Hilton hotel adds surcharge for using a credit card - Will this become a trend? - The Points Guy [MERGED]

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Hilton hotel adds surcharge for using a credit card Will this become a trend? - The Points Guy.

Hilton hotel adds surcharge for using a credit card — Will this become a trend? - The Points Guy

A funny thing happened to TPG readers Isaac Burgin and Kendra Wallace during recent stays at the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain in Vermont: Both were

thepointsguy.com

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Richard

 

[dougp26364]

According to an article by The Points Guy, Hilton has begun adding a surcharge anytime guests use a CC at their hotels. Even to elite members and even when using their own branded CC. Got to love all those extra fees when trying to plan a vacation

Hilton hotel adds surcharge for using a credit card — Will this become a trend? - The Points Guy

At the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain in Vermont guests were charged a "credit card surcharge tax" every time they swiped their cards to pay for hotel charges. Is this a new trend?

thepointsguy.com

 

[RX8]

I’m not an attorney but I would think calling this fee a “tax”, which implies they are collecting it for a government entity, is illegal.

 

[buzglyd]

It's one hotel in Vermont. There was a similar issue at a Marriott hotel in Florida.

 

[TravelTime]

This does not sound like a Hilton charge. It sounds like the specific hotel is doing it.

 

[bnoble]

It's one hotel in Vermont.

After reading the article, it sounded to me like an over-zealous manager of a franchise location, and not something that Hitlon Generally Is Doing.

 

[dannybaker]

So we pay in cash? Then we will have gone full circle. Maybe pay in change? We used to frequent Hilton but we stopped staying there about four years ago. They wanted to tack on a resort fee of $25 a day at One of their timeshares in Orlando. We had a Hilton credit card and stayed frequently at their resorts and hotels,we stopped that day.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

It seems it is specific to that particular hotel, which is independently owned. I certainly won't be staying at that Hilton anytime soon! Talk about nickel-and-diming your guests. I wonder how they handle requesting a credit card to cover any "incidental" charges while at the hotel? Do they tack a "surcharge" on for that, too? Some idiot bean-counter in the hotel's accounting department, with absolutely no experience in customer service or building a clientele, probably came up with this brilliant idea.

 

[brp]

In any event this is pretty clearly a sensationalist headline (most/all of the travel bloggers do it to get eyeballs) since this was contrary to Hilton policy, as noted, and done by a single independently-owned facility. I've certainly read of other one-off cases in various chains, but this is hardly on the verge of becoming a "trend."

But the blogs gotta get readers

Cheers.

 

[dougp26364]

I hope it’s just the one. I have a reservation in a presidential suite at the Hilton Convention Center in Branson in a couple of months and really don’t want to see an up charge of 2%, just for paying with their preferred method of a CC.

 

[jwalk03]

More absurdity from Hilton! Go cashless and then tack on a fee for using a credit card! Even their own HILTON branded card!! What a joke.

Hilton hotel adds surcharge for using a credit card — Will this become a trend? - The Points Guy

At the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain in Vermont guests were charged a "credit card surcharge tax" every time they swiped their cards to pay for hotel charges. Is this a new trend?

thepointsguy.com

 

[bnoble]

We're already talking about it in another thread. If you read the article, it looks like the GM of a single franchise location being overzealous rather than something that's happening chain-wide.

 

[tombanjo]

Of course if you pay by debit card they put a gigantic hold on your account for weeks. I bet if a group for a convention tried to pay thousands of dollars in cash for a stay, they would refuse, as they would not want the liability of having $100,000's in cash on hand.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I don't think this will become a trend, hotels are too dependent on credit cards, and their cobranding deals with Chase and Amex.

 

[steve b]

I am an attorney in Texas and I can say this is unlawful in some states. I suspect it is a deceptive trade practice in all states in calling it a tax which is a representation of goods or services to which is an outright deception. This has class action lawsuit written all over it. I suspect that the Hilton Hotel Corporation will take immediate steps demanding that its franchisees stop this process at once. I doubt you will see this practice anywhere again

 

[buzglyd]

In any event this is pretty clearly a sensationalist headline (most/all of the travel bloggers do it to get eyeballs) since this was contrary to Hilton policy, as noted, and done by a single independently-owned facility. I've certainly read of other one-off cases in various chains, but this is hardly on the verge of becoming a "trend."

