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Avoid these 10 annoying hotel fees

That fruit basket on your bed may not be a gift, and the housekeeping staff's gratuity may have been automatically added to your bill. Check it out, or risk an expensive surprise.

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By Cameron Huddleston, Kiplinger.com

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    34Comments
    tiredofallthemorons
    Mar 15, 2013 5:28PM
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    Vegas hotels are the worst. They charge you a small fortune for wi-fi, pool, gym, new stadium  or airport contruction fee, etc. I noticed a fee the last time I stayed at the Luxor called Incidentals. I asked what it was for and the lady said it was for various "Incidental" services but she could not name any of them. I said well Incidentally I ain't paying it.  Also, they had the nerve to charge me a pool fee in the dead of winter. I asked if the pool was open and they said no, not in winter but it is needed to maintain the pool. Vegas used to be about comps and $2 steak dinners when the mob ran it. Now that large corporations have taken over, it is about nickel and diming you. Sucks
    Sensible31648
    Mar 15, 2013 2:37AM
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    We stay at Hampton Inns when we travel, and don't encounter any of these "fees", or whatever you call them. The pools are free, workout facilities free, newspapers free (more than one night), and the breakfast is free and reasonably tasty. There is no charge for internet, and we have never had a problem

    checking in early, if the room had already been cleaned. The service has been consistently professional, and we usually are upgraded if there is a problem with a room.

    bg70
    Mar 15, 2013 12:18AM
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    "The buyer need's many eye's the seller only one".........They screw me once and I don't go back.  You do have to be a little conscious of this stuff if you travel.  Good chains inform you before they hose you.
    kg in nm
    Mar 30, 2013 8:24PM
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    It's such common thievery that they think NOTHING of adding SOMETHING to EVERYONE'S bill !

    Merely a small inconveience to refund the astonishingly FEW who call their bluff.

    --- a gamble worth playing they figure...and it's paying off...for THEM !

    --------------------​----

    Visited our son in San Francisco and when we checked out there was a ''limo'' fee .

    ( I wrote a physical inventory of the mini bar and put it in plain sight inside it so the maids couldn't pull a fast one on us. )

    ''What's this for ?'' I asked.

    ''when we picked you up at the arirport.'' they matter-of-factly muttered without even looking up.

    ''WE WALKED !!!'' I urgently stressed. and the guy looked at me as though he'd never heard the word.

    ''We took the BART and walked two blocks ..and you DARE to charge us a ''limo''fee ??''

    --- now this guy truly had no clue what to do next as no one had ever disputed this, apparently, universally common surcharge. He absolutely had no clue how to refund anything.

    "I'll correct the bill and you'll see it on your statement." he sweatingly stated ..as IF.

    I said ''You'll refund it NOW and hand me a corrected bill NOW or I'll call the police !"

    ....his manager had to do it but it was fixed.

     

    But what if I hadn't read the itemized summary ? 

     These places COUNT on that and bank the results !!

    King
    Mar 30, 2013 11:11PM
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    So this article is written under the title of: Your Money, Strategies For Saving More - How to Avoid 10 Annoying Fees and there's four (4) advertisements for Bank of America on this web page. Talk about sending mixed signals.
    I FlyAlot
    Mar 30, 2013 9:02PM
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    "Find out whether you'll have to pay them if you don't use the services." 
    Ha!  If they go to the trouble of charging them... you have to pay them.  I have stayed at a couple of Westin/ Sheraton resorts in Hawaii, (The Royal Hawaiian for one), that charge a daily resort fee that covers the gym and pool usage and includes internet and parking.  This is great unless you are a family with two rooms.  They charge you for parking twice! No exceptions!  What a bunch of crap!
    koz42
    Mar 15, 2013 12:49PM
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    I worked the front desk on graveyard for almost 10 years before I retired last year at a Best Western and everything was included with the rack rate but upgrades were given to loyalty members like early check in and late check out but it was a smaller hotel, The house keeping did hope for tips not included in the room rate and were paid by the hour as an incentive to do a better job cleaning when the rest of the hotels in the area paid staff by the room however more and more work was added to my shift without any increase in pay over the years. Each year if one hotel chain added something the other hotels would have to follow such as free wifi and free breakfast and so on. Best to research on line
    Tigerboy
    Mar 15, 2013 5:37PM
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    On Minibars:

    >>> Simply moving an item in the minibar can result in a charge because everything in that refrigerator is on a sensor.

    That's just tacky.  If you really can't trust your customers in a common sense way, you'll lose them. 

    Every hotel I've stayed at, that had a minibar, simply bills you for anything consumed.  It's easy enough for them to inspect the fridge.

    ntsotrstng
    Mar 30, 2013 8:04PM
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    You didn't mention the "safe" fee--I've seen them from $1 to $3 so far in the budget motels.
    Pontifex Maximus
    Mar 31, 2013 1:17AM
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    Hotels chains have taken a page from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT playbook which is now set-up to STEAL YO MONEY ...
    Pontifex Maximus
    Mar 31, 2013 1:10AM
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    And watch the TV fees too ... Make certain they charge you only for the PORNOs you actually order. 

    E from Tennessee
    Mar 30, 2013 9:00PM
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    It is a great idea to double check your bill as I was charged for numerous long distance calls when the other parties never answered the phones , and there were also other charges added to my bill that didn't apply.  Keep a list of your calls that do and don't connect.  If the calls are not business calls, the company will not pay for them and you shouldn't either if the calls never connected with the other party in the first place.  Also, although I was well aware that the company didn't pay for maid service, I left them a tip out of my own pocket when I had to eat in my room and when they did a fantastic job cleaning.
    SunflowerCathy
    Mar 31, 2013 5:56AM
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    Just got caught at a Comfort Inn by that telephone charge. $11 for three local calls. Last time I'll stay there, it really upsets me to get ripped off.
    CBOT
    Mar 31, 2013 4:56AM
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    I have a solution.  STAY HOME (like me).
    BenEV
    Apr 8, 2013 1:24PM
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    I have traveled on my own and with my wife for years and never seen most of these complaints, however I do look over the bill before I leave the hotel or motel each morning. I have not stayed in many places that have had stocked minibars/ fridges. I do call the hotel and book directly with the hotel when we are planning to be at a specific location as I have found that the internet travel sites and even the hotel chain's own sites will at times not communicate well with the hotel staff and when you have medical needs or other special requirements that can be a major problem. Most times that we travel we don't make reservations and stay in cheaper hotels/motels and have few if any problems.The worst things that we have had in the last three years have been a hotel with a  broken ice machine, and one that the room my wife stayed in was just as she said wrong.
    when789
    Mar 30, 2013 8:00PM
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    I have traveled 200 + nights a year for 30 years, and have never encountered this except possibly 20-30 years ago to hook up to internet, so I have no idea what "consumer entertainment places" they talk about here.

    Also I have never heard about a company who pays extra for maid service. (room cleaning I mean)

    Pontifex Maximus
    Mar 31, 2013 1:19AM
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    In this nation ... either Jesus will come again soon ... or as Thomas Jefferson once said ... "the tree of liberty will be fertilized".
    Pontifex Maximus
    Mar 31, 2013 1:15AM
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    Reading all  these horror stories ... I ax ... Where is OBAMA? Where is Bloomberg? Where is Biden?

    Why don't these idiots do something about this? Could it be 'cause these bastages ain't tak'in cash outta their pockets to pay for this BS?

     

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