- What is a resort fee?
Something you pay at most hotels
that you probably shouldn't have to.
In a moment, we'll talk about
how you might be able to get out of it.
(country guitar riff)
This is John with Nashville Travel Concierge,
and last week we talked about parking at hotels.
How they'll charge you anywhere between $30 to $45 a night.
Well, they also have something they charge you
called a resort fee.
With this, they can charge you for use of the pool,
access to the health center, the fitness center.
They could charge you for internet access,
for a newspaper, for in-room bottled water,
and for the use of the room phone.
You pay for these things whether you use them or not.
Okay, let's go down the line
and I'll look at those items
that they charging you for.
First the newspaper.
Well, I'll tell you right now,
if you go to the lobby and you ask for a newspaper,
you got a 50/50 chance of whether
they're going to have one or not.
But you're paying for it.
Internet Wi-Fi.
Well, most hotels will give you free Wi-Fi
if you belong to their rewards program.
It costs nothing to join.
So, when you know you're going to go on a vacation,
you pick your hotel,
see if they have a rewards program,
and you join it.
You should be getting Wi-Fi for free.
In-room bottles of water.
Well, first of all, they probably don't give you the best.
Okay?
It's cheap water. I'm sure they overcharge you.
So, bring your own.
There's a refrigerator in your room,
so you can bring your own,
put it in the fridge,
and don't drink theirs.
Access to the pool and the fitness center.
You mean you're going to paying over $100,
maybe $200 or more,
for a room for each night,
and they're gonna charge you
to use the pool and the fitness center?
There seems to be something wrong with this.
You're going to paying for the use of your room phone.
Now, how often do you actually use the room phone?
And you might answer a call from the lobby
when they call you,
but, normally, people have their own cell phones.
So, this seems sort of a waste of money.
And there are a few hotels
who will charge you about $45 as a room cleaning fee.
And I really don't understand this one either,
because they probably have to clean the room anyway
after you leave.
You know, just you know, just don't mess things up.
And if you don't have to worry about a cleaning fee,
at least you can think in the area
of tipping the people that actually do the work,
cleaning your room out during the week that you're there,
or the days that you're there.
But the cleaning fee is ridiculous.
So, how much is all this extra stuff going to cost?
Well, usually if there's a cleaning fee,
that's a one-time fee of about $45
for the entire stay.
But still it's too much.
It's ridiculous.
Otherwise, it could cost you anywhere
between $5.50 a day
to over $20 a day.
When you get up to the $20 a day,
that's really getting too pricey.
So what can you do if you don't like this?
Well, you can ask to see the manager.
Remember, smiling helps.
Simply tell them that there are items
on the resort fee that you don't agree you should pay for.
Explain to them why.
And the ball's in their court.
If they use the words "I can't"
or "I'm unable to,"
they're lying.
Truth is, managers can give you credit
for just about anything on your bill.
If they refuse to work with you,
ask to see another manager.
If they say there are no other managers,
ask for a phone number.
There's a good chance that they'll step into the backroom,
come back and say they spoke with somebody
and they can work something out for you.
I've seen this happen dozens of times.
Got any questions you'd like to ask
about staying at a hotel in Nashville,
or actually anywhere?
Just a put it down below
and I'll answer them.
Have any comments, put those down below too.
Thank you for stopping by.
And if you'd like, there's a link here
with some more questions and answers that people ask.
And I have several videos you may be interested
in viewing if you're coming to Nashville
to do a little bit of sightseeing.
Have a great day and thank you.