Big Cliff Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Which Ottawa Days Inn was it? Yes, because I can guarantee you I will be telling all my friends never to stay there or at ANY Day's Inn again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 i thought any added costs including gratuities if add to bills had to be clearly displayed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 They are Terry.. the list them line by line on the bill ! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 no, no no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 It was days inn Ottawa hunt club/airport. They clearly listed the fees which is why I jumped on it. I looked into it and made some calls, it's really consumer-unfriendly: The hotel opts to join a regional tourism group then they create an internal policy to levy the fees which are usually 3%, because as they put it "there is no government funding to promote our industry". They insist they do not pocket the fee and therefore it justifies the fees' existence as not being a "cash grab", yet the actual handling of the collected fees is not transparent to the consumer paying for them. The Ontario Government supports this program because it keeps the hotels off their backs. The hotel has voluntarily joined this group, but retains the right to pay the fees forward to the consumer and force them to pay it, because: when you sign your hotel agreement, it states "you agree to pay all applicable taxes and fees". They can easily, legally and without harm to themselves remove this fee, but if they don't feel like it that day, or don't like your face, they can legally force you to pay, because it's in the contract. My take on it is this: it's very unfair that the consumer is forced to pay above the room cost, fees that were charged because the hotel chose to join a promotional "pay to use" organization. Those fees are used to gain monetary profits for the company and to basically market there own business, which should be their own responsibility anyway.... As it is in any business. Most people are unaware of the surcharge and pay it without thought, which makes it a very profitable scheme. Hotels are generally way overpriced and dirty and cheap, this surcharge is just a reminder that they are not in the business of taking care of clients as they like to advertise, but in the business of squeezing out every penny from people who are forced to stay in accommodations, be it for business or personal reasons. It's a bully tactic for their own gain. Drives me nuts and I'm glad I called the GM a creepy bugger because he had full power to remove the fee and should understand that it looks bad and it a cash grab in the eyes of the consumer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormdunker Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Wow! Good info here. Thanx for the heads up guys. I'll certainly be checking my hotel bills in the future. Reminder to myself. When booking a room in advance ask - "do you charge any other fees?" If their answer is yes, ask to speak to the manager. If that manager doesn't provide the right response. Tell him you are looking elsewhere. Very simple! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Cliff Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 If they want more money, raise the room rate by the 3% don't try to sneek it in after the fact. Hade a problem with the Maple Leaf Motel in Goderich a few years back; rented a room for two nights, but they didn't tell us the rest of the place was rented to a motorcycle club. Nice people but they partied all night and we couldn't sleep. We had to leave after the first night but asked for a refund for the second night. Manager wouldn't give us one, then we found out they actually rented our room out to the bikers for the second night. We still never did get a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 If they want more money, raise the room rate by the 3% don't try to sneek it in after the fact. They don't want to do that because they would have to collect the money as general revenue, have it subjected to taxes (both HST and corporate) etc and do all the paperwork. By having it separate it saves them work. It's completely a consumer-pay model. I came up with a slogan. "Days Inn, brought to you by you" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burtess Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I wonder how this works out if you book with say Expedia.... you pay Expedia up front (you can see the invoice on your computer screen) and then when you check into the hotel you just sign the invoice but Expedia credit card is on it, you never have to give your credit card or anything. Burt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Good thread. Lew I'm glad you mentioned this. My wife was away for a conference last week and I was telling her about reading this earlier today and she pulled out her bill. Sure enough TIFF fee plus HST. There is another fee there with strange code for $9.99 plus HST. She had the nerve to tell me it was for the Disney movie Frozen, yea right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I wonder how this works out if you book with say Expedia.... you pay Expedia up front (you can see the invoice on your computer screen) and then when you check into the hotel you just sign the invoice but Expedia credit card is on it, you never have to give your credit card or anything. Burt Sorry but that will NOT work. First every hotel I have ever been to always asks for a credit card upon check in so if you charge things to your room, make phone calls out to areas that are not included in their free call zones or you do damage to the room they have your credit card number and you have to agree to this just to check in... And I have said once before in the US they have what they now call "Resort Fees" that are tack on when you arrive at the hotel no matter if you book directly with the hotel or use a third party like Expedia. This way the hotel gets to keep 100% of the so called resort fee and not share it with a third party and that's exactly why it's done at check in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burtess Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Sorry but that will NOT work. First every hotel I have ever been to always asks for a credit card upon check in so if you charge things to your room, make phone calls out to areas that are not included in their free call zones or you do damage to the room they have your credit card number and you have to agree to this just to check in... And I have said once before in the US they have what they now call "Resort Fees" that are tack on when you arrive at the hotel no matter if you book directly with the hotel or use a third party like Expedia. This way the hotel gets to keep 100% of the so called resort fee and not share it with a third party and that's exactly why it's done at check in. Just stayed a night at the Super 8 in North Bay that was booked through Expedia and was never even asked for ID let alone a credit card.... Burt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) On CBC now but available online too. http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2014-2015/money-tips-stash-your-cash Edited January 31, 2015 by fishnsled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grt1 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 i get charged this travel fee in Kenora and Winnipeg, in kenora they use the money to promote the town and tourism. in fact they sponsor a weekend concert series with big name talent with the money collected, don't know what happens to it in winnipeg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now