San Diego - Totally Random but I hope interesting!

[amyotravel]

:confused: I am going on a quick weekend trip for MIL's b-day tomorrow night and I was reviewing my hotel reservation in San Diego.

 

Has anyone ever seen this before? I almost fell off my chair laughing. There is no way I am paying for this! I have heard of ridiculous fees, but I mean, come on. SO and I are going to tell them they should unplug it and take it out of our room 'cause we do not even need it. Talk about a fee-heavy place. By the way, if anyone is interested, this is a Grand Hyatt.

 

Additional Hotel Services

 

The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.

 

• Buffet breakfast fee: USD 24 per person (approximately)
  
• Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for in-room high-speed Internet (wired): USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for high-speed Internet (wired) in public areas: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Self parking fee: USD 26 per night (in/out privileges)
  
• Valet parking fee: USD 36 per night (in/out privileges)
  
• Pet fee: USD 30 (varies based on length of stay)
  
• In-room microwave fee: USD 20 per stay
  
• Rollaway bed fee: USD 20 per night
  

[KCcruisin07]

I've seen something similar for other hotels, for example the Hilton in Newport Beach (or across from John Wayne Airport). It's a very nice property, and they do allow pets.

 

There is a daily charge for parking, wifi, etc. etc. etc. The first time there was a $75 pet deposit. The second time I didn't read it and it was changed to $75 per pet or per day or something ridiculous. I don't think they charged it, but I didn't enjoy our stay.

 

It made me realize that it is important to read the reservation/fine print before we get to the hotel!

[Kartgv]

:confused: ...

The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.

 

• Buffet breakfast fee: USD 24 per person (approximately)
  
• Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for in-room high-speed Internet (wired): USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Fee for high-speed Internet (wired) in public areas: USD 12.95 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
  
• Self parking fee: USD 26 per night (in/out privileges)
  
• Valet parking fee: USD 36 per night (in/out privileges)
  
• Pet fee: USD 30 (varies based on length of stay)
  
• In-room microwave fee: USD 20 per stay
  
• Rollaway bed fee: USD 20 per night
  

 

We've seen similar charges at every 'upscale' hotel we've stayed at in the last year or two. You wouldn't be charged for the services you don't use, so if you don't have a car, eat breakfast elsewhere, don't have a pet, or need a microwave or rollaway bed, you wouldn't have an extra charge. The internet fee (which is about the same amount we've seen everywhere) would be only one of the choices, not all of them. What we find interesting is that the lower end hotels give you free internet, while the more expensive hotels charge. Also, a lot of hotels now charge what they call a 'resort fee' of $20/day or more; this includes internet, plus other services such as access to a gym or business center, that we would never use. We'd rather pay the 'a la carte' fee just for internet or any other service we really wanted.

[tweakes]

I agree this is pretty common, but which one would apply to you? I would not use any of these listed on 99% of my trips...

 

By the way the Manchester Grand Hyatt has one of the best views of San Diego you'll see in their bar at the top of the hotel. It's pricey but well worth a drink or two.

[BruceMuzz]

We've seen similar charges at every 'upscale' hotel we've stayed at in the last year or two. You wouldn't be charged for the services you don't use, so if you don't have a car, eat breakfast elsewhere, don't have a pet, or need a microwave or rollaway bed, you wouldn't have an extra charge. The internet fee (which is about the same amount we've seen everywhere) would be only one of the choices, not all of them. What we find interesting is that the lower end hotels give you free internet, while the more expensive hotels charge. Also, a lot of hotels now charge what they call a 'resort fee' of $20/day or more; this includes internet, plus other services such as access to a gym or business center, that we would never use. We'd rather pay the 'a la carte' fee just for internet or any other service we really wanted.

 

This conversation is very relevant to today's cruise line marketing and pricing.

In the good old days, we charged you for everything up front. You had no choice but to pay for everything, whether you used it or not.

 

Today we offer you a menu of services that you may chpose to take and pay - or not.

Some people call that "Nickel and Diming". You and I call it "a la carte".

But it appears that you - like many travelers - prefer to do it that way.