While I’m no lobbyist or expert on the political process, I think it’s time someone in a position to impact change do something about this…
Continue reading: It’s Time Hotels Be Required To Display All-In Pricing
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
You ask this in a country that still charges extra for Gratuity or Sales Tax from the listed price on everything?
It's not just hotels, make sure vacation rentals also get lumped in there. AirBnB is among the most egregious with cleaning fees, etc. that dramatically change the all in per night price.
Ben, I'm starting to see a little toggle button on a few apps(Marriott and IHG, I believe) that will display an all-in cost when presenting search results. Haven't tried Expedia, Travelocity etc.. to see if they reflect this now or not. Hyatt now shows full price as well.
It's a start.
I'm all for more transparent pricing. However, a big issue that the large international chains will have is that it wouldn't be required in other countries. If pricing for US properties is all displayed out and you are seeing a genuine total, this may mislead people in the future when looking at properties abroad. They may think they are seeing final pricing when they are not, just because they were used to that before.
The obvious fix to that is for hotels to just simply reflect total pricing - but good luck with that.
To their credit, IHG, which is never too popular amongst the points/miles crowd, actually does this-- and I believe they are the only big hotel chain to do so. On their website and app, while it is not the default, there is a toggle that says "Show prices with taxes and fees". (Now whether this is because IHG is a UK based company with a significant presence there, and perhaps subject to different regulatory scrutiny, I don't know.)
Luckily, when booking via EU portals, prices are always all-in. And this includes especially Booking.com and Hotels.com. That’s why I only take those into consideration when booking my trips.
100% agreed, hotels and airlines should be required to display all in prices, everything else is just an attempt to mislead consumers.
I'm in. Just add AirBnb too. And if a Federal solution is too hard, get started at the state level. If California or New York adopt it first, it will spread.
You are right on, Ben.
Pricing esp. when done via the internet needs to be quoted all-in or there needs to be a button to click on and display all applicable taxes, fees and everything else.
And tipping and sales tax on non-travel purchases is not an excuse to not do it for anything travel related. Sales tax percentages are known if you buy in-person and most online vendors do display taxes as soon as you provide a mailing address.
Tipping is optional and studies show younger people are doing it less and less anyway.
If merchants - including individual hotels - have to quote an all-in price, they will stop throwing in every imaginable way they can think of to inflate the price.
The aim of these fees is in large part to make the hotels look cheaper than they are until it is too late i.e. to trick people. I don't think there is a single person in the world who would disagree, privately at least, that this is true.
How can it possibly ever be in a customer's interest to have a separate mandatory fee excluded from the total quoted price. How this behavior is still legal in the US I do not know.
Now some restaurants have started adding on a '3% employee healthcare surcharge' or similar to bills. How long before this will become a "rent surcharge fee", "electricity surcharge fee", "cleaning fee".
This has to stop.
It is a losing proposition unfortunately. I look back at stubhub when they first got going how they prided themselves on all-in pricing and transparency, then competitors would list ticket prices lower than stub-hub and people would buy from the competitor and still go through with purchase even after seeing the higher fees tacked on at the end. So much so stubhub had to revert their philosophy and join the others hiding fees because it flat out hurt their business.
I don't see this being an issue. I'm pretty sure there already are laws in other countries requiring the all in cost to be disclosed.
The only thing close to this so far is the IHG app which allows you to toggle a switch to show all results with taxes included. It has been a big help when I’m searching a large area. I don’t know if it will show any additional fees as I haven’t come across that yet, but if it shows $120 originally and you click the button it will now display like $137.85 etc. and that is the final total. Hopefully others follow at some point.
Ben: You can opt for all-in pricing--including even local sales taxes--on the Kayak websearch platform. It isn't the default, but you can select it as a filter before you start your search. I can't understand why more OTAs and metasearch folks don't provide this option, but at least you can get honest comparisons from the get-go on Kayak.
Marriott also has the option to search with all taxes and fees included. That being said there should absolutely be an across the board standard to list all in pricing. It is deceptive and annoying to have to “get” to booking to actually figure out the price.
Can we lump in rental cars as well? It's bad enough when I see the "base rate" before all the mandatory taxes and charges are added into the equation.
Agreed. I'm becoming more and more inclined to forgo hotels and use short term rentals. At least there I know what's required. A short one or two overnight I would still book a hotel, but a week or more I'm likely to get the apartment or house.
I just booked a stay in Sofitel New York for the end of the year and was amazed that they charged a $30 utilities fee per day on top of the resort/destination fee! So between all fees and high NY taxes it ends up dobling your rate.
Still I personally think it's even worse that Hilton is getting away with no more daily housekeeping. They're not getting my business anymore.
