Articles tagged “resort fees”

U.S. President Joe Biden commented on Wednesday that his administration would look to crack down on "surprise fees" consumers face. Biden named two examples, including "resort fees" for hotel stays…

Ancillary revenue like resort fees is a big business for the travel industry, and it is unlikely hotels are going to abandon the practice during the volatile pandemic recovery — unless they are forced to.

Expedia Group's stance on resort fees could have been drafted by a United Nations diplomat. Expedia doesn't want to alienate hotels and seeks to pick up market share based on Booking Holdings' more forceful position. But it's hitting resort-fee-charging hotels right where it hurts — in the prominence of their listings.

Congressional legislation in the United States that would bar hotels and short-term rental sources from advertising rates that don't include resort fees is getting support from the American Society of Travel Advisors. Advocating for transparency in pricing is an important cause for travel industry organizations to take on.

The American Society of Travel Advisors' show of support for the Hotel Advertising Transparency Act of 2019 indicates growing distaste among agencies, as well as the general public, for resort fees, particularly when they are not disclosed up-front. Such support is a logical step for the organization, which has long advocated for pricing transparency.

This is going to be a slugfest. Some hotels view resort fees as key to business and argue that they are already transparent in how they advertise them. Consumers, states, and now federal legislators are putting great pressure on that notion. Something's gotta give — and the status quo is not a likely winner.

Not only are resort fees an annoyance for hotel guests, but they put the onus on travel advisors to make sure clients are aware of what their stay will actually cost. Some advisors are fighting back by steering clients toward properties that don't charge the fees.

Resort fees are embedded into many hotels' business models, so it would take a lot to upend them. But the prospect is picking up a lot of momentum.

Booking Holdings faced opposition from hotels over its new resort-fee commission policy, although the brands that dropped out of Booking.com would not have delivered a material financial hit. This major reversal coincides with a leadership change atop Booking.com and represents a victory for hotels and their controversial fees.

Hotels charging resort fees now have the choice of paying higher commissions to Booking.com and/or seeing their properties fall in Expedia's sort order. The other change that many don't want to make is to simply — and painfully — stop charging anti-consumer resort fees.