This week I wrote about the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Plano, Texas hiding parking charges as mandatory “City Fees” — even for guests without cars.
- Guests being improperly charged a junk fee for something they weren’t using
- And being misled about what it was for.
A reader caught the $2.87 fee to park in a lot that wasn’t trackable. She wasn’t driving. And it was deceptively labeled on her bill. Since it was small and looked like a municipal tax, almost no guest would think to question it.
It’s a small dollar amount — $2.87 — but the bigger story is how quietly this kind of nickel-and-diming spreads. A bogus three-dollar fee, multiplied across every occupied room, becomes meaningful revenue. At around two-thirds average occupancy, this 99-room property starts generating an extra five figures in fraudulent revenue after only a matter of weeks. (They probably weren’t paying out Marriott’s vig on this money, either, since it was labeled as a tax instead of ‘scam fee’.)
One reader took it upon themselves to contact the Collin County Tax Assessor, reporting a business misleading customers about a tax – saying they are collecting a non-existent tax, and keeping the money rather than remitting it to the county.
They heard back right away. Since it’s not a tax it wasn’t squarely within their jurisdiction, but they quickly worked with the City Manager who put a stop to this at the hotel quickly. Now they are working on redress for guests that were fleeced.
View From The Wing readers get results! This was clearly a far more effective path than complaining to Marriott, which in my experience does very little to police the bad behaviors of its franchisees.
Now, the question is whether any action is taken by the county, city or state to force reimbursements. Also, has anyone looked into whether the franchisee is doing this at other properties?
This wasn’t a mistake. This is fraud. Please report to Texas attorney general’s office.
I have a November stay in Massachusetts this month where I’ll be charged a resort fee for beach towels and pool use. The pool is not open Nov-Mar. Other amenities include “spa access” even though spa services cost extra and any non-guest can use the spa.
That’s fantastic! Gary, you are appreciated
Jail Time for the hotel owner!
I like to make a reservation for such hotels…. then later call them to cancel as I read they scam guests.
“One reader”… you mean, one “HERO.”
They say you should never meet your heroes, but feel free to reveal yourself if you so desire!
Not all heroes wear capes.
This was clearly deception. Fairfield’s in suburban Texas dont normally charge for parking and if they do it would be disclosed at Front desk.
Assuming this wasn’t a Marriott-OWNED property, wouldn’t a more accurate headline be “A Marriott FRANCHISE pocketed thousands…”?
Marriott still charges “Destination Fees” across its network of properties. I saw that appear on recent reservations that I had to cancel in SFO, and the explanation for the charge made absolutely no sense.
Maybe I should report the LA mandatory fee that only Marriott passes on to customers