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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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 peopl…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 peopl…
I don't like the idea of the price of a service being increased during checkout, but it's good that people are shown what part of the price that they pay goes to complying with regulations, city taxes, etc - that information allows them to vote better.
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. What's being hidden here?
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
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I don't like the idea of the price of a service being increased during checkout, but it's good that people are shown what part of the price that they pay goes to complying with regulations, city taxes, etc - that information allows them to vote better.
That’s so naive, who says how much complying with labor laws costs? A business owner will lie and say it cost two times as much to gain advantage. Business owners should charge an up front price and if they can’t survive because they’re following the law then they can shut down and find a job. Owning a business isn’t a right bestowed by god.
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...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't like the idea of the price of a service being increased during checkout, but it's good that people are shown what part of the price that they pay goes to complying with regulations, city taxes, etc - that information allows them to vote better.
That’s so naive, who says how much complying with labor laws costs? A business owner will lie and say it cost two times as much to gain advantage. Business owners should charge an up front price and if they can’t survive because they’re following the law then they can shut down and find a job. Owning a business isn’t a right bestowed by god.
When you run an otherwise stable business and have records going back far enough it's pretty easy to see the "cost" of a any given change in how you run things especially if that change has a labor/materials impact that is pretty isolated and countable.