Some Marriott Hotels Charging 10% Resort Fees on Award Stays

[CalGalTraveler]

What Is Bonvoy Smoking? A 10% Resort Fee…Even On Award Stays?!?

https://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/marriotts-resort-fees-are-getting-out-of-hand/

 

[VacationForever]

I got charged $40 on resort fees and another $40 for valet parking, no self parking on location, for a hotel stay recently. It was on an award stay. The worst part of it was that it was a horrible hotel - Lido House at Newport Beach (Autograph Collection).

 

[NiteMaire]

All these "Bonvoyed" happenings give pause to my affinity with and loyalty to Marriott (Lifetime Titanium Elite). I recently read the Chief Marketing Officer is stepping down at the end of the year. Is that a good thing?

I still enjoy the hotels and timeshares, but Bonvoy stops short of Bon Voyage...at least in its current implementation.

 

[VacationForever]

I continue to love MVC resorts but I am starting to look at Hilton for hotel options.

 

[Luanne]

Are these fees disclosed up front?

 

[VacationForever]

Are these fees disclosed up front?

After the fact, I went back to read the email confirmation. I found this at the bottom:

Hotel Alert
USD 33 daily destination amenity fee added to room rate incl beach shuttle, bikes & surf board rental, Internet and more.

We were charged per day, $39.50 for resort fees and $40 for valet parking. We did not realize there were 2 separate charges and only learned of it after we checked out. Our folio on check out showed $160 for 4 nights of valet. After a couple of days of my return when another charge showed up - $158. I called and I was told that these were 2 separate charges. Valet charge was not disclosed in the confirmation.

The hotel was horrible and we lasted 4 nights before deciding to forfeit the 5th night. We were miserable every night. Loud music from roof top until past midnight, every night. Drunk young adults screaming down the hallway every night and we could hear every word uttered in the hallway from our room. It was not insulated against sound.

The hotel restaurant was awful and we forgo the daily breakfast credit of $36 and took 750 Bonvoy points after breakfast the first morning.

We will be alot more careful with Marriott hotel selection in the future.

 

[Luanne]

After the fact, I went back to read the email confirmation. I found this at the bottom:

Hotel Alert
USD 33 daily destination amenity fee added to room rate incl beach shuttle, bikes & surf board rental, Internet and more.

We were charged per day, $39.50 for resort fees and $40 for valet parking. We did not realize there were 2 separate charges and only learned of it after we checked out. Our folio on check out showed $160 for 4 nights of valet. After a couple of days of my return when another charge showed up - $158. I called and I was told that these were 2 separate charges. Valet charge was not disclosed in the confirmation.

The hotel was horrible and we lasted 4 nights before deciding to forfeit the 5th night. We were miserable every night. Loud music from roof top until past midnight, every night. Drunk young adults screaming down the hallway every night and we could hear every word uttered in the hallway from our room. It was not insulated against sound.

The hotel restaurant was awful and we forgo the daily breakfast credit of $36 and took 750 Bonvoy points after breakfast the first morning.

We will be alot more careful with Marriott hotel selection in the future.

Did you dispute the valet charges which were not disclosed to you? If not, you should. We stayed at a hotel in San Francisco a few years ago. Loved the place, but was shocked to see a $20/night fee that had not been disclosed up front. When I mentioned it to the person who checked us out she apologized and credited the charge.

 

[VacationForever]

Did you dispute the valet charges which were not disclosed to you? If not, you should. We stayed at a hotel in San Francisco a few years ago. Loved the place, but was shocked to see a $20/night fee that had not been disclosed up front. When I mentioned it to the person who checked us out she apologized and credited the charge.

I spoke with someone at the hotel when I saw a second charge and was promised a callback from the hotel manager but no one called. I just decided to move on and accepted it as a lesson.

 

[Luanne]

I spoke with someone at the hotel when I saw a second charge and was promised a callback from the hotel manager but no one called. I just decided to move on and accepted it as a lesson.

You are nicer than I am. I would continue to fight it. I'm what my dh calls a "letter writer". I've gotten very good results. I'm not nasty, I just state the facts, provide back up information and state exactly what I want.

 

[VacationForever]

You are nicer than I am. I would continue to fight it. I'm what my dh calls a "letter writer". I've gotten very good results. I'm not nasty, I just state the facts, provide back up information and state exactly what I want.

I guess I did not pursue as I just wanted to wipe the entire stay out of my mind because we had such a bad time staying at the hotel.

 

[bizaro86]

I was so sad when Marriott International boght Starwood... SPG was a great program.

 

[Luanne]

I guess I did not pursue as I just wanted to wipe the entire stay out of my mind because we had such a bad time staying at the hotel.

See, that is exactly why I would pursue it.

Example, I had prepaid for one night at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. I paid extra for us to be on the concierge floor where they had a lounge where we could get appetizers and drinks and breakfast in the morning. Dh, our two dds and I were coming in for the weekend to go to some show. Anyway, we check in and guess what, the concierge floor is being renovated. So they put us in a regular room, give us vouchers for breakfast at the Starbucks in the hotel and tell us we can go into their bar for Happy Hours. No thanks, I'm not taking my two young girls into the bar. They didn't even tell us about this change until I called to ask when breakfast was served. I asked for an adjustment, but since we had prepaid, no deal. At this point if they had offered to comp our parking, which would have about covered the difference in the price between the regular room and the concierge floor I would have been happy. But, no offer to do that either. We had stayed at this Hilton before and I was very disappointed.

So......I wrote a letter. I explained what happened and asked for an adjustment, which was about $40. I sent the letter to the manager of that specific Hilton, to Customer Service and to the president of Hilton. I got very nice letters back. Not only did I get my refund, but I got a free night, on the concierge floor, at the Hilton Union Square. We went back in for another weekend and that weekend was everything I'd hoped the first weekend would be. And, I sent a thank you letter to Hilton as well. We sill stay at that particular hotel when we visit San Francisco.

Sometimes I write letters just to let someone know I was disappointed in something. When younger dd and I were doing college tours for her we stayed in two different Marriott properties with problems. First was in Portland, OR at a Marriott. When we checked in we found left over pizza in the room. When the bellman delivered our luggage he made light of it and I let it go. A week or so later we were at at Courtyard Marriott in Pasadena, CA. I found some bread and cereal in the room. When I called down we were moved immediately to another room. I wrote a letter to Marriott with copies to both hotels. I don't remember who exactly I heard back from but I was given 20,000 points into my Marriott account. I didn't ask for anything in this letter, this was just just to point out that they might want to do some kind of refreshed for their housekeeping staffs.