03 March 2010

Nickel & Dime

If you have stayed in a resort at any time in the recent past you may have noticed a "resort fee" being added to your bill. It was either compulsory, or something charged if you wanted to use facilities like the gym. You also probably had to pay for a beach chair or some other heretofore complimentary service.

This trend seems worst at higher-end hotels. It may or may not be disclosed when a room is booked. While on a recent business trip my father discovered that the highly-rated resort hotel assessed a five dollar fee on drop-off and receipt of overnight mail.

As seen in this Chicago Tribune article (found on Drudge), hidden fees have begun to crop up in restaurants in San Francisco. The author decries the trend as in poor taste, and I agree. I would rather see a restaurant raise their prices than impose a fee that may not have been disclosed beforehand.

San Francisco has long been a focal point for culinary trends. I hope this is a movement that remains Bay-bound.

1 comment:

A.J. said...

I have not noticed this in the Bay area, but there are a few things here that have irked me over the years. For example, no free refills at most restaurants. I understand that if it comes out of a can or bottle, fine, but if it is out of a fountain and you are already charging me $2 for the drink COME ON!!!! You are making bank of the soda! And my other favorite is Asian restaurants charging for rice. Really? The small amount of rice is extra? Who does not eat rice with their Asian dish? And did that $50-50 lb sack of rice at Costco set you back? If you want to charge me a $1, then I should get a lb of rice!

Fortunately when I travel Uncle Chevron foots the bill, so I tend not to care about the costs (but they are getting worse). My worry is that I will stop paying attention and when I am on personal travel find myself in trouble.