It's not free if you have to pay for it

[disneysteve]

The blatant misuse of the word FREE drives me crazy. I made a hotel reservation the other day. I was just looking at the confirmation email and it says this:

"All reservations will incur a $20 per night Tourism Occupancy Resort (T.O.R.) Fee, plus applicable taxes added to the room rate. The T.O.R fee is comprised of $5 state fee and $15 resort fee which includes: hotel customer access to the H2O pool and hot tubs open seasonally; free in-room Wi-Fi access; free local calls within Atlantic County and an in-room coffeemaker with complimentary coffee."

Sorry, but the WiFi and phone calls aren't FREE and the coffee isn't COMPLIMENTARY if you're charging me $20/night for it.

[Jluke]

Isn’t there a new 11%(?) tax in NJ for certain reservations? I thought I heard Air bnb and VRBO rentals.

Blatant misuse of free and complimentary. But I guess they could have charged even more if they didn’t consider those items free. Spun as though the $15 is extra for the pool area.

[kork13]

What bothers me about 'resort fees' is that they're mandatory. Can I decline to use the pool, phone, wifi, coffeemaker, etc. and not have to pay the resort fee? 99% of hotels I stay at, I literally just want to sleep in the bed, then leave the hotel to do fun things...like NOT sitting in my hotel room watching HBO. Truth in advertising would be nice... if you're going to insist on charging a higher rate, just add your silly fee to the room rate and let's be done with the charade.

[Smallsteps]

Truth in advertising would be nice... if you're going to insist on charging a higher rate, just add your silly fee to the room rate and let's be done with the charade.

The problem is these tactics work. People simply have some sort of disconnect that the fees are paying for the "free" items.
. So many people don't pay attention until they pay all the add ons.
People get what they think are great deals then have the add on resort fee or other fees. Just had a friend go to Vegas thought she had a super deal I asked her about how much was resort fee she had no idea that was tacked on, usually at check in. When you buy online it is listed but in the small print so many skip over it.

I just watched a commercial that says you get a free trial and if it does not live up to claim return it across the screen in small print a 25% return/ restocking fee.
So why don't they say you get 75% of the money back.

[disneysteve]

What bothers me about 'resort fees' is that they're mandatory. Can I decline to use the pool, phone, wifi, coffeemaker, etc. and not have to pay the resort fee? 99% of hotels I stay at, I literally just want to sleep in the bed, then leave the hotel to do fun things...like NOT sitting in my hotel room watching HBO. Truth in advertising would be nice... if you're going to insist on charging a higher rate, just add your silly fee to the room rate and let's be done with the charade.

That will only work if every hotel agrees to do it. Otherwise it will make comparing prices even harder if some places include it in the room charge and some don't.

I did encounter one nice surprise recently when I was in Key West. There was a daily fee. I think it was $25. That included parking, 2 drink coupons at the bar, and the shuttle into town. But for Rewards members, it was only $15. I thought that was a steal. $15 for parking at a resort hotel, 2 drinks, and a shuttle to where we wanted to go. And it was even better because our room wasn't ready when we arrived so to thank us for waiting, they gave us 2 extra drink coupons.

[greenskeeper]

"no free lunch" comes to mind....if only the younger generations understood this concept.

[disneysteve]

"no free lunch" comes to mind....if only the younger generations understood this concept.

I don't think this is an age issue. I hear people of all ages talking about things they got for "free". When you actually get the details, it wasn't free at all.

[rob62521]

Same thing with the term "gift." I had someone call me a couple of years ago and wanted to give me a free gift if I bought something or other. I said if is truly a free gift, then I shouldn't have to buy anything, you should just let me have it. They hung up on me. Didn't break my hurt one bit.

[Like2Plan]

That will only work if every hotel agrees to do it. Otherwise it will make comparing prices even harder if some places include it in the room charge and some don't.

I did encounter one nice surprise recently when I was in Key West. There was a daily fee. I think it was $25. That included parking, 2 drink coupons at the bar, and the shuttle into town. But for Rewards members, it was only $15. I thought that was a steal. $15 for parking at a resort hotel, 2 drinks, and a shuttle to where we wanted to go. And it was even better because our room wasn't ready when we arrived so to thank us for waiting, they gave us 2 extra drink coupons.

I really dislike resort fees, too. We generally stay at Marriott hotels that are not “resorts” (because of the resort fee), but we recently stayed on points at a resort hotel and they charged the resort fee in addition to the points. The interesting thing is many of the things that are covered in the resort fee are supposed to be complementary due to status in the rewards program. They did drop the valet parking fee, so I felt it came out okay in that instance.

We we have another upcoming stay at a resort that has a resort fee. I wonder if they will make any concessions due to status? I’m going to ask.

[disneysteve]

The interesting thing is many of the things that are covered in the resort fee are supposed to be complementary due to status in the rewards program.

I would definitely be complaining about that. Don't charge me for something that I'm supposed to get for free because I belong to your club already.

[TexasHusker]

nothing in life is free.

[disneysteve]

nothing in life is free.

Very true. In the case of hotels and other service-based industries (like airlines for example), I don't think anybody expects things to be free. What upsets people is the nickel and diming and fees that aren't always clearly disclosed up front. Don't tell me my hotel room will be $99 and then bury in the small print that there's a $25 resort fee. If that fee isn't optional, then the room is $124, not $99. Just be honest and upfront about it.

[Fishindude77]

Yea, they quote you a price for a motel room, then by the time you pay all the add-ons and taxes it's 20-30% more.

[TexasHusker]

Regarding the whole "free" thing...I am amused when someone tells me they own their home “free and clear”. Skip paying your property taxes for a year and suddenly it is apparent that the government is the lien holder on the house.

[disneysteve]

Regarding the whole "free" thing...I am amused when someone tells me they own their home “free and clear”. Skip paying your property taxes for a year and suddenly it is apparent that the government is the lien holder on the house.

Yep. Paying off the mortgage doesn't make the expenses go away. We will pay off our mortgage in a few months but we still have the $700 or so a month for property taxes and insurance. But that will still be a lot nicer than paying that plus the $1,400/month mortgage.