“Travel Troubleshooter: Don't take new lodging fees lying down” plus 1 more

Travel Troubleshooter: Don't take new lodging fees lying down

Posted: 12 Jun 2010 11:10 PM PDT

If you think hotels will never stoop to the level of airlines - charging extra for anything that isn't bolted down - maybe you've never heard of easyHotel.

Sure, rooms at this cut-rate European hotel chain are cheap (about $35 a night) but if you need anything extra, like maid service, a fresh towel or a TV, it'll cost you. Add it all up, and your stay costs closer to $50 a night, which is less of a bargain.

American hotels, long envious of the so-called "ancillary" revenues that they extract from guests by quoting a deceptively low base rate and then piling on mandatory extras, are watching easyHotel carefully. They're no strangers to fees, but charging guests for housekeeping and TVs definitely crosses a line. Many are hoping customers will buy it.

Do we really want to live in an à la carte world?

It's enough to deal with mandatory tips, room safe fees and concierge fees. But towels? TV sets? Room service? What's next, a fee for a bed?

Hey, don't laugh. Two decades ago, if I'd suggested airlines might some day charge for the first checked bag, or to make a reservation, or for soft drinks, you probably would have dismissed it as the uninformed conjecture of a cub reporter. If I'd said it might set you back $150 to change an airline ticket or that you'd have to pay another $50 for an exit row seat - a seat, by the way, that by law must have more legroom - you would have said I was nuts.

But look at us now. We live in crazy times. And hotels, my friends, are next. Unless we do something now.

Inns are becoming like airlines, but we can do something about it.

SORRY, YOUR ROOM IS NONREFUNDABLE

One of the worst airline-isms the hotel industry has copied involves nonrefundable rooms, and specifically the disclosure of its terms. William Chiles booked a room in Miami recently through an online travel agency and had to cancel. "Silly me," he says. "I did not realize, in the fine print, that it was classified as nonrefundable." Neither the hotel, nor the online agency, offered him any hope of refund, even though he canceled well in advance of his visit.

Like airlines, hotels have increased the number of nonrefundable rooms while at the same time apparently decreasing the disclosure of these critically important conditions. All the while, hotel guests have seemed to go along with these new, customer-unfriendly conditions.

YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT POOL

Andrea Gleason was infuriated when she checked out of the Monte Carlo Las Vegas Resort and Casino recently. The hotel had added a $9.50-a-day "resort fee" for, among other things, the use of a pool. "This charge is made even when booking a complimentary room through the slot clubs," she says. "Some of the agents will inform you of the fee at the time of booking, but not all of them. This makes the complimentary room not so complimentary." (The hotel denies the fee is for the use of the pool, but says it covers bottled water, newspapers, Internet access and fitness-center access.)

Now, asking guests to pay extra for the pool makes about as much sense as selling an airline seat that doesn't include a piece of checked luggage. Which is to say, none at all.

THAT 'FREE' BOTTLE OF WATER WILL COST YOU

Just like some low-cost airlines, many hotels that used to offer free bottles of water and other refreshments to their guests now have "unbundled" that amenity. And those bottles will cost you. Worse, some hotels aren't exactly up front about it and charge you in a deceptive way. Traci Fox, a college instructor in Philadelphia, was at a casino in Connecticut when she saw a few bottles and snacks on the dresser. That's when she noticed the price and the sensors. "You get charged when you lift an item," she says. "Dirty pool. I bet they just sit there and pray for you to stumble in drunk one night."

Some airline ancillary fees are similar, such as those that require you to pay extra for a seat reservation or a "convenience fee" to pay by credit card.

YOU SAY TWO-STAR, WE SAY FIVE-STAR

Perhaps one of the most disheartening airline strategies the hotel industry seems to have borrowed is the practice of cutting costs until there's almost nothing left. They say the belt-tightening helps them stay competitive, but we know better. They're just squeezing every last penny of profit out of their planes - or properties. While airlines neglect their staff, facilities and the inside of their planes, hotels have found other ways of paring their expenses.

Margaret Juergensmeyer, a biosafety officer from Chicago, remembers one Washington hotel that turned off the heat during a cold snap in May. "My room, which had ripped carpet, torn wallpaper, and cigarette burns in the furniture - not what I expected for $225 a night - was warmer than being outdoors, but not much," she said. "I played with the thermostat, but the fan only blew cool air. I went to the front desk, and was told that the entire hotel had its heat shut off for the spring, and that it was 'corporate policy' and couldn't be undone."

This reckless cost-cutting only hurts the company doing it, in the end. In the meantime, it irritates - and drives away - customers like Juergensmeyer.

