14 Annoying Hidden Hotel Fees

1. The Magic Minibar Fee

Consider your minibar highly radioactive. Don't touch it. Don't even look at
it. Hotel guests worldwide report minibars that track their inventory through
automatic sensors may charge you even if you simply pick up a chocolate bar
and put it back down. It may be the height of absurdity, but it's the ugly
reality. Stock up on your snack essentials and bottled water outside the
hotel, especially if you're a late-night snacker.

2. The Cancellation/Early Departure Fee

In the good old days, many hotels would allow you to cancel your reservation
before 6 p.m. on the day of your scheduled arrival. Policies may differ from
chain to chain, but those days are pretty much gone. Expect to be hit with a
room charge plus sales tax and occupancy fees (for a room you never occupied)
if you fail to cancel from 12 to 72 hours before arrival or leave the hotel
without staying for the duration of your reservation. The details will be in
the fine print of your reservation.

3. The Room Block Fee

You'd think that if you offer to bring a hotel a huge amount of business by
booking dozens of rooms for a wedding or special event that it would be
grateful. Maybe it is, but that may not stop it from slapping a $50 to $100
(or a fee per reserved room) onto your reservation. This is not a deposit;
it's an additional charge for making the booking. When negotiating for a
block of rooms, proceed with great caution, ask plenty of questions and get
everything in writing.

4. The Baggage Storage Fee

As if the hidden bellman fee wasn't bad enough, now the baggage room is
turning into a profit center as well. If you arrive early or want to store
your bags for a few hours after you check out, it may cost you more than a
friendly $2 tip. Be sure to ask. You may have no other choice, but at least
you'll be informed.

5. The Shuttle Fee

While it's logical to expect a charge for being picked up at the airport in a
specifically requested car, you might not expect to pay for the hotel shuttle
bus. Until now, the "free" shuttle has been just that—free. Now, you may
find upon checking out that you were charged for that airport pickup. But to
be fair, the cost will probably be lower than a taxi ride.

6. The Parking Fee

Where will you park your car when you arrive at your hotel? This could be the
single most important question you ask when it comes protecting your bottom
line. Hotels routinely get away with charging $20 or more per night (plus
tips) for mandatory valet parking, even if there’s a convenient hotel
parking lot just steps away. If you ask about only one thing prior to your
arrival, this should be it. Hotel.com’s Scott Booker says that even he has
fallen victim to this one.

7. The Housekeeping and Bellman Fees

To be sure, maids and bellmen work hard for the money, and they depend on
tips to supplement their income. That’s fine, but the tips should be up to
you, not up to the hotel, which may assess mandatory gratuities without
informing you until you check out (long after you’ve already greased palms
all around the hotel). Note: such fees are sometimes applied to groups. If you
’re part of a group or a tour, it makes sense to ask the organizer of your
trip.

8. The Safe Fee

One could easily argue that a fee for an in-room safe is fair. If you
actually use the safe. What’s unfair is charging $3 a day just for the
privilege of sleeping in the same room with a safe you'll never touch.
Hotel.com’s Scott Booker says this fee is most prevalent in Las Vegas and
Orlando.

9. The Towel Fee

One of the great joys of a luxury hotel stay is working your way through a
huge pile of fluffy towels without having to worry about doing laundry.
Proceed with caution, especially at poolside, where cabana boys will offer
you extra towels and then ask for your room number. Is a few minutes with
that extra towel really worth $5?

10. The Groundskeeping Fee

Here’s hoping you enjoy looking at the rose bushes that line the resort’s
driveway. They could cost you an additional few bucks in “groundskeeping
fees,” one of the more absurd fees that some resorts have come up with. Take
special care to ask about this one if you’re booking a stay at a golf
resort, where there's sure to be a small army of groundskeepers.

11. The Technology Fee

You’d think by now hotels would be scrambling to offer free high-speed
internet access as a competitive advantage, but that’s often not the case.
Sometimes semantics comes into play when the internet is “free,” but access
to it will cost you. One solution is to roam around the hotel with your
wifi-equipped laptop until you find a signal and tap in. Try the hallway
outside the Business Center.

12. The Energy Fee

Hotels often call the energy fee a “surcharge,” perhaps in an effort to
foment global warming guilt. Shame on you for using the air conditioner. Of
course you should pay. In reality, the fee has nothing to do with the amount
of energy you actually consume during your stay. In other words, sweating in
a dark room won't get you a discount.

13. The Telephone Fees

Telephone surcharges still exist—and they’re as bad as ever. One former
hotel manager explains, “AT&T would charge our hotel 10 cents per local
call. The hotel would then charge the guest between $1.50 and $2. Long
distance was even worse. It's a very easy way to add to the bottom line.”
 The solution, of course, is to stick with your cell phone or find free wifi
in the lobby and use a low-cost internet phone service such as Skype.

14. The Resort Fee

When you book a room at a resort, it’s natural to assume that built into
your rate is your use of all those things—the gym, the pool, the gardens—
that make the resort so delightful. Why, then, would a resort tack on an
additional $10 to $25 resort fee for each day of your stay, even if you never
go near the pool or the beach? Because it can. (Then they add a tax to the
fee!) Note, however, that some luxury resorts are now folding services such
as internet access and beach towels into this fee, making it at least a
little more sensible. It's up to you to get that list at check-in or even
before you book.