Resort Fee Add-on Scam

[DandyDon]

You dont book at their site, you call/mail them. Also, if they sell the rooms cheaper through hotels.com/booking.com etc theire idiots as those sites charge a comission (normally 10+% of what you pay), which means charging the same direct makes them more money than selling through the booking

I work with this for a living and there is VERY few offers you can find that a hotel is not willing to match or undercut in order to get the booking direct and avoid paying the comissions.
Large tour ops can get some very low prices for certain promotions, but your not likely to see all that discount as a customer and the hotel is likely to have such promos themselves for the same periods, although you may not find them at OTAs such as the ones mentioned above..

Yeah, yeah - except they often have contracts with the booking sites prohibiting them from charging less direct than thru Hotel.com for example - or they might delist them. I noticed that one of the places a local friend had suggested is no longer carried on Hotel.com.

But to give the benefit of the doubt, I called them. After 12 minutes of hold, I finally got a recording saying their reservations closed 12 minutes ago. I may try again tomorrow.

 

[drbill]

I've never had much desire to stay at a resort to dive. After I'm through with a day's diving (and possibly some editing of the day's video footage), all I want to do is lay my head on a (reasonably) clean pillow in a safe room and recharge for the following day. I greatly prefer backpacker style accommodations so I can spend the money on the diving. The closest I think I've come to a "resort" in my diving career was in Anilao at Club Ocellaris, but they were all about diving, good food and a place to sleep.

 

[DandyDon]

I know, Bill. I'd just as soon avoid the Vegas nights myself, but my daughter wants to show the granddaughter some sights, etc. The rest of our trip includes simple rooms and a couple of nights in tents.

You dont book at their site, you call/mail them. Also, if they sell the rooms cheaper through hotels.com/booking.com etc theire idiots as those sites charge a comission (normally 10+% of what you pay), which means charging the same direct makes them more money than selling through the booking

I work with this for a living and there is VERY few offers you can find that a hotel is not willing to match or undercut in order to get the booking direct and avoid paying the comissions.
Large tour ops can get some very low prices for certain promotions, but your not likely to see all that discount as a customer and the hotel is likely to have such promos themselves for the same periods, although you may not find them at OTAs such as the ones mentioned above..

Okay, okay - I phoned them. About $5 less. I'm not going to bother changing, but you're right - and now I see: Better rates possibly available by phoning the hotel direct, not booking at their site - which is counterproductive to me, but I guess they have their reasons. I lied a little and told him that Hotel.com had better rates, but he didn't offer to beat them.

 

[Mike]

Don, the next time I buy a vehicle I want to hire you to do the research and negotiating for me. You are a bulldog over less than 20 bucks for hotel rooms, I imagine you might be a pit bull over a few thousand on a vehicle!

 

[DandyDon]

Don, the next time I buy a vehicle I want to hire you to do the research and negotiating for me. You are a bulldog over less than 20 bucks for hotel rooms, I imagine you might be a pit bull over a few thousand on a vehicle!

I like to find the best deals I can, short of being obnoxious or argumentative. The properties do need to charge reasonable amounts to continue business, but I don't want to pay more than others or more than I have to.

This thread was about hidden Resort Fees, and I did discover that some sites will try to admit to one RF while shopping, then slip and a second one on booking hidden in the taxes & fees quotes. A $45/night property with a $22 RF and even typically high hotel taxes should not total $90/night with taxes & fees.

I have been missing opportunities even when others said to go to the hotel's site, which often fails...

Just go to the hotel's website. 9 times out of 10, hotels all have gone to guaranteeing the lowest price available will be through them and not a reseller.

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I agree with Mike.....book through the hotel's website, once you've decided where you want to stay. I do the same thing for flights too....book through the airline's website.

No, but if you phone the hotel's own reservation line, then you might discover the better deals they've been holding back for shoppers who didn't buy after looking online - but stubborn enough to hold & wait to talk to a real agent.

This defeats internet shopping to an extent, and they are just maxing their game.