Some hotels will offer discounts to local guests. It’s price discrimination. Those guests don’t usually need a room, but if the price is right you can get them to do a staycation. It can be the perfect way to fill empty rooms during slow periods.
Other hotels absolutely hate local guests. Why do they need a room? They want to throw a party! They don’t want to trash their own place to do it! These are the worst guests, and more trouble than they’re worth.
One Charlotte-area hotel bans them completely. They say they don’t want anyone that lives within 40 miles of the property. Surely there’s an incident that happened that explains the ’40 miles’ bit (it’s not 20, 50 or 100 miles – but a far more specific 40 miles).
Another way to get at the issue is to charge locals an extra deposit. They get the money back after checkout, once you’ve verified that they did not destroy the room. (Still another approach is a mandatory ‘damage waiver fee’ for all guests, instead of a deposit.)
Here’s one hotel that charges locals a $200 deposit on their stay. But there’s a problem with this!
The $200 in ‘fees’ (mandatory deposit) is getting shown as a part of the room cost, now that hotel chains are trying to comply with FTC rules that went into effect this month requiring prices to be shown with fees rather than just showing the fees prior to reserving the room.
The Holiday Inn Express Henderson N Evansville South hotel in Kentucky now looks like the most expensive Holiday Inn Express in the entire world.
Who is going to book the Holiday Inn Express Henderson N Evansville South when they see room rates over $300, that just aren’t competitive for the market? For this hotel, compliance with the FTC disclosure rule is actually more deceptive of consumers than failing to show full pricing previously.
Holiday Inn Express Henderson N Evansville South
I suppose you want to go the ‘up front fee’ route if you have concerns about whether the guest will be willing or able to pay after the fact. If their credit card won’t support extra charges, or they don’t care about their loyalty account, the hotel might find damage costs uncollectable.
Some Marriotts are charging guests for staining towels, but they can throw all the charges they want with someone – it does little good if the funds can’t be collected.
And anyone can cause damage – it’s not just partiers. Just see what happens when hanging clothes on a fire sprinkler. The better approach, now that these fees are showing up and making the property look exorbitantly expensive, might just be to call the cops on parties before any damage gets done? Put out free donuts and coffee and make the hotel a place cops are happy to stop by first, of course.
(HT: Joe R.)
These days, it’s the Wild West at IHG’s Holiday Inn Express. With no sheriff or marshal enforcing the law and IHG missing-in-action, Gary Leff is stepping forward as an modern-day Old West Vigilante and dispeling a form of frontier justice.
Love this approach by Gary Leff to highlight absurd fees and policies
I may need to retire my alt account, IH8GARYLEFF, on One Mile at a Time.
Thank you, Gary. Name and shame!
@Un — Take your meds! Bah!
I’ve paid more than that for a HIX, I have seen it go way higher than that too.
Whatcha doin? Nothing chillin at the Holiday Inn…one fee leading to another, let the shaming begin
@FNT Delta Diamond – Ha, yep!
Of course no one has ever lost electricity, had a water pipe break, suffered storm damage to their house, or had some other emergency that caused them to need to stay in a local hotel.
Now that there’s no sheriff in Washington, these type of posts are just a source of ideas for other properties to add fees.
Economic theory shows that in asymmetrical markets the one who has the most hidden fees has the highest margins – that’s why laws and regulations are required for free markets. Now that these have been voted down by Americans smart hoteliers will copy each other’s best ideas on how to include as much in hidden fees, including by outright violating the FTC since there’s nobody left there to do any enforcement.
So Henderson, KY has experienced 2 floods in FEB and APR this year. I’m certain that many people impacted by the floods have stayed in the this hotel as many hotels in the area were fully booked. The surge of non-traditional hotel guests may have contributed to the unconventional deposit policy.
What’s the problem with simply blocking a 200$ deposit on the guests credit card at check-in??
There has to be a backstory behind this. I wonder if they are having issues with some of the behaviors of the locals when they rent rooms. Parties, sex workers, streetside recreational pharmaceutical distribution centers, cooking meth.
I have a few friends who work in the hotel industry. Happens all the time.
Gary, it is easy to comment on hotels or any businesses without being responsible for it. You own, operate and experience one then start making comments. BTW, did you see at the breakdown it says $200 cash deposit. So verify the facts. It is easy to create sensitive and irrational headlines to sell your products. That’s why I can’t be blogger.
I’m all for requiring the price to include all fees. But, I’m fine with it excluding refundable deposits. After all, virtually all hotels have some deposit. Commonly in Australia, I need to process my card for the fees and then again for the refundable deposit. The latter shows as pending through the stay, then disappears after checkout.
Sounds like the rule is too broad. Deposits are not fees. A fee is kept, a deposit is returned.
I’m going to guess the 40 miles stems from some local community that has caused problems in the past. Does it perhaps include a university in that range?
Huh?
I read the blog and I read the comments.
I think you people have way too much time on your hands. Apparently I do too if I read this asinine content and commented on it.
Its perfect. It’ll drive business to zero, and force them to change their discriminatory practices.
Holiday Inn Express in San Luis Obispo CA is $330 a night at some dates I’m looking at… I doubt $350 is the most expensive in the world..