Question: I recently found a surprise fee on my hotel bill, and I’m having absolutely no success in getting it removed. Maybe you can help me.
I booked a room at the Blue Heron Beach Resort in Orlando through Orbitz. When I checked in, I was told there would be a $50 surcharge because of my short stay.
I showed the hotel my confirmation, which only said I would have to pay a $5-a-day resort fee. That didn’t work. I phoned Orbitz, and it insisted the fee had been revealed on its site — all I needed to do was “right-click several times.”
So I said fine, just cancel the reservation. But it was too late — an Orbitz representative said I would be charged for the rooms even if I didn’t stay at the Blue Heron. I wrote to Orbitz after I got back home, but have heard nothing. Is there anything you can do? — Ilene Coffey, Lake Worth, Fla.
Answer: How can any hotel expect you to pay a fee that it doesn’t tell you about? And by “tell you” I mean that it shows the fee clearly through every booking channel, including an online travel agency like Orbitz.
Right click several times? Come on. I looked at the confirmation Orbitz sent you, and there’s no sign of a $50 fee. Let me be clear about this: This isn’t to say the Blue Heron or Orbitz shouldn’t be charging you an extra $50. If they told you about the charge, and you agreed to it, they’re well within their rights to ask you to pay.
I just don’t think it’s right to surprise you with an additional fee — and then to tell you you’ll be charged for the room if you back out.
So what was the fee for? It hardly matters. Hotels add surcharges for early and late checkout, for extra guests or for resort amenities. These fees are tacked on to your base room rate, giving you the impression that your room is cheaper than it actually is. I wouldn’t be surprised if they began charging you extra for the bed at some point. But I digress.
When you run into a problem like this, don’t take the first “no” for an answer. Don’t take the second “no,” either. You should have asked for a manager when you were informed about the $50 fee, and if that didn’t work, you should have escalated your complaint to Orbitz and requested a manager.
Your greatest weapon may have been your presence in the lobby of the Blue Heron. A guest who refuses to leave, and is speaking on a cell phone about what she feels is a broken promise made by the property, is every hotel’s worst nightmare. Believe me, a hotel is extremely conscious of a lobby squatter and it won’t take long before it finds a way to make that person happy.
But you fell into a familiar trap during the grievance process. You decided to wait until you returned to try to resolve this, and travel companies are exceptionally skilled at deflecting or ignoring those kinds of complaints.
I contacted Orbitz on your behalf, and it refunded your mysterious $50 fee.
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That’s why I prefer to call the hotel/hostel myself and make a reservation. Which I did for my Vienna vacation and paid exactly what the gal at the reception told me: 22 euros per night per person. And I intend to do the same “trick” for my next vacay.
I used to be a travel agent before starting to write and to be honest, I know enough “tricks” an agency can use – online or not – so that I prefer to tackle these things directly with the establishment.
A similar “bait and switch” technique was used on me when I checked into the Peaks of Otter Lodge in Bedford, Va., a few years ago. I had reserved through the hotel and had been required to prepay for the room a few months earlier.
When I arrived, I was told that the rates had gone up because it was Easter weekend and that my credit card would be charged the extra amount. I couldn’t cancel the reservation because it was after the cancellation period had expired.
The manager wasn’t on duty when I checked in, so when I checked out, I made sure that I very politely, but loudly, told her that I refused to pay the extra amount. That is the risk they take when they demand a guest prepay for a room, especially for a reason that was already apparent when they reserved and charged my room: Easter had not changed dates.
There were several people checking out and when they all heard me use the phrase “bait and switch,” the manager promptly refunded the extra charge to my card.
I don’t understand how a hotel can justify charging extra for a room that is prepaid. Needless to say, I’ll never return to the Peaks of Otter Lodge again and have discouraged others to stay there as well.