Category Archives for Hotels.
At this point it takes a lot to shock me with the petty mandatory add-on fees some hotels can charge. The Staybridge Suites Tulsa Woodland Hills manages this feat quite easily with a “service fee” that “assists to invest in upgrades and initiatives for guest security.” There’s a mandatory safety fee, because apparently you aren’t assured a safe room as part of your rate at this property.
You earn your points and status on business trips, slogging it out on the road, and the ultimate reward is that special trip to Hawaii. When you arrive and find your loyalty worth so little, that puts a damper on the whole enterprise.
Marriott promises that if an upgraded room is available for the length of your stay when you check in, then it is yours free if you’re a Platinum member or above. But that’s not actually how Marriott upgrades work.
When you ask for late check-out, and the hotel agrees, two things invariably happen. The front desk forgets to code your room key for late check-out, and it stops working by Noon. And housekeeping comes in to turn the room in the morning, even though you’re not supposed to be checking out yet. There’s a solution for both!
Since it is not optional, it’s really part of the rate. They’re just breaking it out to make the rate look lower, to make you think you’re paying less or at least make you think their property is cheaper than it is when you’re comparison shopping.
Plus, since it’s collected on property even for prepaid rates sold through travel agency sites, they don’t pay commission on part of the rate. Put another away, all of the reasons to do this seem to essentially be fraud.
I’ve written about a Marriott that wants you to tip the front desk staff at check-in, and not even for an upgrade. They use a QR code, so the employee probably doesn’t even know right away that you’ve paid. The Hyatt Centric Boston was doing this too.
This really is spreading. Here’s Here’s the Fairfield Inn New York Midtown Manhattan Penn Station.
A reader booked a double points rate through Hilton and never got their double points after more than a month’s worth of follow up. So they disputed the hotel charge and won. Hilton closed their Diamond account. This is the story of how they got their Diamond status back.
Back in the fall I wrote about the Holiday Inn Express in Elko, Nevada charging $12.95 extra per night in addition to the room rate for electricity. They were also charging an extra 3% for guests who wanted to pay with a Chase IHG One Rewards credit card. This hotel apparently keeps changing what the $12.95 is for.
Last summer Hyatt acquired Standard International, including Standard Hotels, StandardX and Bunkhouse Group.
They’ve already gotten integration of Standard properties lined up.
A guest at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner (generally considered one of, if not the worst Ritz) was accused of stealing a bamboo plant from their room, and billed for it.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
