Yesterday, I wrote about the rather hilarious “historical preservation fee” at the Hyatt Centric in Sacramento. It did not take long for that fee to disappear, though it has been replaced with a generic “destination fee.”
Hyatt Hotel Renames “Historical Preservation Dee” To “Destination Fee” But Obligatory Charge Still Remains
It is rather implausible to argue with a straight face that you are collecting a “historical preservation fee” when the only thing historic about your very modern hotel is two brick walls that were left from the original structure. Everything else had been modified in such a way that it was brand new.
The good news is that after Live and Let’s Fly and later View From The Wing covered this issue, the hotel acted swiftly to eliminate the sham “historical preservation” label for its resort fee.
But the bad news is that the fee, $15.00/night plus $2.43 tax, is still there…the hotel just calls is a “destination fee” now.
This was yesterday:
This is today:
While the fee includes a laundry list of offers that ostensibly are worth $15/night, they are the sort of offers (like discount museum admission) that most guests (at a business-friendly hotel in the heart of Sacramento) will not need or use. Plus, certain benefits like a welcome drink or other discounts are only available once, yet the fee is charged on a nightly basis.
Bottom line: it is still a scam fee if obligatory (and you cannot opt out of it) and the hotel should be ashamed for padding revenue through such dishonest means. This sort of problem, which we see at many Hyatt properties in the USA (and other chains too) calls for regulation. We need transparent, all-in pricing at these hotels so that consumers are not duped into wasting their time and money by deceptively low base fares that do not accurately represent the total cost to stay at the property.
CONCLUSION
I’m happy to see the Hyatt Centric Sacramento rename its laughable “historical preservation fee” but the fee is still there: and that is the main problem, particularly when it is not optional and not included in initial hotel pricing search results.
> Read More: Hyatt Property Adds Absurd “Historical Commitment Fee”
> Read More: All-In Pricing – Marriott Deserves No Praise For What Should Be A Given
image: Hyatt Centric Sacramento
Sacramento…America’s newest “destination.” Look out Hawaii and Vegas.
I don’t get these additional fees. Instead of having to explain the exact purpose of some additional $15 fee, why not just add $15 to the generic room rate? Itemizing hassle avoided.
As long as the hotel can get away with deceptively-low base pricing, such all-in pricing would potentially drive customers away at the outset when searching pricing. Furthermore, by breaking out this $15 fee, they do not have to share a cut with travel agents who book the room.
I’m on the hotel’s side on resort fees. Many companies (mine included) have begun using travel management applications such as Egencia to book corporate travel. That technology allows corporate leadership to place limits on things like room rates and air fares. Resort fees allow hotels who cater to mostly business travelers to skirt some of these policies. My supervisor will approve charges for parking or resort fees on my expense report without even flinching, but if I try to book a room even $1 over the maximum room rate, it triggers a little red flag to show up on the request, and I get a reaction similar to asking if they would double my salary. The problem is the Warren Buffetting of corporate travel and that approving anything out of policy causes the approving manager to show up on a report that they will then have to explain and defend. So in addition to shielding the hotel operator from some of the ridiculous travel agent commissions that these corporate travel apps charge, they allow upmarket hotels to stay competitive. Even if the company rejected the resort fees, there are times when I’d gladly pay it myself to avoid 3-4 nights in a budget hotel.
Are you at least in favor of all-in pricing?
Any hotels with stupid fees will never see my money.
So no Las Vegas for you? 😉
Last time I was in Vegas was 20 years ago. No need to go back.
Ah yes… 20 years ago, before all the snowflakes showed up, right?
Perhaps before we had thousands swarming into USA with their anti-American sentiment. or perhaps before this.. https://i.postimg.cc/MTGk6G64/IMG-5956.jpg
America’s changing demographics must really terrify some people.
Why have borders and customs and immigration at all? Welcome to earth.
https://i.postimg.cc/LsK16mCH/1bbc9e3c9d55487e.jpg
Yeah, someone is definitely terrified lol
https://i.postimg.cc/SNXRvddP/0-DCEF751-DB49-4-A91-86-EF-BABFB350-FAE5.jpg
Poor dear needs a safe space lol
I have never been to Vegas. I really wanted to see Celine Dion when she was there but never did. Maybe someday I’ll go. Doesn’t seem to hold much appeal though at first glance.
Nickel and diming customers is American as Apple pie
Do Globalists have to pay this scam fee? I thought we had a free pass on them.
Yes, resort fees and destination fees are waived for Globalists. It may not be automatic, so always check your folio at checkout.
Time would be well spent to proof read a story/title before publishing it.
I’m blind. Can you help point it out?
incomplete sentence:
“Everything else had been modified in such a way that”
…
Also, Historical Preservation ‘Dee’.
I was confused too, I kept thinking an ad cut off his sentence hahaha!
crickets
Withdrawn
I agree. All fees and costs that cannot be removed have to go into the advertised price for the room so customers can compare properly. A law should be created that covers Airbnb rentals, too.
Airbnb cleaning fees for entire home rentals are ridiculous. I could see if I was messy or not OCD about cleanliness but no
Prior to leaving an AirB&B property, I was repeatedly hounded by the host to leave a positive review. I feel if I had provided a less than perfect score, I would have been hit with some type of damage fee for failing to leave the dishes in the dishwasher, take out the garbage, and place the dirty sheets and towels in the bath. I took pictures just before I left. The positive requests continued for 10 days after the visit…I never completed the survey.
Best to take pictures. Sounds like they were trying to make up for a bad review perhaps. Or really wanting to become a “superhost”
Because history has already documented that the Hyatt Centric Sacramento will screw their guests, two weeks from now, this Hyatt property can rip off guests by renaming their screw the consumer fee to the “historic new and improved Hyatt Centric Sacramento screw all of our valued guests destination fee.”
Isn’t campaigning for all-in pricing something of a lost cause in the USA? How many stores include sales tax in the price of their goods – none that I’ve ever come across.
Thank you for revealing this dishonest scheme from Hyatt. I just fell in their trap a few weeks ago on a different location, and felt so upset about it.