In a recent $2.3 million settlement between Wyndam Worldwide Corporation (WYN) and the attorney general of Florida it seems the move towards a full disclosure of the hotel industry's use of automatic and non-negotiable fees might be closer.
Florida began investigating Wyndham's hotel charges and fees in 2001 when the began to appear on state employee travel vouchers. The use of fees and surcharges is growing, this year being a record year for hotel fees, according to this NYTimes.com article.
Mandatory extras such as phone fee (a $1 a day whether you make a call or not) charged by the Exaclibur in Las Vegas, are hardly new. For years, hotels have increasingly saddled their customers with nonnegotiable surcharges for everything from the use of an in-room safe to a general resort fee that pays for amenities that were once part of the room rate.
The way the in which hotels are disclosing the fees might be changing. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT), which operates the Sheraton, Westin, and W brands, currently quotes a daily room rate, minus taxes and fees, by phone or online. The taxes and fees are listed separately so the customer is left to do the math and determine the true cost of a night's lodging. Starwood is looking to change that with phone quotes that include all fees and charges as well as Web site displays of all inclusive rates.
Know More about how this effects business travel at RoadGladiator.com.
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