10/14/2011
The hotel industry is expected to rake in an additional $1.8 billion this year with its implementation of an assortment of new charges for room-service trays, early cancellations, bellhops and housekeeping. While mini-bar and telephone fees have long been standard, these new charges involve services that are once believed to be part of room rates.
According to a recent study made by Bjorn Hanson, the dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management of New York University, the latest income estimate represents an 80% increase from 2001, when the industry generated around $1 billion from such charges.
Hanson said that the increase in income comes as hotels have added a lot of new charges, coupled with the gradual growth of guest demand for hotel rooms in the last few years.
Among the newest charges popping up at various hotels across the country is the $2.50 fee for hotel bell staff to hold the bags of guests either before checking in or when checking out.
Almost all travelers are not at all thrilled with the implementation of new charges.
Johnny Foster, a retired North Carolina police officer who was staying at the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles, said, “They are getting sneakier and sneakier.” He suspects that hotels are charging for almost everything.
Brenda Vere, a Boston resident staying at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & suites while on a business trip, complained about some hotels charging up to $6 for a bottle of water. “If they don’t want me to drink the water then why do they put it in the room?” said Vere.
Representatives of the hotel industry defended the new charges and say that guests can avoid many of these things by simply opting not to use the services.
