Tag Archives for surcharges.
Airports say concessionaires cannot simply raise listed prices, so instead travelers get hit with a growing list of surcharges that do the same thing more opaquely. The result is a strange bit of airport economics: prices look artificially lower than they really are, wage and benefit costs get broken out as separate fees, and workers may not even come out ahead because those extra charges can reduce what customers leave as tips.
Electricity isn’t included in your room rate, apparently, and you’re penalized for paying with a Chase IHG credit card at this IHG property.
The Philadelphia airport made a decision this year to allow concessions operators to charge passengers more than their posted prices. They’re now allowed to add a 3% surcharge onto whatever you buy.
Hyatt’s Eliza Jane hotel in New Orleans has just started adding a 1.85% surcharge when you pay your bill by credit card. That’s basically an undisclosed 1.85% surcharge on all hotel guests. World of Hyatt members are billed an extra fee for paying with their Hyatt Visa from Chase, even.
The Fort Wayne, Indiana Fairfield Inn by Marriott is billing guests a surprise “energy surcharge” that appears to be 4% of the room rate. This surcharge isn’t disclosed to customers when booking their room.
The Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain is charging guests a surcharge to pay by credit card, and appears to be calling it a tax. Hilton has a brand standard against this. Imposing this fee on the standard method of payment is drip pricing. And mislabeling it a tax is fraud. Surely American Express won’t be pleased, either, to learn a Hilton is charging their cardmembers extra to pay with a Hilton co-brand.
It took just one day but Frontier Airlines is dropping its ‘Covid Recovery’ surcharge. It had explained the extra fee tacked on to tickets as covering the cost of cleaning (as though their planes aren’t expected to be clean otherwise) and personal protective equipment for employees (as though airline safety wasn’t the airline’s responsibility).
Tthe Hyatt Place Chicago has stopped adding 3.5% surcharges to guest folios for an ‘energy surcharge’.
A Hyatt spokesperson explained, “As soon as we were made aware of this situation, Hyatt worked with the hotel’s owners to look into the matter, and at this time, the hotel has removed this fee.”
The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort was hitting customers with a 2% fee to pay by credit card. Marriott has rich credit card deals with Chase and American Express, but Bonvoy members were even being penalized at this hotel for paying with a Marriott credit card.
It took a couple of months after being exposed, but this hotel no longer imposes a credit card fee – and no Marriott hotel in the U.S. or Canada is supposed to, either thanks to a new brand standard.
New York City’s council passed a law allowing restaurants to add up to a 10% ‘Covid surcharge’ for eat-in dining. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign it. It is stupid. Restaurants can already raise their prices.
This accomplishes two things: it lets restaurants charge a higher price than they advertise on their menus, and since customers are willing to pay a certain amount for their meal the surcharge reduces tips. It shifts income from restaurant workers to owners.
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 »
