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.



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.