Are Marriott Resorts Hotel Fees Legal?

According to recent reports, Marriott resorts are accused of engaging in a practice known as drip pricing, which hides the true cost of hotel stays.

What is Drip Pricing?

Drip pricing is a way hotel chains may advertise room rates, showing lower prices than the customer would actually pay. Hotels that engage in drip pricing quote the room price at a low rate, and then tack on additional fees. Sometimes these fees are disclosed once the customer has begun the reservation process, but often they are not charged until check-in or check-out, HuffPost.com reports.

Hotels maintain that these hidden fees cover a variety of legitimate services, but customers say these add-ons are not meant to cover the cost of any extra amenities, and are simply a way of breaking up the base price of the room so that hotels may advertise a lower rate in order to attract customers. According to consumers, these unexpected fees may add tens to hundreds of dollars to hotel bills.

These hidden fees may be called hotel fees, amenity fees, resort fees, or destination fees.

What Do Hotel Fees Cover?

According to consumers, amenity and resort fees do not cover any specific amenities or services, and are instead part of the room’s base price. But according to hotels, the fees may cover “extras” such as local phone calls, access to hotel Wi-Fi, newspapers, or use of the in-room coffee maker or safe. In many cases, parking is not included in resort or hotel fees and is an additional charge.

Marriott Resorts Lawsuits

Multiple lawsuits have already been filed against Marriott Resorts regarding the company’s allegedly deceptive drip pricing scheme.

A class action lawsuit against Marriott by a customer who claims to have stayed at more than 45 Marriott resorts and hotels says the inaccurate prices listed by the hotel chain make it difficult for customers to determine the real price of their hotel stay. Plaintiff Todd H. says that in some cases, Marriott hides the resort fees in a section that also includes taxes and government-imposed fees, misleading customers into believing that that these fees are also government-imposed.

Another Marriot resorts lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of the District of Columbia alleges that this practice is deceptive, and has resulted in Marriott making hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade. By quoting prospective guests a lower price than what they will actually be charged, Marriott may be violating consumer protection laws. Although it is not illegal for hotels to charge resort fees or engage in drip pricing, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stated that these pricing models are harmful to consumers.

If you have stayed at Marriott resorts or hotels and have been charged deceptive resort or amenity fees, you may be eligible to hire an experienced attorney and file a class action lawsuit against the resort and hotel chain.

If you stayed at a one of the Marriott group hotels and were charged unexpected fees that raised your rate higher than the advertised price, you may qualify to participate in a FREE Marriott hotel fees class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.