Looking at the bill while checking out of a hotel room can give you a serious case of sticker shock. With the unexpectedly high phone charges, room service, and other such 'hidden charges' can make your bill huge and rise manifolds , literally overnight. Here are some charges and tips that can spare the horror and make you not fall prey to such exorbitant fees.
Let us first see the charges that can be too high and unreasonably so.
TELEPHONE CHARGES
Before you make a telephone call from a hotel check out the rate list. Many hotels have unreasonably high telephone charges that can be quite heavy on your pocket. The rate cards must be displayed somewhere in your room and even if it is not you must call the front desk to enquire about the call rates.
INTERNET ACCESS
In the modern times, almost all the hotels provide high speed internet services that acts quite beneficial to the guests who cannot keep away from work at any time. However this facility might be chargeable and might be too high than what one must expect. Try to know about such charges in advance and if possible go to a nearby cafe that offers free Wi-Fi. Many hotels charge for the internet service in the room whereas using the net in their lobby is free of cost, so to know about all such details ASK....
ROOM SERVICE
Room service is often too expensive. Avoid ordering for room service if not necessary and walk down to the hotel restaurant for food or walk down to the street to eat your meal at less than half the price.
PET FEES
You must do your research if you are planning to take your pet along. Look in for pet friendly hotels on travel sites and services like BringFido.
SAFE FEES
If you happen to see a safe in your room which is chargeable and you don't need to use one, politely ask for it to be removed or to switch rooms.
CANCELLATION FEES
Most of the hotels charge for a room cancellation. You must have prior information about when is the last minute that you can cancel, and what the total cost will amount to if you miss it.
Some of these fees try to masquerade as RESORT FEES and can be charged as an additional rate per night. If you do not want to pay these extra charges, the best time to talk about them is while checking in. If the resort fees include tips to bell staff understand that no additional tips are necessary.
REMEDIES
To avoid the unreasonably high fees during the checkout and to save yourself from the sticker shock, here are some tips you must keep in mind while before checking in to a hotel room:
Do a research and keep a record - All the fees are usually given and well explained in room hand books or the hotel's website but are rarely brought to guests' attention. Before making a hotel reservation call a reservationist and ask about the surcharges, make a detailed note about all of this and politely ask for his/her name for future references. The best deals are often found on the hotel websites, but many hotels do not list all the surcharges during the time of booking, whereas the third party sites usually do list these surcharges as well. Hence, it is advisable to look up to these third party sites first and compare the rates with the fees given on the hotel's website.
Beware of the new fees - Hotels are constantly updating charges for the new amenities coming up in their hotels almost daily. Make sure you know about all such charges well in advance.
Avoid the last minute check out rush - It is highly recommended that you settle your bill a night before. This gives the guest enough time to carefully examine the bill and talk about to settle any unwanted or unnecessary fees that has been charged.
Feel free to negotiate - Several charges are mandatory and cannot be overlooked or negotiated but hotels may be willing to eliminate some charges like valet parking charges etc. If you are a regular customer or a royalty program member, you must bargain for a daily flat fee for phone call or other such services.
