that is travel junk fee are you going to leave?
Junk fees are a nasty “gotcha” like mandatory resort fees. Hotels quietly add to the bill after the initial price quote to cover items like pool towels and “free” phones. Airline seat selection fees target nervous fathers like me. The father feels he has to pay an extra $50 per seat so he doesn’t leave the kids on the plane.
Even considering these annoying surcharges are on their way to the emergency exit, State of the Union address Early this month. President Joe Biden has promised to “take over” junk charges like hotel resort fees and family seat selection fees.
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“I know how unfair it feels for a company to overcharge you and let it pass,” he said.
TRUE?
“There is no doubt about the role government should play,” said Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project.
But are the junk fees ending any time soon? To answer that question, we need to understand how important these fees are to the travel industry and how successful efforts have been to stop junk fees. Travelers are ready for change – I know – but is political rhetoric all it takes to get the job done?
What is an airline “junk charge”? And what is President Biden going to do about them?
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What happens when there are no more junk fees?
Junk fees are the lifeblood of the travel industry. Annual revenue from airline ancillary fees surged 56% last year. $103 billion worldwide Compared to 2021. These are the items that were included in the ticket price.
If airlines were to abolish this charge, they would see a significant drop in profits.
What about hotel resort fees?
2018, U.S. Hotels Collected $3 Billion at these rates.they explain About 3% of income in hotels that charge them. These charges were also previously included in the room rate.
If hotels do away with fees, so will profits.
Bottom line: Banning junk fees would be a huge blow to the industry. Some companies that have built their entire business model around fees, like the ‘ultra’ budget airlines, may find it hard to survive.
The travel industry will fight this
To find out what happens next, we have to rewind to the previous junk fee battle.
“Hotels are lying about their room rates when they don’t include extras,” said Travelers United president Charlie Leocha, who has battled resort fees for years. (As a consumer journalist, I co-founded Travelers He United 10 years before he did.)
There was a lawsuit by a guest against the hotel and one by the state attorney general.
The hotel hired the best lawyers to fight back. Surprisingly, there is no law that specifically prohibits adding these charges to hotel bills. And in each case, the hotel won.
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The state attorney general’s actions were unexpected. In late 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General will Resort Fee Settlement with Marriott InternationalMarriott has agreed to “prominently disclose” the total price of a hotel stay, including the room rate and all other mandatory charges, on the first page of the booking website.
Hotel chains have negotiated several deadline extensions. As of this writing, it is not yet fully compliant with the Agreement.
I call it an empty victory.
Travelers are ready for change
Travelers are done with junk fare.
“There’s a reason they’re called junk fare,” said frequent traveler and professional speaker Barry Maher. “And I want the administration to outlaw them, especially if they’re private or disclosed in a way designed to keep you from picking them up.”
Guests aren’t the only ones mad at travel companies charging these extra fees. they are offended.
“Junk fees are very troubling because they are ultimately based on fraud,” said Thomas Plante, a professor of psychology at Santa Clara University. If you want to be clear, that’s fine, but it’s fine to steer you in a price direction that’s only surprising when the actual price is revealed later, in my view this is an ethical issue .”
The story continues below.
Junk charges won’t go away until we change our minds
Junk charges are slippery. Even if Washington passes new laws banning certain fees, the travel industry will innovate ways to get around the rules.
Gerri Hether wrote to me this week from Maui. She was trying to book her cabana poolside at the resort. The hotel was already charging her a hefty $200 a day, but this year she decided to add a “convenience” charge of $27 a day.
“Prices include gratuities to cabana staff for service at the cabana, but this is limited at best and includes online booking fees,” says Mesa, Arizona. said Hether, a former nurse.
Mandatory hint? “Convenience” fees for online bookings? come. Why not increase your cabana rate to $227 per day?
Answer: Because anyone paying $227 for a cabana is insane. But lowering the price could get you some takers.
If travelers stopped shopping for travel based on just one criterion (low price) and took into account the total cost of flights and resort stays, it could change the way travel is priced. But until they do, the charges will persist. because they work.
Prediction: Junk charges will…
Eliminating all junk charges will be difficult. Even if the Biden administration scraps hotel resort fees and some seat selection fees, travel companies will find ways to make up for lost revenue.
Peter Vlitas, executive vice president of partner relations at Internova Travel Group, is concerned that the law will force airlines and hotels to raise prices. “If they stop charging fees, they’ll turn those costs into ticket and room prices,” he said.
Like an old car found in a junkyard, the travel industry will begin to cautiously recover fees and comply with the law, but it will make customers even more angry.
To eliminate all junk charges, travelers need to change their behavior and consider the total cost of their trip. And we will need more drastic legislation. That is, the law that requires that the price quoted for anything be the price you pay. That is something the current administration has not yet proposed.
I don’t think they will.
Christopher Elliot Author, consumer advocate, journalist.he founded Elliot Advocacy, a non-profit organization that helps solve consumer problems.he publishes elliott confidentialtravel newsletters, and Elliot Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer issue, contact him here or email him chris@elliott.org.