Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Resort Fees - how are these still legal? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter BillyBarooo
- Start date
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
Except in Vegas, you can't. They all do it. Why don't we just do away with all transparent pricing? Lets allow target to post that milk is ten cents with a 3 dollar energy surcharge in really small print. Lets get rid of weights and measures and all of the people earning those salaries.
If the government wants to earn their 12% occupancy tax, they better provide some sort of service for it. Otherwise take off the gov't taxes and I will happily pay the resort fee.
msommer
Footballguy
oxymoron
Anyway, do you want to sue McDonalds for 'just lovin' it' if you don't or Coca Cola for 'open happiness'?
msommer
Footballguy
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
You are free to go where ever you please.
Don't be crying when you get conned, untwist your panties and vote with your feet.
It doesn't cost me anything not to love Coke. But if they advertise $1 Big Macs, I expect if I pay a $1 plus tax I will get a Big Mac and not have to pay an additional $2 for wrapping fees.
Sammy3469
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I don't get conned. I am just tired of the extra effort it takes to calculate the true cost. Obviously you support businesses falsely advertising prices, seems like an odd stance, but I guess I can agree to disagree.
Seems to be a weird mix of people on both sides of this issue. It is clearly misleading advertising IMHO, but some people I consider anti-corporation seem to have no issue with the practice.
Koya
Footballguy
Life's tough what can I say? Is it BS with the fees? Sure. Do I like it? No.You think it is ok to have fine print that has an asterisk to more fine print?Again, if it's such a scam, find places without fees (they exist) or put your money elsewhere. If they hid the fees, ok. But they state them, it's part of the ####### price. You want to pay it, go. If not, don't. But stop #####ing, people.It's a conspiracy between the various hotel ownership groups, so you can't really bring your business somewhere else. They all charge the fees.Bring your business someone else.
It's not that difficult.
The most ridiculous was the Quad in Vegas. They're currently undergoing renovations and becoming the Linq. So, there was no pool. There was no spa. There is no Wifi. The rooms are dirt-cheap because most aren't finished. The lobby, the main casino, it's all drywall and plastic sheeting. But they still charge the resort fee. The website said something like "A $30 Resort Fee will be added to your stay." A page deeper inside the website says "Resort Fee: guests receive a daily newspaper, complimentary coffee, wifi service, pool and spa access with two additional towels*." The asterisk? "complimentary coffee, wifi service, pool and spa access not available at the Quad due to construction." So all you got was a USA today and a cup of coffee for your $30 a day.
Scam.
Really not that difficult, sorry.
But it is what it is and be a smart consumer is all.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Yeah shut up and suck it up sheeple. Wait, what?
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
This thread is weird. This practice should be universally hated. I agree that consumers need to be smart and pay attention, but it doesn't mean companies should be able to advertise a price that is lower than what you pay. I would be fine if you can opt out, but at most places you can't.
Sammy3469
Footballguy
Jack White
Footballguy
The headline of this thread implies the solution to this "problem" is yet another law.
We need fewer laws, not more.
We need fewer laws, not more.
msommer
Footballguy
It doesn't have to be collusion when a bunch of competitors implement each others successful strategies
Last edited by a moderator:
How do they know that something is "moved"? Is there a sensor? Do lights flash at the front desk? Suppose you bump the tray and a bottle falls over while opening your suitcase or while having wild whooppeee... Does that count?
I don't necessarily have an issue with "resort fees" as a concept. I may not like them, but I understand why they are there. But being charged for "moving" a moveable item? That's ridonkulous...
Exactly. I understand the need for CYA list of fine print rules to protect against stupidity or lawsuits. But when the fine print significantly adds to the cost of the item and is not clearly disclosed on the sales agreement total price, it is BS and should not be legally binding. A total price is a total price unless you willfully ask for and agree to pay for additional services.
Last edited by a moderator:
Marauder
Footballguy
Better for the average consumer? yes. Better for the savvy consumer who is willing to take the time to research what the real price is and what you are getting for that price and shop around? I don't think so.
msommer
Footballguy
Ignoramus
Footballguy
So you think that being smart enough and having to dig around for the additional charges allows you to better compare prices than if you know up front you will be paying X? I really have a hard time wrapping my head around that.
Sammy3469
Footballguy
Ignoramus
Footballguy
You tell me.
They do for gas, but that does not change things much. The sales tax is legally added by your representatives who were elected by the consumers in a public way which is known to all parties.
msommer
Footballguy
On the way to getting all in prices on hotel rooms, get the sales tax put into the item on the shelf also. TIA
When they provide you with a price and all applicable taxes as the total, and those additional fees are not mentioned or included there.
CurlyNight
Footballguy
Damn. That's insane. Next time take photos so you get the placement of the items order correct and measure the distance between each item then you should be good to go should this happen again with your kids. And don't tell the front desk. If you still get billed, then look for a spy cam in the room next time for you don't know what else may be monitored.
Marauder
Footballguy
Let me explain why I think so. It has to do with the fact that Hotel room prices fluctuate based on supply and demand already.
Take this example. You and your wife are traveling to Vegas and you know you will both be using the internet on your own devices.
Three very comparable Hotels with comparable rooms:
Hotel A: $50/per night for the room + $20 resort fee, including unlimited internet
Hotel B: $45/per night for the room + $35 resort fee, including unlimited internet
Hotel C: $40/per night for the room + $25 resort fee but this only includes internet for one device, the second device is an additional $12 (this is the case for some Vegas Hotels)
All else being equal, Hotel A is clearly the best deal, however most people will book one of the other two thinking they are getting a better deal which in turn causes Hotel A to lower their room price even more to fill their empty rooms. The more people who make the wrong decision, the better it is for the savvy consumer over the long run because of supply and demand.
