“From 1st August 2017 our shuttle bus operation will change. The shuttle bus will run every 30 mins (traffic permitting) from 04.00 am to 23.30 pm with seating for up to 28 people max. There will be a charge of EUR 5.00 per person return or EUR 3.00 per person one way.”
Is 5 Euros For a Hotel Airport Shuttle Fair or Ridiculous?
The text you just read was from a yellow alert box found at the top of the official Internet web site of the Hilton Dublin Airport hotel property, at which I stayed almost three years ago. At that time, I paid in advance 59.63 euros per night for a total of 178.89 euros in total; but that room rate has since all but vanished.
To use the shuttle bus service one way back to the airport currently costs two euros — even though the service from the airport to the hotel property is complimentary. At the time I stayed at the hotel property, I personally believed that this charge was rather petty.
My stay did not start off well: even though the airplane operated by Ryanair on which I was a passenger for my first flight arrived approximately 20 minutes ahead of its original scheduled time of 23:40, I still was unable to catch the airport shuttle bus to the hotel, as the last pick-up scheduled from Zone 14 at the airport was at 23:40. The gates which serve Ryanair flights at Dublin Airport seem to be in their own county, as it felt like the walk was at least one kilometer — and then I still had to go through passport control.
There I was standing out in the cold, wet rain staring at the shuttle buses of other hotel properties still collecting and transporting their guests.
I went inside and told the person behind the information desk of my dilemma. She told me where the hotel courtesy telephones were located. When I tried to use the one for Hilton Dublin Airport, all it did was beep as though it was out of service. The person behind the information desk called the hotel property. After telling them of my situation, a special shuttle bus pick-up was scheduled.
The last shuttle bus will apparently be scheduled ten minutes earlier when the fee is increased. That would not have been helpful to me in the situation through which I experienced — and yet I would be required to pay more for it anyway.
Reaction
Noting that management at this hotel property is no longer “offering any drinks vouchers anymore to Golds/Diamonds alike, plus overnight rates creeping up and there isn’t a lounge either at this Hilton, that’s something to keep in mind when booking this hotel”, FlyerTalk member uggboy opined that “the overall value proposition has pretty much weakened into negative territory in terms of what they offer and how much it actually costs to stay with them, at least for now with all the cuts/rules/new added fees/costs brought in, not forgetting that they made their shuttle bus drivers redundant and outsourced this service, it adds up IMHO, but as a poster mentioned above, the hotel seems to be nevertheless to experience high occupancy volumes. It’s for the guest to decide where to stay and what’s of value to them.”
Apparently, the fee increase for the airport shuttle service at this hotel property is a simple case of supply and demand, as FlyerTalk member BAGoldBoy posted: “I asked why they treated Diamonds so badly and the answer was they don’t need to as they are always full.”
To be fair, charging a fee for operating a shuttle bus between a hotel and an airport is not pure profit, as the time of the driver, maintenance of at least one vehicle and fuel are three of the expenses to be considered — but should those expenses be incorporated into the room rate itself? A fee for an airport shuttle service provided by the airport hotel is not as onerous as a mandatory resort fee; but I would bet that the majority of guests at the Hilton Dublin Airport typically do not rent a car — especially when public bus transportation is available nearby for access to the city centre.
As a comparison, parking a car by yourself currently costs six euros — but I would not be surprised if this fee eventually increased as well.
Summary
One of the reasons I typically choose a hotel property located at or near an airport is for the complimentary shuttle service, as it can potentially save me a significant amount of money on a rental car. I am usually willing to sacrifice some of the convenience of being closer to a city center if the total cost of staying at an airport hotel is significantly less expensive as part of the aforementioned overall value proposition…
…but that value decreases when room rates become more expensive; there are fewer amenities to enjoy; and fees increase.
I still believe that charging a fee for the airport shuttle bus is petty — especially when the current schedule has the airport shuttle bus operating every 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the time of day; and the frequency will apparently be every 30 minutes throughout the entire day — but if what BAGoldBoy posted is true, then management at the Hilton Dublin Airport might be short-sighted. Just because an “opportunity” of supply and demand is favorable on the part of the business does not necessarily mean that one should automatically take advantage of it, as it could foster adverse effects on customers who could use the fee increase as a reason to stay somewhere else.
Then again, if the majority of customers respond by shrugging off the charge and simply paying the fee increase, then that will increase revenue for Hilton Dublin Airport — and could potentially encourage other airport hotel properties in implementing similar fees.
Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
