Resort fee. Facilities fee. Destination fee.
Regardless of the name, this nefarious — and typically useless — mandatory charge which is added to your hotel bill has spread yet again.
The Destination Fee Plague Spreads Again — This Time, To…
This time, the latest hotel property to embrace this deceptive practice is the Grand Hyatt New York, which now charges $25.00 per day to the room rate — whether or not you use what is included in the destination fee — effective as of Thursday, February 1, 2018…
…so what is included in the destination fee charged by the Grand Hyatt New York? The next section is copied verbatim from the official Internet web site of the hotel property — including spelling errors and other errors.
Destination Fee Policy
A mandatory $25 destination fee to the Rack, Special Offers, Discount and Internet rates. World of Hyatt Member rates within these segments as well as World of Hyatt members who book directly through Hyatt channels are excluded from the Destination Fee. This fee will be assessed for the first seven (7) nights of a guest’s stay and the hotel may decide to waive thereafter. This fee will focus on providing opportunities for guests to enjoy the “New York experience” highlighting attractions close to its location including local neighborhoods and Grand Central Station. The goal is to enhance the guest experience and provide opportunities to explore Grand Central and the surrounding area. This fee includes:
- High speed premium internet
- Local, long distance and international calls
- $15 food and beverage credit in hotel Market per room per day
- Access to daily New York Times & Financial Times via in-room app
- Grand Central self-guided audio tour for two per stay
- Seasonal rooftop tour viewing NYC skyline
- Exclusive Grand Central coupon book with discounts and free offers for Grand Central Terminal vendors
- Macy’s VIP passport which includes 15% discount on regular and sale merchandise, 20% off food and beverage & complimentary fine jewlery & “MyStylist” personal shopper
- Luggage storage upon check in (up to four (4 bags) and upon check out (maximum eight (8) hours)
AFTER this fee is implemented on Reserve and Hyatt.com, as well as via any other reservation method, including OTA’s, the fee may be added to a reservation. Reservations made prior to this implementation may not include the Destination Fee.
Summary
Be honest…how many of the aforementioned items which are included in the destination fee would you use and find that they have added value to you?
The list of items is nothing more than a disguise of sorts to deceive potential customers into thinking that the advertised room rate is artificially lower than it is in reality. The room rate shown in the aforementioned example is an arguably reasonable $210.68 — but totals $270.26 by the time all of the taxes and fees are added to it, creating a potential “sticker shock” for guests who did not expect to pay that much money. The room rate in this specific case should have been advertised as $235.68 — but I would not be surprised if the room rate before the destination fee was added was still $210.68; and if that is true, then this is a sneaky way of implementing a rate increase.
To add insult to injury, guests usually must pay taxes resulting from the fee.
The most effective way to combat this scourge — short of government legislation, of which no sign exists that that will happen anytime soon — is to boycott all hotel and resort properties which have the nerve to charge fees which guests are required to pay but get little to no value in return.
That I vehemently oppose the implementation of mandatory resort fees, facilities fees and now destination fees is no secret to you if you have been a reader of The Gate for years — they should either be optional or eliminated altogether — and I will just let this extensive body of work over the years pertaining to mandatory resort fees speak for me…
- Another Way Mandatory Resort Fees are Deceptive
- Caesar’s Entertainment Properties to Increase Mandatory Resort Fees
- Resort Fees; Then Parking Fees: Are Free Drinks in Las Vegas In Jeopardy?
- What is Included in a Mandatory Resort Fee of $160.50 Per Night?
- Legislation Targets “Deceptive” Resort Fees
- New Parking Fees at Hotels: When Mandatory Resort Fees are Not Enough
- I Want In on This Resort Fee Nonsense: Open My Own Resort
- It’s Time to Put the Kibosh on Hotel Resort Fees? Now?!?
- Mandatory Resort Fees Can Add Up to 50% More to Your Room Rate With Useless Amenities
- Mandatory Facilities Fee: A Growing Deceptive Trend in Lodging?
- Help Me List Hotel Properties Here to Fight Resort Fees
- What If Other Businesses Surprised You With the Equivalent of Resort Fees?
- $40 Resort Fee at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort Starts June 1, 2015
- Lawsuit Alleges Daily Resort Fee Was Hidden From Room Rate at Booking
- Who Likes Resort Fees? Not Me
- A Resort Fee Added on a $36 Rodeway Inn Room?
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
