The world’s largest hotel group, Marriott International, has committed to being upfront and transparent about its hidden resort fees, which have long been a bugbear with travellers in the United States.
Although it doesn’t mean the removal of the fees, it’ll mean guests can finally see how much each hotel is charging – and it stems from a lawsuit settlement in a Pennsylvania court on 17 November.
“Over the years, travelers have been reportedly misled by the published rates offered by hotels for a night’s stay, only later to be hit with resort fees through the hotel industry’s practice of drip pricing, where the rate advertised does not include additional mandatory fees,” according to a statement from the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office.
“Hotels shouldn’t be able to slap hidden fees on top of your bill at the last minute, and thanks to this settlement we’re putting the hotel industry on notice to put an end to this deceptive practice,” Shapiro said in a prepared statement.
US resort fees are universally hated because it allows hotels to distort the final room rate by separating mandatory fees from the advertised room rate.
In major destinations they can be as high as $50 and are often justified to cover a range of services, from Wi-fi to parking and even access to the hotel’s fitness facilities. Hotel guests are obliged to pay the fees, regardless of whether they use the services or not.
