Many hotel owners have spent the past few years trying to see how many BS fees they can get away with adding to room rates. Of course we see resort fees and destination fees, but nowadays it goes way beyond that, from energy charges, to sustainability fees.
Marriott LAX adds hotel worker surcharge
As noted by rambling man on FlyerTalk, it looks like some LAX-area hotels are adding a new surcharge to room rates. For example, when you go to the Marriott LAX’s website, you’ll see the following note, without a further explanation:
“Please note – A daily Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance Costs Surcharge-local fee of USD 10.72 plus tax will be added to the room rate.”
You’ll also see this reflected when you pull up the rate, as you’ll see a $10.72 nightly charge listed as a “Local Fee.”
The Renaissance LAX also has an $8.70 nightly surcharge for the same reason, while other hotels in the area don’t seem to have this (yet).
The unbundling of hotel rates continues. Maybe next we can look forward to a hot water surcharge, a fee to use the toilet, and a check-in fee. Ryanair really should get into the hotel industry!
What does this surcharge cover?
In July 2022, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed into law the hotel worker protection ordinance. What does this include?
- Hotels have to supply workers with personal security “panic button” devices, for their personal safety while at work
- Hotels have to pay wage premiums when giving workloads that exceed specified limits, and hotels must get written consent from workers who work more than 10 hours per day
Just to crunch some numbers here:
- The Marriott LAX has 1,004 guest rooms, so for how long does the hotel have to charge each room $10.72 per night before the panic buttons are paid for? At 100% occupancy, this fee would amount to nearly $4 million per year, so if that’s really necessary to pay for these panic buttons, then I need to get into the panic button business!
- We’re supposed to pay wage premiums for when staff are given workloads exceeding specified limits, all when daily housekeeping has been permanently eliminated? This sounds like a hotel issue, not a guest issue…
- Also, how exactly was the pre-tax total of $10.72 per night decided? It’s almost like the hotel is trying to make it sound like something very exact so it comes across as a government fee, rather than the hotel using this to pad its bottom line
Bottom line
I’m not sure where exactly this falls on the scale of absurd hotel fees (since there’s lots of competition), but the Marriott LAX has added a nightly hotel worker surcharge. The hotel is claiming this is because of a law that was passed in July 2022, requiring hotel workers to have panic buttons for their safety, and also placing limits on how much people can work without written consent.
What do you make of this hotel fee?
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