Hotel resort fees have become a hot topic of late, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently reaching out to Congress in hopes of obtaining new legislation to protect guests.
To break down the current state of resort fees, how they impact travelers and what can be done moving forward, TravelPulse Radio co-hosts Tim Wood and Barry Kaufman sat down with hotel expert and TravelPulse contributer Scott Laird.
"We're starting to see a little bit of a money grab in that all of these things that were previously free are now included in a fee that's being tacked on to the room rate," said Laird. "So rather than being given the choice of whether I find value in free local calls, bottled water, access to the health club and a free newspaper, I'm being forced to pay this fee that may or may not be disclosed at the time of booking."
The hidden aspect of many resort fees is what has the FTC's attention.
"The government is looking at how hotels are charging these fees and we may see some relief coming if they decide that this isn't the way that hotels should being doing business," said Laird, who also took the time to examine some holiday travel trends and provide some tips ahead of Thanksgiving.
"Those first two weeks in December are a great time to take a vacation and get a good rate," said Laird.
The former hotelier also lists a handful of underrated Christmas destinations for travelers looking to get away one last time in 2016.
You can listen to the entire interview (starting at the 53:20 mark) and Episode 7 of TravelPulse Radio in its entirety below.
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