No one likes hotel resort fees, except maybe for the hotels that rake in this pure profit.
Outrigger Hotels is one of the companies that has been proudly touting its resort fee-free hotels. But in an email to travel agents, they announced this is changing Oct. 15 at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort and Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort.
Except that it won’t be called a resort fee; it’ll be a “Waikiki Connection Fee.” How clever.
We’re not talking trivial money here, either. “The daily per room fee of $30 (plus $1.42 General Excise Tax) will be collected directly from guests upon checkout. The fee is non-commissionable, not included in room rates, and subject to change with notice.”
“Non-commissionable” means they don’t share the fee with travel agents. But, realistically, we’re only talking 10 percent on average — not that much money. As for being subject to change, though, here’s a hint: When fees change, they never, ever go down.
Outrigger touts a long list of things that travelers get for their money, including Wi-Fi Internet access for up to three devices. Until they added the “Connection fee,” though, the Outrigger Waikiki hotels had been trumpeting the fact that Internet access already was free.
The new fee will cover 60 free minutes of phone calls, local and international, for those who don’t already have free minutes on their cellphones. Now maybe this will be a benefit for travelers from foreign countries, but how many travelers, foreign or domestic, go to Hawaii to call overseas friends and relatives?
In addition, children under five will eat breakfast for “free” when adults buy breakfast at the hotels. (Not a bad deal except that not many Outrigger customers bring children under five along.)
Outrigger also includes one round trip ride per stay on the Waikiki Trolley, weekday newspapers, two bottles of water a day, a souvenir tote and some discount coupons for local restaurants, shops and attractions.
Anyone who visits Hawaii regularly knows that discount coupons, even in this Internet age, are already available in many free magazines given out at the airport and on the street.
As for the other inclusions, a day pass on the trolley is about $20. But only one trip per stay is included. And a newspaper and bottled water can’t be more than a buck or two each. Maybe it’s a really nice “free” souvenir tote?
In fairness, Outrigger is just following what most other hotels in Waikiki are already doing — charging a significant premium for services that most guests won’t use. As I’ve written before, I personally have no problem with the idea of optional resort fees, but presenting mandatory fees as something positive is ridiculous.
If hotels were being honest about resort fees, and if the fees actually were a good deal, then they would be optional. Most travelers have no problem with being offered a discounted package of extra hotel goods and services. But this new Outrigger fee, like others, applies even to customers who have no use for any of the included extras.
What makes fees worse in Hawaii is that many tourists arrive on prepaid packages. So, since the fees aren’t collected until checkout, travelers staying for one week in a single room get socked with a bill of over $200 even if they never purchase a single mai-tai.
Hotels have to make a profit. We get that. Just raise the rates enough to make that desired profit — and be honest about it.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
