, "Hotels, Again Profitable, Are Adding Surcharges," such deceptions are on the rise.
It's my belief that involuntary, unquoted hotel fees are eroding travelers' positive feelings about the hotel industry. Since when did the hotel industry join the practitioners of caveat emptor--let the buyer beware? Is that really a wise route? Hidden charges are tarnishing the industry's goodwill.
When a room rate quote loses credibility, the industry will have an image problem. I think it's important for hotels to adopt the following guideline: "The room rate quoted includes all mandatory charges. All other charges are user-based or voluntary."
Why are these charges so annoying to me? Because I don't like being tricked.
According to a business travel report in The New York Times, customers might "revolt as they have before." The report continues, "In 2002, several hotel chains settled a class-action lawsuit over inadequate disclosure of energy surcharges and agreed to issue discount coupons to any former guest who had paid them." Just this April, a class-action suit was filed against several hotel chains, contending that guests had not been properly informed of resort fees.
Class-action suits aside, as an industry, we must strive to be viewed as being "straight" with our guests. The dollars in question might be minor, but the impact is major. Angry customers rarely return, and word-of-mouth negativism can take on a life of its own. Look at my own behavior more than a week after the technology fee incident. The bitter taste still lingers as the dominant memory of my stay there. And writing about it further perpetuates that feeling, and potentially for others who read this.
I have refrained from naming the hotel because a hotel executive there, under a request for anonymity, confessed, "The policy came from corporate ... they just don't get it. They don't have to enforce it, deal with angry guests who reject it, and then see those guests walk out over a lousy $3."
The undisclosed surcharges that most annoy guests are: 1) daily parking; 2) energy surcharges; 3) technology fees; 4) Internet-connection fees; 5) beach towels; 6) resort amenities; and 7) in-room pet fees.
Should guests really have to be on the constant lookout for hidden charges? I guess so. Consider my recent experience in a hotel's fine-dining restaurant celebrating with some friends. I didn't bite for the "flat or sparkling water?" pad-the-bill welcome by our waiter.
"Your dirty city water will be just fine," I commented, and then promptly padded the bill in my own way by ordering two Old Fashioneds. I figured the alcohol would kill any germs in the tap water, plus "enhance" my sociability.
Later, after a wonderful meal, the server presented me the bill. Total due: $512.20. In the darkened "atmosphere" of the restaurant, I missed spotting the message at the bottom reading, "For your convenience, a 17-percent gratuity will be added to your check."
But I had added my customary 20-percent gratuity. I might be tight when it comes to paying for drinking water or technology fees, but I'm generous with hard-working servers. I didn't discover just how generous I really was until I got home. A 37-percent gratuity is a little over the top. A great (or at least honest) server might have pointed my error out. Or at least circled the 17-percent gratuity line in red ink.
Whether technology fees or automatic gratuities, it is management's responsibility to eliminate any practices that smell of caveat emptor. Guests shouldn't have to "beware" of anything. And if hoteliers don't show some more class when it comes to hidden charges, guests undoubtedly will consider more action.
hmm@advanstar.com
Anthony Marshall, dean emeritus of Florida International University, has practiced hospitality law, focusing on issues of safety and security, for almost 25 years. He can be reached at amarshall@ei-ahla.org.
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