Outlaw one fee and they will just come up with another.
All-in pricing is the way to go.
Right, which is why the suggestion is for legislators to do something about it, such that you are not allowed to bait and switch.
What is the purpose of showing me the "price" of a hotel room if exactly 0% of their customers pay that price?
How much can legislatures really do though considering they will all be on 3rd party sites based outside the US anyways.
I dont think anyone is against it i would just rather pick my fights or concerns with Hotels in other areas that to me are more important. Such as the resumption of normal services and not using covid as an excuse to remove basic essentials "for our safety" or resort fees and other charges. That to me is more important than seeing a price or clicking a button and seeing actual price. Its not an inconvenience to me to see the real price. It is annoying when there are no waters or other essentials in my room for my safety yet i can purchase those from the front desk after having an up close interaction with another human which was the supposed reason for removing those in the first place.
@Steve - That's the whole reason government should step in, to level the playing field. Charge whatever you want to charge, but you must disclose it all up front. That would remove the incentive for the kind of behavior you complaint about in your post.
All in including taxes and all BS. It will make it easy for comparing options with other hotels.
There is a federal agency this possibly falls under.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau https://www.consumerfinance.gov
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat you fairly.
I am strongly against this proposal which sounds highly anti-consumer. Splitting the costs allows consumers to easily see the split of the rate, and compare resort fees across multiple properties; some charge $25, others $30, so it’s easier to compare than if it’s hidden in the headline price. It would also result in the total costs being higher, because it would no longer be so easy to compare resort fees or other surcharges, and people wouldn’t notice a $3 electricity fee buried in the headline (hotels would just make it $10!), whereas split out consumers can ensure the amount being charged is fair and commensurate and take up any issues as appropriate. It would also mean hotels provide fewer services to guests, since if they weren’t allowed to include mandatory resort fees without bumping up the price they would lower their service standards. Finally, many of these charges vary across regions and properties, and may not be fixed by the arrival date, so including them in the headline may be misleading, especially with taxes, and make it harder to compare equivalent accommodation in different markets.
it is about time these hotel charges were exposed. It is one reason I would not consider going to Hawaii, let alone the US. Unfortunately is is also creeping into Australian hotels, noticeably Marriott and Hyatt. These charges are not shown until the end of the transaction, after giving payment/credit card details.
IHG gives you the option to show prices excluding or including taxes and fees by toggling a slider in the app.
So you have a choice. Not that it matters because at the end of the day you have to pay the taxes and fees anyway!
I would go about accomplishing the goal in a slightly different manner:
At the beginning of a hotel search (either on its own website or a 3rd parties' website), all fees/charges/costs/expenses not shown as being included in the daily rate cannot be involuntarily applied; and the customer may opt out and not have to pay them. Didn't use the phone to call outside the hotel--no charge. Didn't go to the spa--no charge. Did not print out boarding pass--no charge. Didn't pickup the free newspaper--no charge. Etc., etc., etc.
Either way, I concur with Ben--it's a race to the bottom with who can come up with the craziest, most ridiculous "Fees and their descriptions". The only losers are the customers!
They do. When you search on websites such as Marriott, you can click the box to see the price including taxes and other fees.
I agree 110%. I would love to visit Vegas again, but I cannot justify the additional $151.00/night I will need to pay The Wynn after I have paid for my package deal. The Resort fee is for things I would never use while I'm there. This is worse than the baggage fee airlines charge. I hate that fee, but at least I know what it's for - it's for something. The Resort fee is for the use of a phone, wifi or the gym. None of which I'll use while I'm there and I have no option in the matter. I can't do it, but sadly, it looks like many people do, so I don't see them stopping without being forced to.
As an EU citizen, I wonder if this is in fact regulated in the EU? When I visit e.g. hotels.com from the EU, it shows all-in pricing (w/ taxes, resort fees, …), which it doesn’t when I’m in the US.
I asked ALL Accor why they do not include taxes for displayed prices in their app. They said it’s important for their corporate and government clients to have only net prices displayed, as taxes are just “transitional provisions“. Not sure if this is true, but it sure does sound fishy to me.
If you can't "think of another industry that has such easily available price comparison shopping online, but where the initial price displayed doesn’t show you what you’ll actually pay, and doesn’t include fees charged directly by the company you’re buying from" I am assuming you have never purchased a car. Selling price, plus dealer adds, plus DOC fees, plus plus plus.
I love how Stubhub guy is complaining about fees and transparency while he supports the scalping industry - a literal cancer on the entertainment world
I love how Stubhub guy is complaining about fees and transparency while he supports the scalping industry – a literal cancer on the entertainment world
There should be no fees to be allowed, except govt taxes and fees. Period. A mandatory destination or resort fee is just the room rate. Ban then. Same for ticket fees fuel charges etc. if you have to pay it put it in the price. Simple and fair.
