I needed AA batteries so I went to Target and bought a ten-pack for about ten bucks. On the way home, I stopped at Costco, where a forty-pack was fourteen bucks. I thought about returning the smaller package and buying the larger one, but it will take me a very long time to use forty batteries.
I booked a motel room just this morning in a smallish town. One doesn’t expect, nor will you get a 5 star experience in a town this size. I phoned directly to the front desk clerk (could even have been the owner I spoke with). For the record it’s a Super 8 - Wyndham chain. The reason I called direct is because I wanted to be certain I got a ground floor room. This for ease of taking my dog in & out. He’s 14.
I was given the same price as quoted on the chains web site. It’s $20 extra/night for my dog. This too was mentioned on the web site, so I have no quibble. There was a 2nd choice for motel that made no mention of an extra charge for pets. I can live with $20. (the king room is $150). I know there’s bound to be a good bit of hair to vacuum and it’s only 2 nights. But $100?! That’s beyond excessive!
One thing I find disturbing is staying somewhere and finding out you have to pay a ‘tourist tax’ when checking out. I’m not certain of the legalities of this — whereby out of area tourists have to pay it by law, or not. I know it’s presented an a no option but pay. It should be called an anti-tourist tax. Some area call it a visitors tax & likely other names. It has nothing to do with the hotel. It’s local politicians that bring it about. The one thing they’re good at.
I live close to Niagara Falls. I seem to recall them bringing in such a tourism tax and I recall it being a quite high percent. I wouldn’t be keen to stay there if I had to pay it.
Still with Niagara Falls. I attended a concert there about 4 years ago. It was in the auditorium of one of the hotel/casino complexes. If you park on site the charge is $40.00 regardless of how long you’re parked there for. 5 minutes? That’ll be $40.00 thank you. Could even be more by now.
Niagara Falls (close by the attractions area) is a rip off.
I’ve needed AAA batteries for awhile. Decided to wait until I went to Costco because their Kirkland batteries are good batteries at a decent price.
Not a single Kirkland battery of any kind to be found. They did have Duracell, but at regular price. What a loser 
And a lot of municipalities have that.
What I hate are hotels that have a “resort fee” especially when they’re not up front about it. I booked a hotel in Vegas and nowhere on the website was a daily resort fee of $35 mentioned. It didn’t come up until I checked in. Then they gave me this horseshit explanation that the fee was for the upkeep of the hotel. Then WTF is the original rental fee for?
Resort fees are a way for hotels to advertise lower rates but still get more money from you by not springing it on you until you are there checking in. It’s slimy as hell!
You as a tourist are using the roads, sidewalks, etc. And yet you do not pay real estate tax, and you may not pay some of the other taxes that finance those things. It sounds to me like you want other people to pay for the things that benefit you.
Tourist taxes are spreading. The rate in 2022 in Amsterdam for the city tax is 7,0% of the accommodation costs (excluding breakfast costs) + € 3 per person per night.
Tourist taxes: All of the countries you will have to pay to enter in 2023 | Euronews.
Of course I don’t pay real estate taxes in a city in which I’m staying in a hotel. Presumably, though, the building owner is. And as a visitor, I use the roads, sidewalks, etc only slightly. Let’s face it; cities love tourist taxes because those subject to them don’t vote locally.
I have never seen a hotel/casino/event venue that charged based on the amount of time you were parked (although non-casino hotels frequently provide in and out privileges) and I’m kind of wondering why you would be parking at one for less than a couple of hours. The only lots I have ever seen that charge based on time are lots that aren’t connected with any particular business and some mall/shopping center lots - and even they have a minimum time so you pay for an hour even if you were only parked ten minutes.
Tourists bring substantial revenue to the areas that tax them, while paying sales tax on their purchases, tolls etc.
Municipalities see tourists as the golden goose, or rather cash cow that can be milked for extra bucks without risking negative votes at the next election.
I’m sure they won’t last for shit but I’ve seen them at the dollar store if you need some in a pinch.
Actually, that’s good to know. It’s never occurred to me to look there.
This might even be why they’re charging more. If the hotel is mostly empty, they’re not making money. That walk-up who might pay two or three times as much might make the difference between a loss and profit that day.
In at least one of Lee Child’s novels, Reacher gets a hugely discounted rate at a mostly unoccupied motel through hard bargaining.
Even if you’re large and menacing-looking, I doubt this would work at any chain motel.
On the other hand they don’t pay property tax or income tax but still have the benefit of good roads, police protection, etc. while they are there. So a moderate amount of extra fees is fair.
