LateRooms.com overcharging by 20%

SW17

jackieblack wrote: »

I agree about the 'all taxes included' claim being disingenuous, just saying that I would imagine that LateRooms will say that the information is clearly shown.
It also states that the city tax is payable to the hotel directly.

I totally understand why the OP feels aggrieved, but the information is clearly available before starting the booking process.
IMO it would be reasonable to assume that before booking the customer would view the page showing the hotel's details, room types, facilities etc, which is where the additional charges are stated but which the OP bypassed, unfortunately.

ETA
A quick Google search reveals that the 20% 'city tax' is in fact made up of a 10% municipality fee and a 10% service charge, so not actually a tax at all.

Sure, I wasn't really challenging your opinion, just giving my own, which is a slightly different one. Apologies if it came across otherwise. I view what they are doing as less reasonable than you, fair enough. I wouldn't think it reasonable in my experience to assume a consumer would check all the tabs to find the information (especially when they have separated it from a statement of taxes being included), but that's just my view.

The only view that would matter is that of a court, were it ever to go that far. In countries where consumer courts exist, such cases usually go in favour of the consumer, but of course we don't have the same system in the UK. If you are right about the breakdown of the "city tax", then Laterooms are on even shakier ground IMHO.

Regarding the city tax payment to the hotel directly, I possibly wasn't clear. Laterooms do say it is payable directly, but I meant that it does not have to be. It is not a requirement by any authorities in Dubai. Many other providers would have the "city tax" included in their rates. The Tourism Dirham is different, in that it has to be paid directly to the hotel by the consumer, so cannot be included by the retailer.

jackieblack

That's fine, no apologies necessary, I didn't feel 'challenged', I just think, as you say, we have slightly different opinions on this (which is what discussion is all about, after all)

Maybe I'm just naturally cynical/suspicious but just because a hotel is advertised as 'all taxes included', I wouldn't assume that there was nothing additional to pay, often extra charges are 're-branded' eg as 'resort fees' or similar, and I'd always check what else is chargeable in addition such as wi-fi, parking, breakfast etc. Charging for 'extras', whether optional or not seems to becoming increasingly common as it enables the hotel to keep the 'headline' rate as low as possible. (While researching B&Bs last year, for example, I discovered that for several places the advertised rate didn't actually include breakfast, which was charged as an optional extra.)
I'm not saying it's right, just that I'd be double checking before believing such a claim.

With regard to the issue about LateRooms choosing not to collect the 'city tax', I'd imagine that, apart from the extra admin it would involve, it would mean that LateRooms headline price wouldn't look as attractive with the extra 20% included.

It does make price comparisons more difficult as you can't be sure that pricing is 'like for like'.

SW17

jackieblack wrote: »

With regard to the issue about LateRooms choosing not to collect the 'city tax', I'd imagine that, apart from the extra admin it would involve, it would mean that LateRooms headline price wouldn't look as attractive with the extra 20% included.

It does make price comparisons more difficult as you can't be sure that pricing is 'like for like'.

True, historically quoting rates without taxes included hasn't gone down well with consumers in the UK and European markets (though commonplace in the US), as we are more used to tax inclusive prices generally.

Perhaps that is changing and Laterooms are testing the waters in Dubai. They wouldn't have any extra admin in collecting the tax though, if they were being paid up front by the consumer it would be just included in the rate they get from the hotel. Flat percentage taxes are simple to include.