It sure looks as if hotels are borrowing a page or two from the airline playbook. They're adding unpopular policies, new fees and cutting amenities. Question is, can anything be done to reverse this unfortunate trend? Or are we all destined to stay at an easyHotel knockoff in the future?
Perhaps not. Unlike airlines, we have a choice in the hotel we stay in. We're not down to two or three big players. Instead, there are tens of thousands of hotels regulated by the states. So while hotels would love to be more like airlines in some ways, they never will be like them in others.

Thank goodness.

Here's what that means to you: It's still possible to walk away from a hotel that isn't treating you right. You're still in control. You can prevent this from getting any more out of hand.

It's up to you.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.

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Skip standard hotels on a European trip

Posted: 12 Jun 2010 10:03 PM PDT

The continuing weakness of the euro (now worth only $1.22) and the British pound ($1.44) still is the biggest travel news of the current season. Week after week, Europe's once-powerful currencies remain soft, reducing the cost of hotels, restaurants and sightseeing to bearers of the U.S. dollar. Although trans-Atlantic airfares have risen considerably, the reduced price of the euro and the pound have altered a once- gloomy picture and caused a great many people to reconsider their prospects of a European vacation this summer.

If you still are undecided, then I would like to propose a clincher, a plan that definitely will reduce the cost of a European vacation to more-than-affordable levels. All that's required is that you give serious thought to obtaining lodgings for your stay that are not in standard hotels. You will save a large amount — and improve the quality of your visit.

Your options start with a decision to swap the use of your own home or apartment with that of a European — and it's not too late to do so. Your home computer has magically transformed the process of exchanging, permitting you to find attractive lodgings with an immediate look at lists maintained on the Internet, and then to propose and arrange a swap in a matter of days. Such services as HomeExchange.com or Intervac-HomeExchange.com have been used this year by tens of thousands of people, who can complete the planning in a very short time.

The home exchange is the single most sensible, logical, effective method of eliminating costs of lodging, and if properly done (through the exchange of photographs and references), it can be entirely safe and satisfying.

An even quicker tactic is to rent an apartment in the European cities of your choice. By lengthening your stay in each place to at least a week, you'll find that Europe is abundantly stocked with real estate agents who will rent you a spacious apartment in a central location for much less than you'd spend at an equivalent hotel. (And, of course, you'll be able to use the kitchen for an occasional low-cost meal, shopping the colorful markets for which Europe is famed.) Try Rentalo (www.rentalo.com), Coach House London (rentals.chslondon.com), Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com) or At Home in London (www.athomeinlondon.co.uk) for London; Paris LocaFlat (www.locaflat.com), Coach House Paris (rentals.chsparis.com), Paris Attitude (www.parisattitude.com) or Paris Apartment Tours (www. parisapartmenttours.com) for Paris; RomePower.com (www. romepower.com), Under the Roman Sun (www.undertheromansun.com), Sleep in Italy (www.sleepinitaly.com) or Rental in Rome (www.rentalinrome.com) for Rome; or HomeAway (www. homeaway.com) for rentals Europe-wide.

And then consider, as an additional alternative, staying as a guest in a European home. The British-operated "Crashpadder.com" lists and describes private families who will rent a room or a bed in their private home or apartment for as little as 15 pounds ($21.60) a night, although 20 pounds ($28.80) or 35 pounds ($50.40) is more average.

Or, if you're a young traveler or a highly unpretentious, adventuresome older one, you can make use of the exploding supply of European hostels created by entrepreneurs who have taken over failing hotels and converted them into low-cost lodgings charging as little as $25 to $30 per person per day, often in private rooms. London has more than 40 of them, Paris 30, other cities several apiece. By using such facilities as Hostelworld (www.hostelworld.com) Hostels (www.hostels.com), Hostel Bookers (www.hostelbookers.com), or European Hostels (www.Europeanhostels.com), you'll have an embarrassment of choice, and can vacation in Europe at the very lowest of costs.

University digs are another option. Go to the tourist office sites of the various European countries (they're listed at www.worldtourismdirectory.com), and you'll find that most maintain a section for renting the rooms of students who have gone on vacation — like the budget and student section of www.visitBritain.com. Then, too, convents and monasteries in Europe almost always charge far less than hotels; see such websites as www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html, or such guidebooks as "Bed and Blessings," by Anne and June Walsh.

Opt for any of these alternative accommodations, and you'll automatically be on a path toward an inexpensive and rewarding experience in Europe.

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer's Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program "The Travel Show" with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer's blog at frommers.com.