CHICAGO
On the heels of the news that the hotel industry this year is expected to collect a record $1.95 billion in add-on fees from guests, consumer and business travel advocates say it's time to complain to the federal government about this form of unfair pricing.
Business Travel Coalition chairman Kevin Mitchell and consumer advocate Ed Perkins have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about fees such as the controversial "daily resort fee, Perkins writes in his column in The Chicago Tribune.
Their message, he said is simple: "Stop hotels from hiding part of their true prices from business travelers and consumers." Fees that are tacked on at check-out time by various hotels in the U.S. for "housekeeping," "bell captain" and "Internet access" are examples of what the FTC calls "drip pricing," according to Perkins. He explained it this way: A hotel that wants to charge $200 a night might advertise a nightly rate of $170 and then charge guests $30 extra in "mandatory" fees to make up the difference.
“If you've been surprised by a fee at check-out time,” Perkins said, “you can file a complaint to the FTC and specifically mention ‘drip pricing.’ If you don't mind the fees and think they're fair, you can tell the FTC that, too,” he said.