As far as I’m aware, the tourism tax, destination fee, or whatever places choose to call it, is not mandatory. This doesn’t stop places from pretending it is. It’s nothing more than a cash grab charged not only by hotels but by restaurants, coffee shops, parking lots - whoever thinks they can get away with it. Some hotels etc will charge it, while a hotel of equal stature down the road half block may not. Many destinations have it - free money is something that catches on quick. Best to check before leaving home if it’s a concern. Different destinations = different regulations.
Beware of refusing it before your stay. Some dickheads may cancel your reservation over it. Even checkouts can be hard since by this time they have your credit card in hand and unless you’re prepared to fight the battle on principal and win, it really isn’t worth the aggravation. Something they’re well aware of and count on. You’ll just know better than to go there in future, nor will you be recommending the place to others.
To those who feel visitors should pay their share of roadwork, sidewalk upkeep, policing, sewers & associated infrastructure upkeep for the couple days they visit. Be my guest. To me it would be tantamount to inviting friends over for dinner and expecting them to chip in for the new flooring you plan on having installed the following week. But perhaps first you should do a little research on the benefits tourism dollars bring to communities. Cities don’t fight over holding world fairs & Olympic games out of kindness.
I am 100% sure that this is not true for the Tourism Tax.
I have never heard the term Destination Fee ever, and I have stayed in hotels in at least 100 cities in North America, Europe and Asia in the last ten years. Amsterdam had a Tourist Tax, it is definitely mandatory, and every Dutch person I have ever spoken to believes the official line that it is intended to REDUCE the number of tourists, the throngs of which are definitely impacting the quality of life of the residents.
Businesses fight over these, residents often don’t. In our area the committee organizing the Boston 2024 Olympic bid had very little popular support. They lied, lied, lied and lied about the costs and benefits. A small number of people get the benefits, and those mostly aren’t locals, and the costs are borne by the many.
I don’t know how you can be so certain that “the tourism tax, destination fee, or whatever places choose to call it” is not mandatory. There are many different places and different types of fees involved - for example, I have never seen a coffee shop add anything to the bill other than ordinary sales tax, while I know for a fact you must pay not only sales tax on a hotel room in NYC, but also a $1.50 per unit per day fee to the state and a $2.00 per room per day tax to NYC on rooms that are rented for more than $40 night ( which is every hotel room in NYC - and if you somehow find a cheaper one, there is still tax, just less than $2). And those taxes/fee are not up to the hotel- they are absolutely mandatory.
According to Travel & Leisure, the highest motel/hotel tourism tax in the world is imposed by Honolulu at about $62 a night. “San Francisco took the No. 2 spot, charging $36 per night, or $251.99 per week-long stay, while Los Angeles came in at No. 3, charging $23.49, or $164.40 for a week.” Amsterdam was fourth at about $11 a night.
Whether the underlying motivations for the tax, it’s hard to believe someone in S.F. for a week is consuming $252 per week for police services, road wear etc., even if one ignores the money such a visitor spends in town, including taxes.
It’s a cash grab.
I’ve reserved a room for a night in a mid-range chain motel for an upcoming trip.
TripAdvisor reviews (4/5 stars) mention “amazing value and service”, “clean and quiet”, and that it’s a “hellhole” with a “vomit-soaked bed”. No tourism tax though.
Looking forward to the experience.
I’ve been a night auditor for over 20 years.
At my current hotel we are absolutely not allowed to book online prices at the front desk or match a third party price. You want them, you book online. We also can’t book using rewards points; you have to call that number or do it online. We literally do not have access to the software to book using the rewards points.
Frankly, I’m surprised the Front Desk Agent was angry you booked a cheaper price online; where I work we couldn’t care less, except we find it annoying when you do so while standing in front of us. We have other guests who would like to interact with us, too. Plus 9 times out of 10 you act like an angry jackass the entire time on the phone.
If you’re a walk-in, I always start with rack and the resort fee. I have the leeway to do a bit of a discount if they ask. Let’s say I quote $259 plus tax plus the $29 daily resort fee. You counter with $229 and the resort fee. Sure! $259 and no resort fee? You bet! $99? No way.
Many hotels these days do dynamic pricing: it varies depending on occupancy and time of year. It’s unlikely when they’ve got low occupancy during low season that they’ll boost prices. Many resorts and nicer hotels will have local rates for locals for staycations; it’s fairly popular here at the resorts in the summer. Gives locals who couldn’t otherwise afford it a chance to stay. Gives the locals who have stayed and enjoyed themselves a chance to return at a cheaper rate.
Yes, I hate resort fees, too. But please don’t yell at the Front Desk Agents about them; have a talk with management. They get paid to take abuse; Front Desk Agents don’t. Plus they can hardly change policies.