In the United States we’re so prosperous it’s become boring. We’ve decided we don’t like it anymore and we’re just going to light the economy on fire and be done with it. Tariffs will drive a decline in a dollar and higher prices, and we’re breaking supply chains.
Some businesses, though, are jumping on the narrative to nickel and dime customers for nonsense. The Hampton Inn Dublin in Virginia appeared to impose a $2 fee to print receipts.
Due to the price increase on paper due to tariffs if you would like a printed receipt there will be a $2.00 fee applied to your final bill.
Now, China is the world’s largest producer of paper, accounting for about a third of global production. China exports over $1.5 billion worth per year. However a $2 surcharge per printed folio is a little bit insane? You can buy 500 sheets of printer paper for $6 on Amazon.
But what about toilet paper? It seems like that’s a better opportunity for an upcharge on every room! Huge missed opportunity, and apparently the hotel has already backed off of this charge after being exposed for it on the internet.
Hey ya’ll, this is locked down now. Apparently management team has removed the surcharge and seen the error of their ways.
Please stop calling the property and harassing them.
No doubt we’re going to start seeing a whole lot of tariff surcharges (not just price increases, which is what they really are).
Credit: Hampton Inn Dublin
Here the hotel appears to be dismissing this as having been a joke of some sort.
Woah there, Gary. I know you’re being tongue and cheek here, but the “In the United States we’re so prosperous it’s become boring” is not the feeling for most folks–they’ve been struggling before, during, and likely after all this mess.
Also, “We’ve decided we don’t like it anymore and we’re just going to light the economy on fire and be done with it.” Umm, who’s ‘We’ because no one voted ‘for’ tariffs–people mocked it during the election, like ‘oh, just a tactic, He doesn’t really mean it…’ (turns out He meant it.) This is all #45/47. And it ain’t ‘common sense.’ Nope. Not at all.
He alone just destroyed a lot of wealth for no good reason. An economic calamity seems like the only thing that can bring us back to reality. It’s sad because it was avoidable. Let’s not placate the mad king anymore, please.
These tariff surcharges are going to be like the fuel surcharges we saw creep in during the 2008 recession when gas prices were sky high and never left when prices stabilized.
How about people join the year 2025. Have the hotel email you the bill as a pdf and then just save it as a pdf. The trees will thank you.
@George N Romey – AMEN! I’m an old dude (67) and can’t remember the last time I asked for a printed receipt. Check balance on phone or TV to ensure it looks good then check out and either have receipt sent to email or the app. For those that claim they need a printed receipt for reimbursement I bet you have to scan it in so the PDF sent by the hotel actually saves you some effort.
@George N Romey @AC — Welcome to The Resistance, fellas. Bah!
I’ll pretend that you meant your ‘green’ choice in good-faith. Yes, sure, save the trees, save a buck, too. ‘Efficiency.’ Well done.
However, within the context of hotel stays, please do actually review your invoices, via email or otherwise, ideally in-person before departing the hotel, because I’ve noticed an increase, especially with Marriott franchisees, charging for things I did not consume/use (like a parking fee when I didn’t have a car.)
Guests that trust, but fail to verify, are sadly missing out. Just saying, remember to prevent that ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ when it’s *actually* happening to you!
In the year 2025, email systems still occasionally eat the mailed PDF folio.
A hotel charging for a paper receipt? Compare that to an Italian airport charging me $7 to print my ticket out back in 2010. Its all Trumps fault – he is using a time machine to go back and make foreign countries charge outrageously for printing things on paper.
@AlohaDaveKennedy — Beware. Some may diagnose you with ‘TDS’ on here… (perhaps, they would be engaging in the unlicensed practice of medicine! *gasp*)
AlohaDaveKennedy whinging about something that happened a decade and a half ago, in a place thousands of miles away to cling to some form of whatabboutism.
Ah…the maggats are becoming desperate, now that their ignoramus king has been exposed for who he is.
I mean, who His Majesty is.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve checked out, opted to receive a digital receipt only to never receive it. Then you have to go through hell to get a copy. I always get a printed copy.
@Nate H — This. All it takes is to get screwed once, then you know, but we all should know better (and these greedy companies should not do this either.)
For me, it was the scoundrels at The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland. First, horrible location with the casino. But, for the purposes of this example, they use ‘pressure sensitive’ mini-bar in each room. Upon check-in and entering the room, I noticed a ‘purchasable’ (not complimentary) bottle of water was missing from that pressure sensitive mini-bar. So, I took a photo, called the front desk, and messaged them in the app, ensuring there was a paper trail on what should have been a minor issue. Of course, I, like many of us, was in a ‘rush’ at check-out, and didn’t review the invoice. Sure enough, the hotel charged $20+ for Icelandic water, which, again, we did not have to begin with, or consume. They stayed firm, regardless of the evidence. Had to escalate multiple times. A month later, probably an hour of my time, finally resolved. Shame on them. Never again.