Scare mongering about how the hotels/online agents will lose out if they show bottom line pricing. Once it becomes the norm, which can only happen if travellers start backing out on the final screen when the fees are added, then, in fact, only those sticking to add ons will lose out.
I can't recall any airline, not even LCC's complaining now. In fact I think it has made them tighten their belts and cut out waste.
Use your feet, unless of course there's the invidious points issue at stake, or perhaps your company is footing the bill???
Clever response from ACCOR!
Even if they used bottom line pricing, the invoice at check out will reveal the "transitional costs" (presumably those taxes that the paying company can claw back)
God help us all is the government regulates any more of our lives. Canada is a few miles north of you want to live like that. You don’t think these companies will let you win do you? Did airline tickets get cheaper with all in pricing !? Nope. Now there are tons of new add on fees. This post is ridiculous. ASKING for more government involvement in anything is scary stuff.
There is little incentive for the hospitality industry to do so when these practices have been the most lucrative for airlines. I agree with you Ben yet I do not see it happening anytime soon. It makes hotel shopping on price tedious and I ultimately do compare bottom line to bottom line even if I have to do the math myself.
I think Expedia shows the total price with taxes/fees earlier on. I agree that it’s super frustrating to find a hotel that you like and then find out in the next page that it has a huge resort fee.
There are. Australian competition law requires all advertising to disclose the total all-in price on everything. That includes sales for goods and services delivered outside the country when they are ordered or booked from here. US hotel corporations and airlines manage to do that with sales originating in Australia. The authorities have thrown the book at some foreign companies that tried to say, 'that's not the way we do things'. (Credit card surcharges are one exception, but the law says surcharges can only reflect the actual additional cost the merchant incurs.)
Clever perhaps, but it seems spurious to me. I see 'government rates' all the time in the US. Doesn't that cover it? Taxes added in Australia are simpler, it's just the federal GST whereas there's a thousand and one taxing entities in the US. No one is exempt from GST, but if a corporate or government entity pays it in the course of their business, such as when they pay a hotel bill they can use the tax paid there as a credit on the GST they pay on their operations. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of a corporate accounts department to identify all their outgoings as 'cost of goods or services' or 'taxes' bring them onto the appropriate part of their accounts.
Not only for hotels and airlines but also for any other kind of business. Please show prices with taxes included, otherwise is almost impossible to know in dzvance the exact amount
I like James S comment! I do like that Marriott has a button where you can have it tell you the total price. I wish the rest would do this. I want to know everything I'll be paying! I don't always go for the lowest price. I also think about any issues with beds, room for kids, comfortable for kids, etc. I recently stayed at a Hyatt that had a roll out bed under the couch instead of a pull out couch! OMG! My kids LOVED that!!!! I wish that other hotels would get this!
Honestly this should be extended for everything. You should be required to show the total price being charged(i'd understand not being shown taxes, but those could easily be included as well) for any purchase. A "fee" that literally everyone pays is just part of the price!
Hi Lucky,
There was a bill introduced in 2019 in the House of Representatives that did something similar to the 2016 bill but also gave State AG's more leverage in their court cases against the hotel chains that do charge these unadvertised fees (DC v. Marriott, Nebraska v. Hilton). I was one of the capitol hill staffers involved with drafting the language for that bill. I remember reaching out to you about this bill back then but I never heard back from you.
Legislation like this won't get through the senate largely because the Senator that currently sits atop the relevant committee that handles this bill is from Nevada, and the American Gaming Association is strongly opposed to any legislation like this. (Maybe @Kevin P can consider applying for a job there since he already has their failed shallow talking points down.)
US Hotels (Resorts or not) are all gangsters!
Simple as that.
Some other countries tried the same in adding Service Taxes and Resort Fees, in some European Countries they have a Tourism Tax now (EUR0,50-7/night/romom) but nothing as crazy as the US dirty hotels and resorts.
All who support that, should not be surprised if hit by high cost and fees.
The globe is big and even now MANY countries are open to all travelers so there is a good choice for all!
NO NEED to support gangsters in the US.
Booking trough a tour operator in Germany for instance with a hotel in Las Vegas, Miami Beach or Orlando, all those "Resort Fees" are incl. in a prepaid and set price!
BETS of all, most of thsoe bookings can be cancelled if COVID causes you to change plans.
Of course you can not se points or use your privilleges with any status, but NOT all of those "fanzy" and dirty Hotels and Resorts in the US are part of a Chain.
