The golden rule of fees: if there are no circumstances under which you won't be charged the fee, then it should instead be incorporated into the base price. This sort of deception should be illegal.
I am really glad in Australia companies aren't typically allowed to advertise prices ex taxes / fees. They are allowed to mention the costs as a line item, but can't advertise only part of the cost (i.e. if they advertise its a $89 room, you need to be able to get it for $89)
SF is full of these. Every restaurant bill will have some SF Healthcare Ordinance or something else on it. Now that would be a useful proposition: all visible prices must have local taxes and fees built-in. We all know everything is going to switch to the tip entry, though. A tip for directing you to the self-checkout, no doubt.
Am I missing something? The article text suggests these are "mandatory fees and surcharges that are not included in the headline price", but all the screenshots from Marriott's site show the all-in total, inclusive of the fees, when you're searching, and then break down the elements of that price when you pay.<p>What's being hidden here?
The title made me think people were leaving trash in their hotel rooms (quickly resolved by visiting and reading it)<p>I wonder if you would get billed for forgetting your CRTs / tyres / hazardous waste / bags of asbestos when you checked out, if that was not explicitly in the contract...
I don't know the details but if this fee is required even for rewards redemptions, is it a local tax? If so .. i wouldn't necessarily expect tax to be included in the rate.