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
@Tim Doke — Are you mocking our other friend, Tim, on here? If not, apologies, Mr. Doke. As for SFO, that Grand Hyatt at SFO is hard to beat. No shuttle bus. Just take the AirTrain. And, by avoiding Marriott, you’ll make our other friend, @Gene’s, day.
@Michael “This wasn’t a mistake. This is fraud. Please report to Texas attorney general’s office.”
Um do you know who the attorney general of Texas is?
@Steven M. — I was thinking of you recently; there’s a different post from October 9 (Ex-CEO Doug Parker Reveals: Miracle On The Hudson Flight Stopped An Amex Move That Could’ve Bankrupted US Airways), where occasional commenter and apparent shit-poster, @derek, wrongly alleged that “Canada hates America” and that “Canada needs to be punished” and also “Canada (is) attacking America.” I found that to be upsetting, because it’s patently false.
I tried my best to explain that, in reality, most Canadians have no issues with most Americans (unless the Blue Jays are playing the Yankees), and that it is the recent provocations by our current President (#47’s tariffs, baseless threats of annexation, etc.) are the source of recent animosity (if any), that there’s no long-simmering conflict (unless the whole Drake-Kendrick beef goes all the way to the Prime Minister), and that certainly no one is ‘attacking’ each other (unless we think of those Canadian geese taking down US1549.)
Anyway, I recall you may be a resident of Ontario; just wanted you to know that I personally still think that nearly all of us care deeply about you fine people as neighbors, friends, and allies. Please take care out there.
I don’t do class action work but this sounds like a gold mine for lawyers. How many hotels have numerous taxes listed on their bills (hint almost every one)? How many do you think are fake?
Anybody want to sign up as a named plaintiff? You get a nice bonus when it settles.
Hi! I am the person who discovered the charge. I sent it to Gary and Lucky at OMAAT. I LOVE that someone contacted the tax assessor. Here’s the kicker. The next day the parking charge was gone. But the day AFTER it was back! So I penned a longer letter on Monday to Mr. Grigg, thanking him for taking action and letting him know about the disappearing/reappearing act of the $2.87 charge. I also let him know that the Springhill Suites which SHARES THE SAME PARKING LOT, still has the $2.87 a night.
It didn’t take long for the $2.87 to vanish again from the Fairfield, but have a look at the Springhill (Angels Drive). It has not budged. So I guess, check in at the SH, and park at the Fairfield… utterly ridiculous of course.
But wait! A brand new Courtyard, a nice one, opened in Frisco recently. I had planned to stay there soon–until I saw it: $2.87 a night. That hotel? It shares a parking lot area with a major shopping center, including an H-E-B (giant Texas grocery chain). Frisco, TX does have a tourism tax as it is, but Plano does not. By the time you add in the lying “City Fee” the Frisco Tourism tax, and the TX Recovery Fee, started by Abbott during Covid, which is basically a tax, but even 30-day plus residents are not exempt (I live in hotels so I know what to expect), the cost of a lower-priced hotel can increase significantly with these junk fees and junk taxes.
No hotel should be charging for parking when it shares a lot with major grocery stores or shopping centers and spans wide swaths of empty spaces and free parking.
Chase Hospitality owns some other DFW area hotels, and while some have free parking, it is easy to find the ones that don’t because the charge is $2.87. I sent the information on those in Collin County to Mr. Grigg.
Sadly, my favorite Residence Inn DFW is owned by these folks, and while it has a great shuttle and free parking, on principle I will not be staying.
I hope we can all continue to hold these people accountable. I have seen a number of hotels start charging for parking in the past couple years–who used to have free parking, but made no material; changes to any lots, did not experience crowded lots, etc.