Guests are being charged up to $25 (£19) per night for the privilege of sleeping near Times Square by the New York hotels.
Major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton and Starwood are adding the non-negotiable “destination charge” to guests’ bills in some of their prime location digs. This is convenient for the hotels as they can keep the official rate of the rooms same as what is shown on the booking sites while charging higher in person.
American hotels are notorious for applying a “resort fee” in popular holiday destinations such as Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Maui. It is the mandatory fee and covers include charges for using pool, gym, internet, newspaper which the guests need to clear before checking out. US-owned hotels across the Caribbean and Mexico also follow the same practise. Although, last year, it was rumoured that the Federal Trade Commission, which looks at fair pricing, was planning to outlaw the fees, and force hotels to incorporate them into the official room rate.
Marriott and Starwood’s Times Square hotels are charging $25 per day as a “destination fee” in Manhattan which refers to the hotels’ proximity to a “tourist attraction”! Starwood’s Niagara Falls hotels charge a similar destination fee of $19.95 per day.
Tags: New York, Times Square
