Hello Again,
The other day I read in the USA Today about this new trend where large casino hotels and as a matter of fact most hotels are starting to copycat what the airline industry has been doing for the past few years, namely charging A la Carte for various services in order to keep their published room rates as low and competitive as possible!
So the Bellagio Hotel on the Strip is now charging a $10.00 fee for anyone that books their stay with a reservation agent on the phone, whereas if one were to book online it would be free! $10.00 surcharge to speak with a reservation agent to book your stay? What is going on? This would be on top of your traditional “resort fee” which many resort hotels charge on a nightly basis, and which now large gaming hotels are implementing as well.
While resort fees can be explainable, even though they tend to range from 5% – 20% of the room charge, and typically are used to cover such fees as “free Wi-Fi”, 24-hour room service, beach and pool services and such…to now charge an A la Carte price for various services which traditionally are built-in, is most certainly a downward spiral to doom.
Why is it happening you ask? Because everything is market driven, and if the Joneses do it, why not the Mitchells and so on. Until we, the consumer, start voting with our feet and stop accepting these shady practices, nothing will change! But that is the problem with complacency, with accepting the status quo and for laziness.
So while a $225.00 room rate in a 5-star resort on the Strip sounds like the deal of the century, when you add in the 20% resort fee, the $10.00 reservation surcharge, the $15.00 turn-down service…you’re looking at $295.00 ++…not to mention the fact, which is the true insult, that these additional surcharges are for services/amenities which are always typically included in the hotel operating budget anyway…so these fees in effect simply translate to more profit on the bottom line of these companies, at the cost of the consumer!
Talk about the magic of marketing – making people feel they’re getting a deal and value for money, all while making them spend for things which they should have access to in the first place?
What will you do about it?
Like I always say, there are two things you can do! Either you do it or you don’t – the rest is up to you!
At Your Service,
Aurelian