Resort charges are a scourge at inns in Orlando and Anaheim close to Walt Disney World and Disneyland. These surcharges vary from $5/night time to over $40, and have been hidden so customers don’t see them when comparability purchasing. This publish covers why they’re anti-competitive, how “junk charges” are lastly being addressed, and extra. (Up to date Could 17, 2025.)
There are at present over 100 inns in Orlando and roughly 50 in Orange County, California that cost resort charges. To their credit score, Walt Disney World and Disneyland don’t cost resort charges. They usually most likely received’t anytime quickly. Whereas there have been fears they’d observe the pattern a number of years in the past, Walt Disney World eradicated parking charges for lodge visitors.
The aim of this publish is to coach customers about resort charges and different nickel & diming practices of the journey {industry}, and different recommendation on providing mentioned pushback. Happily, there are methods to “struggle again” in opposition to resort charges, and that’s what we’ll aid you do right here. The opposite excellent news is that buyers have extra leverage than ever to do battle in opposition to these anti-consumer practices, and that there’s a brand new FTC proposed rule to fight “junk charges” within the hospitality and different industries…
Could 17, 2025 Replace: Let’s begin with the newest improvement, which is that the Federal Commerce Fee Junk Charges Rule has now taken impact. This bans bait-and-switch pricing and different techniques used to cover whole costs and bury junk charges within the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries. These hidden and bogus charges can hurt customers and undercut sincere companies that present precise costs upfront.
The Junk Charges Rule ensures that pricing info is offered in a well timed, clear, and truthful technique to customers of live-event tickets and short-term lodging, two industries whose pricing practices the FTC has studied. Customers trying to find inns or trip leases or seats at a dwell occasion will not be stunned by a pile of “resort,” “comfort,” or “service” charges inflating the marketed value. By requiring up-front disclosure of whole value together with charges, the rule will make comparability purchasing simpler, leading to financial savings for customers and leveling the aggressive taking part in discipline.
The FTC estimates that the Junk Charges Rule will save customers as much as 53 million hours per 12 months of wasted time spent trying to find the entire value for live-event tickets and short-term lodging. This time financial savings is equal to greater than $11 billion over the subsequent decade.
To perform this, the Junk Charges Rule requires that companies clearly and conspicuously disclose the true whole value inclusive of all obligatory charges every time they provide, show, or promote any value of live-event tickets or short-term lodging. Companies can’t misrepresent any charge or cost in any supply, show, or advert for live-event tickets or short-term lodging.
As well as, the rule requires companies to show the entire value extra prominently than most different pricing info. Because of this essentially the most distinguished value in an advert must be the all-in whole value—truthful itemization and breakdowns are high quality however shouldn’t overshadow what customers wish to know: the actual whole.
Lastly, the rule requires companies that exclude allowable charges up entrance to obviously and conspicuously disclose the character, function, identification, and quantity of these charges earlier than customers consent to pay. As an example, companies that exclude transport or taxes from the marketed value should clearly and conspicuously disclose these charges earlier than the patron enters their fee info.
With the Junk Charges Rule now in impact, inns round Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and different vacationer locations are required to adjust to the coverage as of Could 2025. Above is a take a look at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort displaying the all-in pricing with the resort charge already within the whole. There’s now even a button to show the after tax whole!
For our half, we’ve been “preventing again” in opposition to resort charges for a few decade. We sometimes have the possibility to satisfy with lodge managers and operators to debate their properties. In the event that they cost a resort charge, I at all times ask why. The reasons usually vary from ‘to indicate customers we provide extra facilities’ or ‘so our pricing is honest as in comparison with different inns that don’t have these companies.’ I’m not happy with these B.S. solutions, so I push additional. The underlying rationale appears to be as a result of everybody else is doing it.
That perspective is why I consider this publish–a departure from the standard tone and substance of our content material right here–is suitable and vital. Vacationers heading to Walt Disney World and Disneyland are being fleeced by third celebration hoteliers, together with a number of which might be on-site within the Disney Springs, Bonnet Creek, and Crescent Lake Resort Areas. Extra importantly, there’s one thing we are able to do about it.
These within the lodge {industry} like to clarify away resort charges by evaluating them to baggage and different charges charged by the airline {industry}. Whereas most customers additionally don’t just like the nickel and diming that has develop into commonplace M.O. among the many airways, that’s immaterial, as a result of resort charges are completely different.
We’re removed from followers of luggage charges that the airways cost, however they’re nonetheless not the identical as resort charges. The crucial distinction is that to keep away from baggage charges, you’ll be able to journey mild. Alongside these traces, parking charges additionally aren’t fairly the identical, as it’s also possible to keep away from that charge by not driving. (Each simpler mentioned than completed, however that’s barely irrelevant.) There may be actually no technique to keep away from resort charges. Everybody should pay them.
There’s no technique to opt-out if you happen to signal a pledge to not use the pool, learn a newspaper, or make a cup of espresso. For the reason that charge is non-optional, actually each visitor is paying it, simply as each visitor is paying the bottom charge. So there’s no logical argument that may be made to separate the 2.
Resort charges aren’t being charged as a result of inns have elected to go above and past in providing a very strong slate of resort facilities like a complimentary Porsche to make use of whereas on the lodge or an in-room Smurf offering personalised concierge suggestions. (A kind of is an precise amenity at an actual lodge…sadly, it’s not the latter.) On the contrary, resort charges usually have little to do with the facilities provided, and such charges are charged simply as usually at motels as they’re precise resorts. (This motel even fees one. Yeah.)
The true motive inns cost resort charges is as a result of they make it harder for potential visitors to determine the precise nightly charge. That is notably true within the period of on-line reserving engines like Expedia and its ilk. Reserving engines usually don’t present resort charges on the search outcomes web page, and solely thereafter show them as an asterisk merchandise that there’s a charge that isn’t collected by the reserving web site.
