MARRIOTT REQUIRED TO SHOW RESORT FEES

In the May 17 issue of eFlyer, we told readers about a recent lawsuit requiring Marriott to include all resort fees in hotel rates. We asked: Do you think all hotel companies should be transparent with resort and destination fees? Do you think resort fees should be done away with altogether? One reader wrote in:

Not just hotels, every business should disclose up front the cost of your interaction with them. Not only is it a simple matter to disclose all fees applicable to the interaction, there should be some reason for the fee other than being an additional business markup as we see at auto dealers. If you are renting me a hotel room, the disclosed cost must include all services (including maid service) and be actually related to the cost of doing business at that location. Do not charge me a fee because you are in Boston or Omaha, and do not automatically charge me for things I will not use such as the room safe. If hotels find they have a larger than normal loss cost, it may be because guests feel they have been robbed, so they figure, “What is good for you is good for me,” and they take things.

Not addressed in the article is the failure of various businesses to properly compensate staff but charge prices the customer definitely believes has all the labor involved. I will pay the price if I want the product; that is what the willing buyer/willing seller dynamic is all about. What I am not willing to do is see you thrive by including labor in your prices, not fairly compensating staff, and expecting the customer to pay labor that should be included in cost of goods sold and call it a tip.

M.J. Weisner, via email