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Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

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Re: Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

#4

Post by jlawer »

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)

Re: Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

#5

Post by prvit »

josephcsible wrote: post #2

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.

This seems to be a government tax, not a fee made up by the hotel.

Re: Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

#6

Post by blamazon »

prvit wrote: post #5
josephcsible wrote: post #2

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.

This seems to be a government tax, not a fee made up by the hotel.

Not a tax. This article outlines the impact of the ordinance:

https://www.fisherphillips.com/news-insights/8-things-los-an...

In short: it's worker protections.

Is there a "food safety fee" for following food safety requirements? Is there a "this building has adequate fire suppression" fee? This is basically a "we follow local labor laws" fee.

The cost of business increasing is not the issue here, although some people here may feel strongly about that. Passing that increase on as a fee is the deception we're discussing.

The cost of doing business should be baked into the overall nightly rate, (which is algorithmic and highly variable already, so there is no excuse not to) so that the price is upfront to the consumer and hotels can be compared apples to apples, rather than the consumer having to unravel whatever hollywood accounting scheme each hotel comes up with to make their rate appear as low as possible.

Re: Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

#8

Post by fps-hero »

jlawer wrote: post #4

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)

Thankfully we have great consumer laws in Australia. This is referred to as drip pricing. It also makes practices such as mandatory minimum tips illegal, which would make someone from the US’s head spin.

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/pricing/price-displays

Re: Two Marriott Hotels Introduce New Junk Fee

#9

Post by blamazon »

exabrial wrote: post #3

This is not a junk fee, it's a junk law. Stupid in, stupid out.

What's stupid about the law? Do you perhaps have experience in hospitality in the LA area and/or can help illuminate the situation for us, so as to try to persuade us of your opinion?

Here's a summary of the ordinance for anyone who's not familiar:

https://wagesla.lacity.org/sites/g/files/wph1941/files/2022-...

And what I think is the full text:

https://wagesla.lacity.org/sites/g/files/wph1941/files/2022-...

Doesn't seem that stupid to me as a layperson, reading through it. I'm curious what you see at issue here.

There's even a one-year waiver available for financial hardship, and it appears some or all of the protections could be waived under a collective bargaining agreement.

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