Resort fees, destination fees; call them what you want, they all stink. Hotels have a menu (except we don’t get to pick and choose) of junk fees that are attached to our bills for all kinds of “services and amenities” that used to be complimentary or something we could choose to pay extra for. I don’t think any of us really believe hotel claims about why they’re now adding on these fees. From what I’ve read, it seems like these fees enable hotels to still claim their rates are lower and also pay less to travel agents since commissions are paid based on the base rate, not the total rate.
Some of us though do have a work-around for these fees and I was reminded of this recently when booking a Hyatt hotel. As I was finishing up my booking the total rate for the night seemed so high that I actually noticed it. The taxes and fees came to 20% of the total bill.
Yowza…….could this possibly be? I then looked at the details for the rate and saw a TmD fee, which I’m still unclear about, and a resort fee of $20.
It’s not that the Hyatt website doesn’t remind us of this fee. It’s on every page!
But then it dawned on me that as a Hyatt Globalist those fees are waived.
When I book hotel nights using my Citi Prestige 4th night free benefit I’ve been told to request these fees be eliminated at check-out time. In checking with my Hyatt Concierge I was told that the hotels should be removing the resort fees and that it’s not really up to me to ensure they do this. It should happen automatically upon check out.
But we all know that front desk service and attention to detail varies from property to property. I can’t help but think that these fees and customer status might go unnoticed from time to time. I’m going to pay attention to making sure these fees do get waived before I leave the hotel. Sure, Hyatt would see that I get reimbursed if I’m charged the fees but still, why not make sure it’s handled up front so there are no hassles later on.
Bottom Line
If because of your status with ANY hotel chain you have fees that are attached to your bill that should be waived for you, REMEMBER to get those fees waived.
Hyatt is the only hotel chain that waives resort fees for elites. You should update your title to include “at Hyatt Hotels” to prevent this from being clickbait
Hey tim, Thanks for posting the info on other hotel chains/elites and automatically waived fees. I have talked with travelers who have had resort fees waived at various hotel chains on award nights. That’s not necessarily an elite benefit though.
This feels like clickbait. Not helpful or particularly substantive
You could have just as easily written: “PSA: How to get into an executive club lounge!” with the exact same bottom line – be Globalist.
Hey Greg, Sorry to have wasted your time. I will say though that over the years I have seen many guests in various hotel chain club lounges that were not hotel elites. Enjoy the rest of your day.
The way to have avoided this being clickbait would have been to say something like “Hyatt Elites – Don’t Forget This Valuable Benefit!”
That way, those of us who aren’t Hyatt elites, or who (in my case) are mediocre tier Hyatt elites and know that they aren’t entitled to anything “valuable,” could have skipped it. This is only valuable information for Globalists, or maybe Globalist wannabes.
Great title Greg……done!
Big Thumbs Up!
Always room for improvement, Greg, that’s for sure.
Parking is also comped for Hyatt Globalists on award stays!
Howdy Kalboz, Reward nights do get the resort fees waived but with parking and Globalists complimentary parking on free night awards is at hotels that run their own paid parking service (a.k.a. can be charged to the room) on award stays. Parking fees can be quite high at resorts or big-city properties, and you often have no choice but to use these facilities. Hotel guests at the Andaz Maui, for instance, complain about the parking fee there.
I guess I have lucked out so far because my parking fees have always been waived on award nights even though most don’t own the parking business but where parking is charged to the room: HROC and HR Vancouver, for instance.
Lucky, indeed. Keep it going :)
Good thing I don’t have status anymore. This is getting confusing. ;)
dhammer53
Very funny and I know what you mean. That’s why status in one hotel chain is enough for me :)
While Hyatt seems to be the chain under scrutiny for this post, I don’t believe waiving fees has to do with any particular chain of lodging, location or even status, when it comes to waiving TMD fees. Of course, hotels can give most any reason they want for waiving or charging fees.
We are planning a holiday trip and I noticed that TMD fees are more than 10 percent of the nightly rate! That is on top of lodging tax, already imposed by the municipality of the location. TMD fees are marketing fees promoting local events and venues and the fees are imposed on each lodging facility by the municipality of the location. However, it is up to each lodging facility if they pass the fee on to the customer or not.
The example above shows a TMD fee, which is extremely low compared to the room rate, though I would be annoyed and ask for it to be removed, as well. In my example above, where the TMD fee is more than 10 percent, I have a hard time believing the municipality in my example has a fee so high and that the lodging facilities isn’t padding the percentage for their own gain! I will certainly ask for the fee to be waived or won’t stay at that facility.
We all know, hotels will tell us that TMD fees are imposed by their city, but we can tell them, that they have the power to waive such fees!
In addition, I will check other facilities in the area to see if they are charging the same percentage.
As consumers, we need to fight back and not be taken advantage of with such nonsense.
Well said, Ronald. Thanks for taking the time to add to the conversation. As you suggest, it’s up to us to be aware of these fees, compare them across hotel properties, and then see what we can do about not paying them.
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I called Hyatt and they told me that resort fees are waived for Globalists but not destination fees.. I think your information may be inaccurate.. Unless you’ve had some luck with the right front-desk agents.
Hi Ryan, Were you asking Hyatt about a specific property? Some Hyatt’s have resort fees and some have destinations fees. I have had destination fees waived for me, and then again I’ve had resort fees charged to me by accident. Whether the waived destination fees were done by the agents as a courtesy, I don’t know. I do think in the beginning when all these “nuisance” fees were added, the wording and labeling of fees was confusing. I’ll watch more closely on my next few Hyatt stays and see which fees are waived and which aren’t. Certainly never hurts to ask at the properties, though. Thanks for letting me know about your call to Hyatt.