Mandatory resort fees — as well as destination fees, facilities fees, and unspecified service charges — and gratuities have been unpopular topics which have been covered in numerous articles over the years here at The Gate, as the costs of covering those fees and gratuities add up significantly among frequent travelers…
Refuse to Pay Gratuities to Staff Because of Mandatory Fees?
…but should guests refuse to leave gratuities to members of the staff at hotel and resort properties if one of the aforementioned mandatory fees is added to the total cost on the folio?
“Leave a pre-printed (if possible) note for any service staff (bartender, wait staff, housekeeping) that says ‘Until Marriott stops imposing junk fees I won’t leave a gratuity’,” suggests FlyerTalk member cyclefanatic83. “does it hurt the little person? Sure. But it’s a job seekers market. If they quit b/c of this they’ll be able to find another job. But the property will quickly have staffing issues. That should ripple back to Marriott HQ quickly”
That would highly doubtfully address the issue of mandatory fees in general — several FlyerTalk members opined in opposition to this suggestion— even if a significant number of guests did what cyclefanatic83 suggested.
What brought about the consternation in the aforementioned discussion on FlyerTalk is the idea of a SpringHill Suites hotel property in Navarre Beach in Florida charging a daily destination fee of $25.00 plus tax in addition to the basic room rate plus taxes…
…and — sure enough — they do, effective as of Friday, April 1, 2022 and just in time for April Fool’s Day:
Fight Back #1: Negotiate Reducing or Eliminating Mandatory Fees at the Front Desk of the Hotel
You can negotiate the reduction or elimination of mandatory fees with a member of the staff at the front desk upon checking in to a hotel or resort property, as you have nothing to lose — and more money to potentially keep in your wallet or purse.
You might also be surprised at how easily you can get the mandatory fees reduced or eliminated by as little as taking a couple of seconds to simply question the fees and ask to have them reduced or eliminated…
…but this simple tactic is not 100 percent foolproof; so if you are forced to pay the mandatory fees anyway at the hotel or resort property at where you are staying, you can try reclaiming those fees after your stay.
Fight Back #2: Reclaim the Mandatory Resort Fees You Paid
As I originally wrote in this article pertaining to how to reclaim the mandatory resort fees hotel guests were forced to pay on Sunday, June 16, 2019, “You only need to spend as few as 60 seconds worth of your time and effort to likely reclaim the mandatory resort fees which you paid when you stayed at a hotel or resort property which had the audacity to charge them.” Simply contact the attorney general in the jurisdiction in which you reside or the jurisdiction in which the mandatory resort fee was charged. Links to the attorneys general is included in the aforementioned article for your convenience; but whether or not only customers who are based in the United States can qualify to place the request — as well as a sample letter for best results — has not yet been included in that article.
According to this comment posted by Ollie — who is a reader of The Gate — success in reclaiming a paid mandatory resort fee was relatively fast and easy: “Wow. That was quick. I received a call from the hotel today (that’s within seven days of filing!) offering a refund. I’m very impressed this worked. I told her I was grateful, but that the main reason I filed was to protest against the industry practice of resort fees. It sounded like I wasn’t the first person to say this. Hopefully enough people will do this to make a difference in their practices. Thanks again Brian for suggesting this.”
Similar success of reclaiming a paid mandatory resort fee was achieved by Mike, who is also a reader of The Gate: “I just did this recently and successfully got $100 back for 2 nights at the Venetian.”
If you have been forced to pay mandatory resort fees at a hotel or resort property, please refer to this article pertaining to how you can possible reclaim that money.
Fight Back #3: Call Those Hotel and Resort Properties Out On Mandatory Fees As Much As Possible
I originally launched the project in this article which was posted on Thursday, July 30, 2015; but that was a static list and not an actual database with which you could sort information — and as the list grew, the length of that article became unwieldy…
…so I decided to improve on compiling a comprehensive list of hotel and resort properties which charge mandatory fees to guests because I have been adamant about what I believe is a legal but potentially deceptive practice. Because this is a potentially massive project, I intend to revise and update this list on an ongoing basis — but I need your assistance. Please help me list hotel and resort properties here to fight these nefarious fees — regardless of whether they are called resort fees, facilities fees, destination fees, guest amenity fees or any similar ilk — if only to equip you with a real database to which you may easily refer.
Please also help get the word out about this article so that others may contribute information. If we can work together, we can fight the pervasiveness of resort fees by spreading the word and choosing to boycott hotel properties which engage in this practice.
I have started the aforementioned database and plan on adding to it because I do not like resort fees; but I have a feeling that there will be many more hotel and resort properties added to it. Depending on the information, the formatting of the database may change; but for now, I am most interested in getting as much information on this list as soon as possible.
Other sites which are in the fight against resort fees include ResortFeeChecker.com — with which you can check on which hotel or resort properties charge the mandatory fees and how much they will lighten your wallet or purse — and KillResortFees.com.
Final Boarding Call
I do not believe that punishing members of staff who work in hotel and resort properties is going to convince executives at a multinational company or management at individual hotel and resort properties to reduce or eliminate mandatory fees which are imposed on guests.
Rather, vote with your wallet: avoid patronizing hotel and resort properties which charge guests mandatory fees as much as feasibly possible.
All photographs ©2014, ©2015, and ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
