Earlier this month it was announced that Washington D.C.’s Attorney General would be suing Marriott over resort fees. Today the Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has filed a lawsuit against Hilton for ‘for hiding the true price of hotel rooms from consumers and charging hidden resort fees to increase profits’. The Attorney General’s office is making three allegations:
- Hiding the true price of hotel rooms
- Failing to clearly disclose all booking fees
- Misleading consumers about what resort fees actually pay for
These are the same allegations that are made in the Washington D.C. case, the only difference is that in that case they are also alleging that Marriott misrepresented that the resort fees are imposed by the government. It’s my belief that hotels charge resort fees for two main reasons:
- They pay no commission to online travel agencies on these fees as they are collected at the hotel and are not included in the list price (basically considered an auxiliary fee such as dining)
- The list price looks more attractive to consumers (e.g in Vegas sometimes the list price will be $50, but you’ll then need to pay a $35 resort fee)
Hotel chains have long said that they are forced to charge resort fees because competitors are using them and they need to stay competitive. Although recently the Marriott CEO tried to say that resort fees are a good thing because they bundle perks that people want anyway and are a good deal. If that was the case they would be an optional extra rather than a forced fee. Large corporations like hotel management companies often say that they are capable of self regulating and that no government intervention is needed. In my opinion resort fees are a clear example that hotel chains are incapable of doing this properly and government intervention is needed. If a fee is mandatory, it should be included in the list price.
