I warned in this article to watch your bill before paying it when you dine out at a restaurant, as some dining establishments have started a disturbing trend of adding a 2019 Novel Coronavirus surcharge on the checks of their customers…
First Restaurants. Are Hotels and Airlines Next? 2019 Novel Coronavirus Surcharge
…but could lodging companies and airlines be next?
Hotel and resort properties have become notorious in charging ancillary fees — mandatory resort fees being the most loathsome — although airlines are not far behind with their carrier-imposed surcharges…
…but with all of the cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, increased distancing between people, and a surfeit of vacant rooms over the past several months — all of which cost money — who do you think is ultimately going to pay for all of that?
The answer to the question as to whether lodging companies and airlines could be next to add a 2019 Novel Coronavirus surcharge on the bills of their customers is no, as the office of a dentist in Jacksonville has reportedly been charging patients ten extra dollars per appointment to cover the cost of personal protective equipment; and some hair salons in Houston have reportedly started adding a sanitation charge of three dollars for each customer.
Commentary
The supply chain of many industries worldwide has been severely disrupted to the point that companies are scrambling to recover as a result of what I always have considered to be a gross overreaction to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic…
…but when greater than 38 million people in the United States alone are unemployed only within the past two months — and that does not include people who were already unemployed prior to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic; nor does that include self-employed people, owners of small companies, and freelancers who are suffering from a substantial loss of business — is implementing a potentially misleading surcharge really the answer?
When I earned my Master of Business Administration degree, I must have missed the part which connotes that the way to win back customers after your business suffered substantially due to an unprecedented worldwide event — such as the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic — is to impose draconian measures on them in an attempt to drain their wallets and purses as much as possible.
I am not opposed to a business earning enough revenue to enjoy a profit; but if I receive a bill at a restaurant — or any other type of business, for that matter — which did not disclose that it charges a mandatory fee due to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic but includes it at the end of the meal, I will not pay it. Period. End of story.
The hard truth is that if a restaurant, lodging company, airline — or virtually any business, for that matter — cannot find ways to afford to survive which are not considered deceptive, then it should go out of business. That may sound harsh; but although exceptions may come to mind, the free market forces of supply and demand — as well as what customers are willing to pay for a product or service — should ultimately determine whether a company should stay in business.
Regardless of the reason, imposing mandatory surcharges on unsuspecting customers is flat out wrong and is no different than mandatory resort fees and their ilk which are automatically added to the folios of guests of hotel and resort properties.
Lodging companies have been known to not only charge mandatory resort fees — or destination fees or similar mandatory fees — but they have also been known to sneak in other fees during the best of times. Back in December of 2019, I was automatically charged a fee for the use of a safe which I never used; and yet, the hotel property even had the nerve to disclaim that they are not responsible for valuables kept in the safe — despite charging that deceptive and worthless fee…
…which causes me to wonder just how far they will go in charging fees to their guests now that times are not so good.
Summary
The bottom line is that if a lodging company, airline, or other business entity needs additional revenue, be honest: simply raise prices for its products and services. Adding a 2019 Novel Coronavirus surcharge on the bills of customers is deceptive at best and is no better than mandatory resort fees.
That I vehemently oppose the implementation of mandatory resort fees, facilities fees and 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…
- Greater Than 15 Percent Increase in Mandatory Resort Fees in Las Vegas at…
- Mandatory Resort Fees to Increase at Four Hotels March 2020 in Las Vegas
- Resort Fee Class Action Settlement 2019: Your Chance to Get Your Share of Money or Points From Wyndham Hotel Group
- Search Rankings Lowered For Hotels Which Charge Resort Fees: Expedia Group
- Deceptive Hotel Resort Fees: Legislation Introduced to Protect Consumers 2019
- Mandatory Resort Fees Increase at Three MGM Hotel and Casino Properties in Las Vegas
- Hilton Sued For Charging Deceptive Resort Fees by Attorney General of Nebraska
- Resort Fees are Here to Stay, According to the Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International
- The Importance of Not Abusing Trust
- Marriott International Sued For Charging Deceptive Resort Fees by Attorney General of District of Columbia
- One Simple Way to Reclaim That Resort Fee Which You Paid
- Even Worse: Mandatory Resort Fees as Percentage of Room Rate
- Why Are You Surprised That Resort Fees “Provide Real Tangible Value” to You?
- 4 Reasons Why Mandatory Resort Fees May Finally Be Disappearing
- Wait a Minute…A Hostel Which Charges a Resort Fee?!?
- Probe of Hotel Booking Sites Results in Enforcement Action in the United Kingdom
- Is This Flat Sales Tax Really a Mandatory Resort Fee in Disguise?
- Resort Fees: The Database of Lodging Options Which Charge Them
- Is This Secret to Ease the Pain of Paying Resort Fees Viable?
- The Destination Fee Plague Spreads Again — This Time, To…
- 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 ©2019 by Brian Cohen.