Resort Fees

[Sun Devil]

I just went on a trip to San Diego and stayed in the Hilton San Diego Resort. See separate post for the details on that win. It was a last minute booking and while I liked the hotel and its proximity to Sea World, an other wise nice bid was turned frustrating when I awoke to find the bill had $19 per room (2 rooms) per night resort fee. They also charged some taxes on top of that for a total of another $80 something dollars on top of my $487.44 (taxes included) total winning bid.

I called price line to complain and they just said that I agreed to it, so live with it. I looked at the contract (web page just before submitting the bid) and it merely mentions that it could pick up higher star level hotels, including resorts. It doesn't say, " by the way, we can charge any amount we want to above and beyond your bid, if we call it a resort fee." Priceline acts as if they have no control over this, but clearly they could just make the resorts include their resort fee in with their bid amount that they accept.

I suppose I could try to bid only the zones that have no resorts, but that would limit my zone selections in a pretty big way. Anyone out there have a better way to work around this problem? It isn't such a big deal if it is one room, one night, but if I booked a 4 day holiday with my big family in two rooms, I might really need to think about doing things differently that priceline if I could get hit with Resort Fees of this magnitude.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that the unexpected resort fees were an upsetting part of an otherwise nice stay. Hotels commonly charge resort fees in many parts of Florida, Vegas and some parts of California. One option to be able to know/avoid in advance would be HOTWIRE - HOTWIRE offers a section on each listing (click the "see details" button to go to the detail page, then scroll down on the detail page to the bottom and there is a "Know Before You Go" portion that lists the approximate resort fee (if any.)

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

I looked at the contract (web page just before submitting the bid) and it merely mentions that it could pick up higher star level hotels, including resorts. It doesn't say, " by the way, we can charge any amount we want to above and beyond your bid, if we call it a resort fee."

To be clear, it's not PRICELINE that is charging the Resort fee, but rather the hotel itself. The possibility of a resort fee IS included in the contract:

The reservation holder must present a valid photo ID and credit card at check-in. The credit card is required for any additional hotel specific service fees or incidental charges or fees that may be charged by the hotel to the customer at checkout. These charges may be mandatory (e.g., resort fees) or optional (parking, phone calls or minibar charges) and are not included in your offer price.

(emphasis added)

I suppose I could try to bid only the zones that have no resorts...

Note that not even this will help you as resort fees are not just restricted to Resort class hotels. We have seen hotels rated as low as 2* charge resort fees.

If the resort fee is a 'deal breaker' for you then as suggested above HOTWIRE may be a better option... or i have seen PRICELINE EXPRESS also show resort fees specific to the property so that may be another option (but this product is still fairly new so i can't say with certainty that resort fees would be shown each and every time)

[Judgless]

We use Priceline a lot and hate the resort fees. Last week we were hit with the largest fee so far. We bid on a 3 star hotel in Panama City Beach and won 5 nights in a room for $110 a night. We did not bid on a resort, just a 3 star hotel. They would not let us check-in unless we put $95 on a credit card for cleaning charges.

We have complained many times to Priceline over the last 2 years. They have a very strict policy to always tell the customer that there is nothing that they can do. The are resort fees our out of their control no matter what. The customer is always wrong.

Very soon Hot.wire and Price.line will offer rooms for $1 a night but charge you $300 in resort fees. That is the trend. I will be glad to provide all the details if someone can get my $95 back.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

As per Our Rules and Policies:

While we welcome both positive and negative experiences, please keep in mind that the spirit of this message board is helping users.

If you have a complaint, problem, or question with a recent or upcoming Priceline/Hotwire stay, we will be happy to do what we can to help, but please be considerate of the board's primary goal of helping others and first post the details of your 'win.'

It is important for everyone to know when problems and customer service issues arise, but the majority of the users come here to see winning bid information... so please oblige them with this information before asking for them for help.

Please provide the details of your purchase (star rating, city, zone, hotel name, room rate per nite, and dates of your stay) in a reply to your Panama City Priceline thread... we will then comment on your situation in that thread.

Thanks.

PS- and please read your messages. Thanks.

[Judgless]

Why do all my posts get deleted?  Does Priceline run this site?

[thereuare]

Your last post in this thread was moved HERE where we will continue the conversation.