More #$@!*# hotel fees: here are two new ones

Just when I thought I had seen it all — and after nearly two decades of consumer advocacy, I thought I had — I’ve encountered two clever hotel surcharges that appear to be new. Greedy hoteliers, take note. Travelers, be warned.

Both were spotted by reader Kim Hewitt of Fairfield, Iowa, and both are not only troubling, but a sign of things to come. That’s because the hotel industry can’t raise room rates by much anymore and, analysts believe, will turn to extras like fees and surcharges in 2008 to sustain its revenue growth.

But back to the matter at hand — the new fees.

Hewitt ran across the first at a full-service hotel in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “They charge guests $3 for consuming the 32-ounce bottle of water,” she says, “whether you drink it or not.”

Excuse me?

No kidding — you don’t have to actually consume the water. “When we’ve called to complain, they say their staff wouldn’t be wrong, and there is no way for me to prove it. When I really raised a stink, the manager promised to credit me back for the charge, but I’m still waiting, despite several unreturned phone calls,” she says.

This outrageous water surcharge has appeared on her hotel bill several times.

And that’s not all.

Hewitt has also encountered strange hotel math when ordering from the room service menu. You’d think that asking to leave something off the meal wouldn’t affect the price of the entree. Not so. “As a vegetarian, I’m accustomed to ordering a sandwich or pasta, just without the meat,” she says. “Most restaurants charge me the normal menu price, if not a reduced price for leaving this out. Hotel room service usually charges me extra.”

Huh?

“I’ve been charged as much as $5 extra for leaving the burger off of a cheeseburger,” she says.

Needless to say, these fees are as ridiculous as they are creative. Hotel guests need to stand up to these surcharges, or the fees will stick.

Anyone else seen an unusually creative fee on their last hotel visit? Do tell.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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