| My husband and I submitted a bid of $50 for a hotel in Miami, FL arriving October 29th, staying for 4 nights. The bid was accepted by Hotel Chelsea, a 2 star hotel in Miami Beach, FL. The price quoted was $50 per night plus "taxes and fees" of $36.48 would bring our total to $236.48. After calling the hotel to verify our reservations, I asked about any extra fees. They informed us that there would be a mandatory $15 resort daily fee. I was taken by surprise. They said I would have to talk to Priceline about why they did not include that in my price quote. So I called Customer Service and spoke with a young lady who asked if she could put me on hold for two minutes, but then put me on hold for six minutes. She could not help me and transferred me to Dea (Employee #: 5260303), who put me on hold for 9 minutes after asking if she could put me on hold for 2 minutes. She informed me that the "Important Information" Section on the contract page stated the following: "The reservation holder must present a valid photo ID and credit card at check-in. The credit card is required for any additional hotel specific service fees or incidental charges or fees that may be charged by the hotel to the customer at checkout. These charges may be mandatory (e.g., resort fees) or optional (parking, phone calls or minibar charges) and are not included in your offer price." I understood that, but the contract page also went on to define the term "charges" as: "(i) certain per person, per room or percentage based mandatory hotel specific service fees, for example, resort fees (which typically apply to resort type destinations and, if applicable, may range from $10 to $40 per day), energy surcharges, newspaper delivery fees, in-room safe fees, tourism fees, or housekeeping fees and/or (ii) certain optional incidental fees, for example, parking charges, minibar charges, phone calls, room service and movie rentals, etc." Therefore according to the definition Priceline provides of charges, resort fees are charged by resort type destinations. This $15 daily resort fee that is being charged is done so by a hotel that is not a resort type destination. According to Wikipedia, a resort type destination is defined as: "The term "resort" is now also used for a self-contained commercial establishment which attempts to provide for most of a vacationer's wants while remaining on the premises, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. The term may be used to identify a hotel property that provides an array of amenities and typically includes entertainment and recreational activities. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort, such as the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island, Michigan. A resort is not merely a commercial establishment operated by a single company". While the Hotel Chelsea provides food, drink, and lodging, there is no sports entertainment, shopping, or other recreational activities that would separate it as a resort type destination. Most hotels today provide the basic amenities of food, drink, and lodging. This does not automatically classify a hotel as a resort type destination. In summary, the resort fee should have been disclosed upfront by Priceline before any charges were made. In actuality, I bidded for $50 per night, but they are charging me for $65 per night (without my acknowledgement). In addition, the resort fee should have been included in the bid price by priceline. This should be a mandatory policy in the negotiations between priceline and the hotels. If it is a mandatory fee, it is only ethical business practice to include that in the bid price. Furthermore, according to Priceline's policy, resort fees are charged by resort type destinations. In this case, the resort fee is being charged by a hotel that is NOT a resort type destination. Therefore Priceline's disclosure is invalid since it does not fall within their definition parameters. |