Dickies
Footballguy
The tray had sensors underneath and a little disclaimer next to it warning that if anything is moved we will be charged. My 2 year olds didn't get the memo.
That is some convoluted reasoning. The more likely outcome will be that Hotel A will find a way to better deceive the customer into picking them. If you want to drive down prices, you need full and honest disclosure.
CurlyNight
Footballguy
Marauder
Footballguy
It's not convoluted at all. What you are doing is taking advantage of market inefficiencies. The more transparent the pricing is, the more efficient the market is and they will all end up charging the same price for the same service. Inefficient markets favor the more informed consumer.
the problem I have with this is when you book a room through a 3rd party website like Priceline or Hotwire. They tell you what the price you are paying for the room is up front, but you don't find out which hotel it is until after you pay. Only then do you normally find out about the resort fee (if you look), but most people probably wouldn't find out until they showed up and checked into the hotel.
So, you are bidding on a hotel room based on a limited set of information. You might think you're getting a great rate but it could get a lot worse if you wind up stuck at a hotel with a huge resort fee with services that you may not even want/need.
So, you are bidding on a hotel room based on a limited set of information. You might think you're getting a great rate but it could get a lot worse if you wind up stuck at a hotel with a huge resort fee with services that you may not even want/need.
TwinTurbo
Footballguy
Except that the hotels sometimes don't actually offer the services included in the mandatory fee. The pool or gym is under repairs or closed, the WiFi doesn't work, your morning paper doesn't get delivered, etc. I've stayed at several Vegas hotels where this was the case. And good luck getting the fees removed. The FTC has warned hotels in the past about resort fees and "drip" pricing, but nothing has been done about it yet.
With the room rate, you know exactly what you are getting and you have the room for the entire duration of your stay. With the resort fee, you may not get what you paid for, and the services may not be available for the entire duration of your stay even though the fee is mandatory. It's a deceptive practice and should be illegal, unless there is a way for the customer to opt out of it.
msommer
Footballguy
Is that a hotel issue or a 3rd party website issue? It appears that e.g. hotels.com is allowed to show the extra charges
CurlyNight
Footballguy
The fees go toward maintaining/repairing gym equipment, the pool, etc. So just because you can't use it while you are there doesn't mean you shouldn't help the hotel with these costs too, now does it?? 
I don't know exactly where the fault lies, but it's misleading to tell someone they are paying $100/night for a room, and then after it's booked and can't be cancelled to let them know "oh btw, there's also a $30/night resort fee that the hotel charges". feels very much like a bait and switch system.
msommer
Footballguy
Well, if that happened to me I'd stop booking hotels in such a way that I would be exposed to a bait and switch.
yes, as would most.
that still doesn't change the fact that it's an unfair way to do business. most uninformed consumers would still be victimized.
say there was a scenario where a retailer put a price sticker on a product that said it was $10...and when it scanned at the register it rung up for $13...once you realize it, you would complain and probably get it adjusted. maybe you'd stop shopping there as well. but many people wouldn't notice it and would just pay the extra charge. the retailer would deserve to be called out for something like that imo, even if the consumer should also be expected to be more aware.
Last edited by a moderator:
Short Corner
Footballguy
CurlyNight
Footballguy
I wonder what they would say if you asked them to come up to the room and remove said tray to prevent possibly accidentally bumping it. Maybe I'll try that with them. I like being argumentative sometimes and this would be a good one...
msommer
Footballguy
But as mentioned earlier in the thread the hotels make that information available to e.g. hotels.com so the unfair business model is not the hotel's but the website's, so blaming the hotel is pointless (for anything else than choosing to engage with companies with flawed business models).
If you had the same experience at the hotel's own website you could blame them.
This type of pricing is very common in the airline industry (oh, my, did you actually expect to bring a suitcase, that's extra - sorry you didn't notice when you booked the extremely cheap ticket that cannot be refunded - by the way it's more expensive here in the airport than on our website now that we have you in a monopoly situation), and most types of (international) commercial transportation have oodles of addtl charges that you can find if you are really, really persistent on their websites.
The resort fee is just an add-on that you can only fight by choosing to book where it isn't charged, and yes, that may mean that Vegas is off limits.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
There is at least logic as to why taxes aren't included. The business doesn't set the tax rate and it could change on a whim because a stadium gets approved. Unfair burden on the business to have to change their labeling.
Resort fees are set by the business and were created as a way to create extra revenue without the customer knowing up front.
If we are going to have laws and weights and measures departments that cover these kinds of things, it makes sense to actually have the laws make sense. If there was a grocery store that advertised Milk for a dime and then when you got to the checkout there was a 3 dollar surcharge, the weights and measures people would be in there so fast fining them.
Why is it an ok practice for hotels to do the same exact thing?
Websites aren't allowed to display airline prices without the fees included. Pretty sure that is a law. This isn't about adding regulations or departments. It is about those departments enforcing laws evenly.
If you think the laws should be lifted 100%, then fine, I get it. I can at least understand it, but if you support letting hotels do this, but not grocery stores that seems pretty hypocritical and I question your motivations.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
Actually that is not true. In the airline industry any fee you can't opt out of has to be displayed.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
Can't believe there are people that think this is OK. I look forward to the future that you enabled where we drive down the street looking for a gas station and see the following prices advertised on the signs of different gas stations.
$1.25*
$1.75*
$2.15*
$1.11*
$4.41*
$0.97*
*Please see pump for a list of applicable fees.
msommer
Footballguy
Apparently it is hard to fathom for some that e.g. hotels.com are actually showing these fees and so is the hotel web site.
Similar threads
![[icon]](/data/avatars/s/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
