Is there an energy shortage in oil-rich Oklahoma? Well, no. But that didn’t stop the Hilton Garden Inn in Tulsa from charging business traveler Robert McAuley an extra $3-a-day energy fee to cover the cost of lighting his room.
Surcharges, first spied on hotel bills in blacked-out California in the spring, have found their way into the fine print at lodgings in more than 16 states.
But what started as a desperate response to a crisis-electricity bills in the Golden State were soaring-has mutated into a handy excuse for boosting prices without advertising the hike. Major hotel chains-including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Starwood-have been making guests pay anywhere from $1 to $10 for services once included in the price of a stay. Among the more unusual fees are charges for bottled water, in-room coffee makers, and use of the swimming pool. It can also cost extra to call the receptionist or a bellhop, dial a toll-free number, park a car, or watch television. McAuley, the miffed Hilton guest, doesn’t get it. “Why don’t hotels just raise their rates?” he asks.
Pay to stay. The short answer is that travelers are more price sensitive than they’ve been in years, while the lodging industry is suffering through its worst performance in a decade. PKF Consulting predicts that profits will plummet by an average of 5.6 percent this year; revenues from rooms fell 1 percent in the second quarter, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Robert Mandelbaum, PKF’s research director, says the surcharges add about 1 percent to the bottom line. “If hotels can get away with it, they will.”
Many guests aren’t letting them. Ron Miller, a writer from Amherst, Mass., says he got hit with a $2.77-a-night energy surcharge at the Radisson Hotel in Burlington, Vt., recently. He complained and the hotel removed it “without a fuss.”
Hotel chains insist they aren’t pulling a fast one. “We let people know if they book on the Internet, if they go through a travel agent, and we tell them when they check in,” says Hilton spokesperson Kathy Shepard. “There’s ample notification.”
She argues that there’s a good reason the company implemented a $3-a-night energy fee at properties in 14 markets-mostly in Hilton, DoubleTree, and Embassy Suites hotels. “Energy costs had gone up 30 percent in those areas,” says Shepard. “When the expenses go down, we’re going to drop the charge.” Electricity prices have dipped in the past month. So far, only Hyatt has dropped the charge.
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