Thursday 24 May 2018

What a deal! Not.

An annual event is a 3-day spring golf outing to Niagara Falls. Organized by friends in Southern Ontario I get to go along to provide comic relief on the course and help fund the winner’s take. (I could just send money, but what’s the fun in that?)

This year the organizer got us a “good” rate at the Ramada. Practically next door to the casino and close to all the courses we play, $59.95 a night seemed a good deal. Until we got our bills.

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All the sundry facility fees, parking charges, tourism improvement fees, and taxes on all the above, bumped the $59.95 to $93.93, a nearly 60% increase over the quoted rate. Which makes me wonder if hotels will soon start quoting rates without housekeeping and then adding that in as a separate line item. Should be worth about $10 a night I figure. An elevator fee might be another $5. The desk clerk, another $5 a night. Now we’re down to $39.95 a night – a real bargain! And that’s not including potential  “convenience fees” for offering web-based booking and check-in/-out services.

Perhaps it’s time for the hotel industry to require their members to quote all inclusive rates so the traveling public has some idea what their real costs will be. Just like the airlines have been forced to do.

2 comments:

  1. Ah, the usual issue with bargain offers, just leave stuff out and charge later... the same goes for flight cost (extra charge for luggage, even if you have carry-on...).

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    Replies
    1. Sonja - True. Worst I've ever experienced for that was RyanAir. In addition to surcharges for everything, there was a surcharge for checking in at the airport! But at least they tell you ahead of time.

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