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Had the 1,606-room hotel sold out every night for a year, the Texas AG lawsuit notes the ownership group would have made more than $16 million off the added fees.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also highlights the Woodlands Resort, a Curio Collection hotel outside Houston, and C. Baldwin, a Curio Collection hotel in Houston, as other examples of hotels in the state charging added fees under monikers like \u201cDaily Resort Charge\u201d and \u201cDaily Mandatory Charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also accuses the Hampton Inn & Suites San Antonio Riverwalk, the Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas Downtown and the Homewood Suites by Hilton Dallas Downtown of charging fees twice, first as a fee and then again as a tax \u2014 a practice that had the potential to make each hotel more than $100,000 apiece annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile decisions about mandatory fees are made by ownership and management at a property level, these fees are always fully disclosed when booking through Hilton channels and we encourage all third-party distribution partners to disclose any fees when advertising our inventory,\u201d a Hilton spokesperson said in a statement to TPG. \u201cWe have long been committed to ensuring that any fees charged by hotels in our system are fully disclosed and continue to review this issue closely to ensure there is consistency for consumers when viewing our rates across booking channels.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Resort fees not going away<\/h2>\n
The much-maligned practice of charging resort fees almost certainly isn\u2019t going away, but it\u2019s highly likely they\u2019ll get more transparent.<\/p>\n
Marriott never admitted guilt in its settlement, and company leaders have always maintained the added fees were noted throughout the booking process. You\u2019d see a blue box during the booking process noting the added fee on the Marriott reservations system. Hilton and Hyatt both make note of their added fees amid the booking process, but that\u2019s not enough in the eyes of the Texas attorney general.<\/p>\n
Further, the lawsuit goes on to note Hilton charged the fee and labeled it as going toward amenities that weren\u2019t even accessible or open during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHilton relies on consumers either not noticing or becoming too fatigued in the search process to cancel the transaction,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cDespite eventually disclosing the fees, eventual disclosure does not cure the deception in the initial advertised price.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Marriott\u2019s new practice of bundling resort fees into the initially quoted rate might seem like a likely industry practice, the company\u2019s CEO earlier this month wasn\u2019t ready to speak for his competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not as if those were hidden somehow. We’re simply further clarifying and enhancing that transparency,\u201d he said on the company\u2019s first-quarter earnings call. \u201cI will leave it to the state [attorneys general] around the rest of the country for the rest of the industry. But I am pleased that we will lead the industry in terms of the transparency of our disclosure for our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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