A New York hotel may not charge a “resort” fee but now passes on a $30 daily “curation” fee to its guests. But clever names do not mask the stench of mandatory hotel junk fees.
NYC Hotel Debuts “Curation Fee” – The Problem Is That It is Mandatory
Let me start with this premise: the problem is not resort fees themselves…it is that these fees are mandatory.
Take for example this new “curation fee” at Made Hotel in New York City:
"curation fee" at a hotel pic.twitter.com/XwuisgJXiq
— Kyle Chayka (@chaykak) March 21, 2024
Filter coffee or tea is a nice amenity (if the coffee is good), but many do not drink it. Many also do not drink wine. Guests often stay at hotels to take a break and may not want to hit up the gym across the street. Wi-Fi is generally a necessity, but I have not stayed at a hotel this decade that has not had wi-fi included. It’s about as important as running water. Oh, and you can rent a bike if you want…for a fee…or drink in the Good Behavior tiki bar…and pay for your drinks like everyone else.
Every guest has to pay this fee (except for certain corporate accounts), even if they don’t want to consume any of these amenities. That’s the problem…and for all the talk from the present administration about reigning in junk fees, these sorts of obligatory fees continue to proliferate.
This new “curation fee” is a joke. But I’m not calling for it to be scrapped: it should be optional.
And if hotels really want to go back to charging for wi-fi internet, I’ll pay up…that’s a bargained-for exchange I am willing to make. Just don’t insult me wtih a bunch of other junk I do not want and do not need.
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
Not sure if this is an April’s fool day joke but I’ve limited my travel due to all of the extra fees, high costs and reduced service from hotels in the US.
Thankfully on my recent, abbreviated trip to Austria/Germany, we didn’t run into any extra fees or reduced service.
Luckily these junk fees have not reached out of the U.S. in a widespread manner. I’m not sure if they are just not permitted in many of these markets or have not caught on as of yet.
The only one to watch out for is the “Discretionary Service Charge” in the U.K. It’s pretty much at all the hotels in London now but is easily removed at checkout if you know to look for it.
Not only that but in most hotels in Europe (other than in major cities) the breakfast is included or should I say part of the experience while staying in the hotel. No extra fees, no extra taxes. I think it is very easy to fix this in the US: supply and demand. If people stop booking these hotels they will revert their stupid decisions.
I’m not sure I agree with you here. Most hotels in Europe I come across have separate room only and breakfast included rates. You save €1 or €2 if you book breakfast in advance.
In my experience (mostly serviced apartments in France), breakfast is an extra, pricey-for-what-you-get daily fee.
Does it include free local and 800# calls, 1 free fax and complimentary access to the NYNEX yellow pages?
$30 plus tax a day. Oh and the bike you will not use is “seasonal”. Nonsense
Let me start with this premise: the problem is the stupid people that book hotels with mandatory BS fees. It is that easy: let them be completely empty and they will not charge this anymore.
Any fee that is mandatory should be included in the advertised price, full stop. I recently went to Napa and was deciding between the Montage Healdsburg and the Auberge du Soleil. One of the reasons I picked the Auberge is that they did not have a resort fee while the Montage did. I’m glad I was able to speak against mandatory resort fees with my consumer choice on this occasion. (I was very happy with my choice as my experience at the Auberge was excellent).
This isn’t a joke.. I’ve seen this fee at more than one hotel.
The word “Curation” is a joke to me. Like many others. Over-used by people who probably smell their own farts.
Greetings and welcome to Victual, an old-time public house and purveyor of fine provisions that has been foisted upon you by someone who lives in the West Village. Before you ask, yes, this Gingham shirt and denim apron are sewn directly into my skin to save time.
Fine selections! Let me just jot them down with my quill. Might I also entice you with one of our Preambles? Perhaps a litter of linened piglets? Or a trio of Franco-fried Russet potatoes, dusted with maritime sodium and nestled in a pine basket repurposed from a tiny but historically significant ship? Fantastic; I’ll put that order interior and return post-haste with your libations.
“And if hotels really want to go back to charring for wi-fi internet, I’ll pay up…that’s a bargained-for exchange I am willing to make.” Why would you ever pay for wi-fi at a hotel? I almost never use wi-fi at a hotel. First, I don’t trust its security. Second, my phone has unlimited internet that I can use as a hot-spot to my laptop if needed. Unless you are in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone signal, my phone is more than enough for my needs.
It does come in handy if you’re somewhere exotic for a small amount of time and don’t get a local SIM. Roaming can be pretty expensive, and sometimes even entirely unavailable (as I found out when I lost four days of work due to my inability to log onto my employer’s VPN as I couldn’t receive SMS messages on my UK SIM in Mozambique).
My understanding is that this post is related to absurd fees changes by hotels in the US. Agree if you are somewhere exotic abroad but not the case here.
I took it as a general point in terms of hotels charging for WiFi. But your comment has reminded me that I also need to look into my data arrangements for an upcoming visit to the USA!
The only person who should being using the word curate or any variation of this word is a museum curator. Any other use of this word is pretentious and silly.
I actually find this sort of pretentious wording to be a useful identifier reflecting the attitude of the owners/managers of an establishment- e.g. if I am choosing between two hotels and one is advertising a ‘curated guest experience’ (and regardless of whether sneaky fees are involved), I will almost certainly go for their competitor.
If a hotel wants to charge for wifi I’m going to check out all their competitors before I book that hotel.
I thought Brandon was going to eliminate “junk” fees? I guess the only fees he’s interested in eliminating or reducing are those that affect the deadbeats who don’t pay their mortgages or credit cards.
Normal countries have a law saying you can’t advertise a price and charge more. Simple, no?
Start with tax.
Why would anyone care about the pre-tax price? We’re not paying that price.
Then tips.
I pay the advertised price and the establishment pays expenses, including electricity, rent and whatnot. Including labor.
With such laws, hotels have no use for made up fees.
These junk fees are spreading beyond the hospitality industry. I was recently in Miami Beach and was shocked, dismayed, frustrated by the amount of cafes and restaurants adding a mandatory service fee.
One gelato stand I came across added a 20% service fee to all transactions. An Italian Cafe added 18% and a breakfast sandwich cafe 12%. It would be one thing if these were places with waiter service, but all were counter-service. The Italian cafe was especially appaling since they advertised a lunch special for $12.95 when actually after the tax and service fee you were out nearly $17.
This affects travel advisors too. No commission olis paid on these extra fees and it is a way for the hotels to get out of paying contractually agreed commissions.
The word “curated” has become an overused joke. Curators used to manage museum exhibits and higher educational courses; now they decide which sandwiches to put in a lunch box and what music to play in a bar.
Most promotions for dinners now refer to “curated dinner” with a “curated wine list” Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon – with the band curated of course!
What’s wrong with “selected”, “chosen”, “hand picked” or the dozen other words in the thesaurus?