MSE News: Revealed: Hidden hotel charges that bamboozle holidaymakers

zerog

If you don't like the way things work in other countries, don't go there.

richardw

It does seem to be a bit of a plug for travel supermarket which is to be expected really since they are probably slowly realising that they may have paid too much for MSE and are keen to get their return ASAP.

budgetflyer

I don't really think it was a plug for travelsupermarket.
Trivago, a competitor gets mentioned just as much.
Comparison sites are mentioned as this seems to be where the pricing problems are, with sites supplying data excluding these extras in order to boost their rankings.

ellielou_2

I've just booked a 3 night stay in Iceland with www.!!!!!!!!!!!. The price quoted was £215 total price. The small print says

'unless otherwise indicated, the charges below are not included in the overall room price. If not included in the overall room price, they will be charged by the property at check in/out. Charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the type of room you book. This property have told us they will charge you the following:

A tax is imposed by the city of 107ISK per accomodation per night.

We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the type of room you book'

Personally I think this is unclear & it was only after we had entered our credit card details and pressed 'book it!' that the confirmation email was sent stating that £267 would be debited from our credit card.

I worked out that 107ISK is approx 55p so I am baffalled as to why the cost went up by £52!

I don't think we have any come back with them either as we booked a non refundable room as it was the cheaper option. I've used a number of these hotel booking sites many times but have never come across this before - I'm a bit annoyed with myself to be honest!

travelman2013

Recently booking a room at Olgas House in Florence through Venere I was surprised by a demand for an extra EUR 20 (30% extra on the room charge!) for checking in at 9pm. What's worse is that after I complained about the charge, the hotel cancelled the booking but kept my money - I've put the full details on a website called Ogres House :mad:

PennyWatcher99

Hidden charges are not just an abroad issue.

Having just booked a winter break in the Highlands in a wooden chalet the confirmation states we are responsible for electricity charges. No electricity rates or information on energy efficiency is available for any of the properties or the appliances within them. I find it a bizarre charge that I cannot budget for or prevent being ripped off. Potentially the insulation could be poor and therefore need the heating on. The website Late Rooms said the rate is not subject to any taxes on its booking page.

The confirmation also says no refund will be made for cancellation. Feeling ripped off!

Seagles

Read this before and have always thought that I have been diligent in booking. First time that I used alpharooms as price was really good. Read everything including T&C's as the price quoted was about the same as another company without the local taxes. When I got confirmation from booking.com (very good site for clearly showing charges BTW), found that it did not include local taxes. Raised a complaint with alpharooms, they informed me this was covered in the "cancellation policy". Hang-on why would I even look for these "booking" charges in cancellations. Have now taken it up with ABTA as this clearly is not correct way of doing business on the internet.

PasturesNew

Simple to fix:
a] Don't go on holiday
b] Don't stay in hotels.

u202908

I am planning a USA road trip and am used to adding the hotel taxes that are not usually set out up front to my budget plan and I dont mind because that is the pricing culture in the USA but I do not expect to be charged extra for something which is mandatory e.g. the cleaning of the room. I would expect a cleaning charge for dog hair or for smoking because that may occur extra cleaning but not for simply staying in a room overnight. Also there is no option for a hotel to supply an unclean room - in that case i would demand a price reduction on check out.

This is what the Rio Sierra Riverhouse in California say in their FINE PRINT

10 % Tax is excluded.
US$ 25 Cleaning fee per stay is excluded.
Please note: additional supplements (e.g. extra bed) are not added to this total.
The price above excludes property-specific charges, such as tax and service charges. These are to be paid to the property at the time of your stay. Booking.com does not charge any reservation, administration or other fees.

I am just raising awareness and wondering if there is any regulation although it may be difficult outside the US but the third party booking agent and advertiser is in Europe .