This morning. Our needs to know vacation series continues
with a look at those pesky resort fees as Ashley
Sardi reveals what hotels they they don't want to tell
you we're going to ban surprise resort fees that hotels
charge on your bill. Those fees can cost up
to$90 a night at hotels that aren't even resorts
. Biden got laughs for his stance on resort fees
in his 2023 state of the union address. But
experts say these fees are no joke also known as
facility fees, destination fees, amenity fees and even
urban fees. These hidden charges are hurting consumers.
Bottom line. Clint Henderson, managing editor for the
points guy says they have infected the travel industry.
They started out as an extra little addendum that resorts
in resort destinations like Hawaii or Florida were putting on
hotels in order to pay for beach towels and Wi
Fi and water and things like that. And since
then, they've spread like a cancer all over the
world. Henderson says a good trick if you want
to find out what's included in a hotel, resort
fee is to Google the name of the hotel and
resort fee here is the standard in New York City
. The almost$35 a night rate covers things that
are well, pretty standard like fitness center access and
a room safe. It's just another way for hotels
to jack up the price of hotel rooms without publishing
that price so that it fools consumers. In my
opinion, we reached out to five hotels in New
York City for an interview but they got camera shy
when they heard the topic was resort fees. But
the American Hotel and Lodging Association tells Cheddar news in
a statement, these fees directly support hotel operations including
wages and benefits for hotel staff. And when they
are applied hotel websites clearly and prominently display them for
guests during the booking process. Henderson says as a
consumer, you can protect yourself by challenging the fee
at check out ask every single time you check out
to have the resort fee taken off. That's the
only way these hotels are going to change their minds
. Henderson says you can also write to your local
congress person, Ashley Mastronardi Chatter news.