Fees to Guests Boost Hotel Incomes
The global accommodation industry is expected to pocket a record $1.8 billion this year with an assortment of new fees for housekeeping, room-service trays, concierges, parking and early cancellations – services that were once part of room rates.
The latest revenue estimate represents an 80% increase from 2001, when hotels generated about $1 billion from such fees, according to new study by Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.
Hanson maintains the increase in revenue comes as hotels have added many new charges and guest demand for hotel rooms has gradually grown in the last few years. Among the newest fees popping up at hotels across the country, he said, is one of about $2.50 to have the hotel bell staff hold your bags either before you check in or after you check out. Another is $5-6 for bottled water that costs half that at the corner store.
Hotel industry representatives defend the charges and say hotel guests can avoid many of them by simply choosing not to use the services.
“It’s really a consumer choice as to which services they want to get,” said Randi Knott, vice president for government and legal relations with the California Hotel & Lodging Association where the fee practice is rife. “I think more business travellers are able to spend money on these extras like room service and wi-fi and things they want to use,” she said.
Because such fees vary by property and by season, Hanson said he could not calculate how much each fee generates for the accommodation industry.
“It isn’t homogenised throughout the industry,” he said. “This year, for example, some hotels may introduce a mini-bar stocking fee, but other hotels may reduce the in-room phone charges.”
Still, Hanson estimated that the most revenue came from resort fees of up to $20 per day, early cancellation fees that can equal the room rate, a tray charge of about $2.50 that is added with room service orders and a housekeeping charge of $10 to $13 per day. And while properties still make nearly 99% of their revenue from room rates, Hanson said the fees have been a boon for the accommodation industry because many charges are for services that are already included in the hotel rates.
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.