Many vacationers by no means see this high quality print, and solely study of the added charge once they arrive on the lodge, by which period it’s usually too late to do something about it apart from grumble a bit, and pay it. Different vacationers who see the charges earlier than arrival achieve this after they’ve already clicked by way of to begin the reserving course of, making them statistically extra prefer to “convert.” This elevated conversion charge metric in flip helps the lodge justify charging a resort charge. Briefly, hiding the charges is an efficient means for inns to extend bookings.
Per the FTC, fewer than 6% of all inns in the US cost resort charges (the share is exponentially greater in Florida), charges and surcharges are an extremely profitable income stream for inns. In line with Shopper Stories, the lodge {industry} collects roughly $3 billion in resort charge income per 12 months. It is a fairly substantial quantity, and even stunning when contemplating that the quantity has almost tripled from $1.2 billion in 2004.
Resort charges are efficient as a result of they permit inns to maintain their marketed costs low to lure journey planners into the reserving course of with these cheaper base charges. Solely later within the course of do visitors study that what they are going to in the end pay per night time is considerably greater than the marketed charge because of the hidden charges.
This follow isn’t simply irritating for bargain-hunting vacationers. The FTC has referred to as it a “misleading and unfair commerce follow,” and is lastly beginning to get critical about regulating resort charges. This doesn’t truly imply something will occur. The FTC is a reasonably toothless company that’s large on speak and lightweight on motion. The FTC despatched a Warning Letter to 22 hoteliers, rebuffing them for the best way their resort charges displayed. Nothing modified.
Extra not too long ago, the District of Columbia legal professional normal filed a lawsuit in opposition to Marriott, accusing the lodge large of misleading charge practices. The swimsuit accuses Marriott of using “an illegal commerce follow referred to as ‘drip pricing’ in promoting its lodge rooms, whereby Marriott initially hides a portion of a lodge room’s day by day charge from customers.” That is generally labeled as a resort charge. Per the swimsuit, Marriott has “reaped lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} over the previous decade from this misleading drip pricing.”
This lawsuit has garnered critical public consideration, and was borne out of an ongoing investigation carried out by the attorneys normal of all 50 states and the District of Columbia into the industry-wide follow of charging obligatory resort charges. Whereas the lawsuit doesn’t search to outlaw resort charges, it challenges how they’re displayed. Furthermore, the general public outcry following this swimsuit means a legislative answer is probably going–and that’s the place the follow of charging non-optional resort charges might be deemed unlawful and, in the end, killed.
We dwell in an age of slactivism, the place hashtag warriors struggle the large problems with our day with offended tweets and modified profile photos. Nevertheless, that is one scenario the place the web can truly empower folks to impression change.
Each time I encounter a resort charge in a lodge I evaluation, I belabor the purpose that these are consumer-unfriendly and lodge chains have been warned about them previously by the FTC. That is to the purpose the place it’s most likely develop into tiresome for normal readers, nevertheless it’s my means of “preventing again” in a small means. Now, I’d encourage you to struggle again in a means that really may result in optimistic change. Right here’s how…
When it comes to advertising and marketing, nothing issues extra to inns than their TripAdvisor rating. Being within the high 10 or on the primary web page on TripAdvisor for a selected metropolis is large, and every greater numerical rung is statistically vital by way of shopper curiosity, occupancy charge, and aggressive equilibrium pricing. There are even TripAdvisor “Repute Administration” Specialists (and software program) who seek the advice of lodge manufacturers on methods to form their fame on TripAdvisor.
The easy technique to struggle again is to evaluation inns on TripAdvisor, deduct a star (or nevertheless a lot you’re feeling acceptable) for a lodge at which you stayed charging a resort charge, and point out as a lot in your evaluation. I’d warning in opposition to leaving a 1-star evaluation to “stability the scales,” however I don’t suppose it’s unfair to charge a lodge that was in any other case 4-stars in your thoughts as 3-stars on TripAdvisor as a result of resort charge. For me, it’s definitely star-worthy.
This won’t solely impression the general rating of the lodge, giving its managers pause in regards to the unfavourable aspect of their bonus income stream, however will deliver resort charges to the eye of different potential visitors. Somebody studying TripAdvisor who could not have been conscious of a resort charge could have motive to delve just a little deeper, as an alternative of being stunned by a major extra cost upon check-in.
All it takes is 3 unfavourable critiques for the common TripAdvisor consumer to rule out utilizing a specific lodge, so it is doable for anybody to struggle again in opposition to resort charges. Your voices can matter–use them to ship the message to hoteliers.
There’s much more you are able to do. We repeatedly obtain surveys from hoteliers with whom we e-book and don’t e-book reservations, usually in an try to lure again prospects. When responding, we at all times deliver up resort charges and different practices we view as nickel & diming.
We’d strongly encourage you to do the identical, utilizing this as a possibility to voice your displeasure about how the journey {industry} has tried to fleece visitors within the title of wringing out extra income. Largely, this has labored for the final decade, as enterprise has been booming and demand was at all-time highs. With an financial downturn or potential recession on the horizon, it’s going to be a really completely different setting–one the place customers have far more energy. Inns, airways, and theme parks might want to do extra to compete for the enterprise of visitors. We’d strongly encourage you to make use of your voice to form their insurance policies going ahead. Sufficient is sufficient.
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Your Ideas
What do you consider resort charges? Pleased that the FTC has lastly enacted a rule to finish this anti-competitive follow? Do these tacked-on fees hassle you as a shopper, or is that this a lot ado about nothing? Have you ever stayed in a lodge that fees a resort charge? What did you consider it? Another ideas or questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share some other ideas or questions you’ve got within the feedback under!