Maldives, a full package booked trough a tour operator might be sooo much cheaper and incl. all taxes and fees as well as many more items like meals, transfers (also by plane) or even all inclusive at some islands for a MUCH cheaper price!
So why bother and "waste" your points or a lot of money and be hit by high fees on top at the end?
Gangsters only support gangsters an old rule that still exists today and those who do, don't deserve any pardone!
Comparing prices via MANY chanels sometimes helps! 😉
Just as booking forectly with the hotel might sometimes NOT be the best way, as Ben's Husband likes to promote his Viruoso account, GOOD . . . but also NOT always the best! There is better bargains out there, incl. all Fees and Taxes that might hit you when booking direct.
FORGOT . . . all this is in a country that NEVER liked showing a TOTAL.
... it starts with everyday shopping, just add all taxes by yourself 😉
Gangster Country? . . . i leave that to you, to decide for yourself!
I agree. There have been times where I was charged a lot extra on checking out, so much so that I thought the room charge was wrong. It was just added fees.
It does show all mandatory taxes, fees and charges when you toggle that option.
So if it shows $137.85 then that includes all the compulsoty elements including the resort fees.
What a load of nonsense.
Not telling the consumer right from the get go what their trip will cost is somehow 'highly anti-consumer'. Rubbish.
To not show the total cost until you've clicked through several pages only to find the cost has bumped up is very anti consumer.
And no one is saying that you can't have access to how the rate breaks down so you can still see all the state and local taxes plus the resort fees and whatnot. Not that that makes much difference because at the end of the day you are paying them anyway.
It's quite simple when a hotel shows a night for $100 then that $100 should include all the compulsory fees as well.
And as for this " since if they weren’t allowed to include mandatory resort fees without bumping up the price ..." - Well resort fees already do bump up the price!
Surely that's not too hard a concept to grasp.
Then they should have a separate website for those organisations to access so they can see the excluding taxes etc rate.
News paper fee
Safe deposit box fee
Resort fee
Parking fee
All basically Bill padding w the exception of the parking fee (depending on location).
The price shown in all listings should be the price that will be charged to the customer, including hotel and government fees, taxes etc. Its not inly sales tax you need to be aware of, but other fees added by cities and municipalities to pay for things like stadiums.
Airlines used to be really bad for this - especially BA who would show one-way fares (requiring a round-trip) without the mandatory fees, so what looked like a good deal could easily end up being 3x the price listed. Hotels now need to be held to the same standards. Las Vegas hotels are now charging $39-45 per night as a resort fee. That adds up fast.
I agree 100%. Sometimes the fees are as much as the room. It is unfair!
Lets get legislation on this. BTW..the homeless get hotels free..I guess they want us to pay to make up for losses!
As a German Citizen (luckily there is no "EU Citizenship") I know that in Germany all Hotels need to show the full price from the beginning.
Viele Grüße!
I was charged linen fee once I got to the desk and told them I have my own linen. I was still charged. This was Woodsprings hotels. Because I travel a lot I've noticed hotels are lacking cleanliness and have the nerve to increase rates for the virus/sickness going around....lies
The problem is not as much on individual chain sites, it's when comparing pricing on a third party search engine (though it's a good step forward for chains to offer full pricing on their sites).
How about another abused charge, rates subject to change? When you put down a deposit, why is hotel allowed to change room rate later before arrival and without the courtesy of an email prior to arrival? A deposit and a confirmation email of deposit stating dates of stay and room number sounds like a contract to me. This is happening in Florida so beware.
Where else can you buy something and not know the cost until it is over. SHOCKING!
Checked out of the St. Regis Bora Bora two weeks ago to find they added an additional $ 56 more per night to my room. This was above the "inclusive of all resort fees and taxes" amount when I booked the room. They told me there is tiny print at the very bottom that states that is only an estimate.
The term "bend over" over comes to mind.
Is it really legal to not even asterik your total booking price when you book the room saying this is only an estimate and we can really charge whatever we want?
Personally, I have been a victim of the same situation I believe all fees, taxes, government fees, resort fees , gratuity. All should be included in the price and be very transparent. You shouldn’t be paying a lower price to get the room and then when you check out you get slammed with more fees that cost just as much as the room did,
If I always knew the total cost of a hotel room upfront, then I could easily compare and get the best deal. As it stands, I have to go through the entire process of filling in my name and address and payment info for each reservation I am considering, just to FIND OUT the total price of a given hotel room. This is a TERRIBLE waste of time, especially if I end up not reserving the room. But the goal of these companies with their hidden fees and charges is to "tire you out" to get you to make a reservation that you might not have made if you had initially known the total cost.