If you’re like most travelers booking a hotel, you’re driven by rate.
You want the best rate you can get for your room.
Hotels are very competitive when it comes to rate.
In fact, a move of either $5 up or down for the cost of your room will often determine where you decide to stay.
But therein lies the trap—hotels are competitive on rate, but are they practicing full disclosure? Many do not.
Buried somewhere on their websites are other charges that are not reflected in the official posted rate: Things like cancellation fees and early checkout fees.
What’s one of the biggest offenders? The dreaded resort fee.
At some hotels, it can be as much as $30 a day.
Many of us only find out about this when we check out and get hit with serious sticker shock.
Currently, the attorneys general of 46 states are investigating deceptive hotel pricing practices.
But even before their investigation is concluded, there are things you need to do when reserving your room.
If a hotel fails to disclose some of these charges when you fail to make your reservation, you have the right to dispute those charges.
Then, do what I always do the night before I depart.
Go to the front desk and ask to review your bill.
If there are charges I didn’t know about or didn’t accept, I dispute the bill right then and there.
For more information about hotels and hidden fees, check out:
- How Much Hotels Charge for Bottles of Water
- Hotels Compete With Online Booking Sites for Your Business
- What You Should Know About Deceptive Pricing at Hotels
Keep reading for more travel tips.