But the blogs gotta get readers

Cheers.

The Points Guy is the worst with click bait headlines and very little useful information. I stopped following the site a long time ago.

 

[csodjd]

I am an attorney in Texas and I can say this is unlawful in some states. I suspect it is a deceptive trade practice in all states in calling it a tax which is a representation of goods or services to which is an outright deception. This has class action lawsuit written all over it. I suspect that the Hilton Hotel Corporation will take immediate steps demanding that its franchisees stop this process at once. I doubt you will see this practice anywhere again

However, they could flip it easily enough and offer a 2% discount for paying cash.

The fact is, accepting a CC causes them to incur a cost that cash does not. So it is a real overhead item. In San Francisco now most (or many) restaurants tack on a "benefits fee" to the bill of several percent which they say covers the cost of healthcare for their employees. Not unlike a required resort fee. I personally would support federal legislation that required all advertised costs/fees to include any required extras to enable apples to apples price comparison and transparency. Consider rental cars... the car is advertised at $50/day, you rent it for five days, and your cost is about $400. Hmmm. What happened to the $50/day?

 

[brp]

However, they could flip it easily enough and offer a 2% discount for paying cash.

The fact is, accepting a CC causes them to incur a cost that cash does not. So it is a real overhead item. In San Francisco now most (or many) restaurants tack on a "benefits fee" to the bill of several percent which they say covers the cost of healthcare for their employees. Not unlike a required resort fee. I personally would support federal legislation that required all advertised costs/fees to include any required extras to enable apples to apples price comparison and transparency. Consider rental cars... the car is advertised at $50/day, you rent it for five days, and your cost is about $400. Hmmm. What happened to the $50/day?

Different situations here.

Cash discounts are fine, as long as the quoted rate is followed for the CC. Raise your rate, if you want to, but disclose up front.

As for cars, these are variuous taxes and facility fees, all of which are disclosed at time if booking. No "hidden" charges unless one is hit with a "refueling fee" even after they've filled that car

Cheers.

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

However, they could flip it easily enough and offer a 2% discount for paying cash.

The fact is, accepting a CC causes them to incur a cost that cash does not. So it is a real overhead item. In San Francisco now most (or many) restaurants tack on a "benefits fee" to the bill of several percent which they say covers the cost of healthcare for their employees. Not unlike a required resort fee. I personally would support federal legislation that required all advertised costs/fees to include any required extras to enable apples to apples price comparison and transparency. Consider rental cars... the car is advertised at $50/day, you rent it for five days, and your cost is about $400. Hmmm. What happened to the $50/day?

Except most hotels probably don’t want to handle any large amounts of cash these days. Besides that, collecting a “tax” that isn’t a tax would most likely raise the interest of most state and local tax authorities. Seems like a very local bad idea gone awry.

 

[csodjd]

Different situations here.

Cash discounts are fine, as long as the quoted rate is followed for the CC. Raise your rate, if you want to, but disclose up front.

As for cars, these are variuous taxes and facility fees, all of which are disclosed at time if booking. No "hidden" charges unless one is hit with a "refueling fee" even after they've filled that car

Cheers.

Like ARCO gas stations. Their sign in front lists their cash pay price, but it says that. I think it is mostly about transparency. If you have two fees, or a required “surcharge,” that should be plainly disclosed up front.

 

[LynnHilton]

My brother worked for one of the largest hotel chains with corporate-owned properties and franchisee-owned properties.

He explained that the bigger the corporation and stronger the brand, the tighter control they keep in their contracts with franchisees.

They can and do exert tremendous influence over a franchisee who breaks the terms of the contract or creates a negative problem for the corporate brand.

To me, the discussion here on this thread whose topic is "surcharge for CC" was already summarized by the posters who explain that the original story was sensationalized click-bait from a blogger, describing something that just one General Manager did at one location, the posters who point out that hotels tie their brand with Chase and American Express credit cards, and also summarized by the attorney poster who explained that Hilton is likely to take swift and decisive action to stop this one franchisee or any franchisee.

Discussion about how a hotel franchisee could disguise a "surcharge for paying with credit card" by flipping it to a "discount for paying with cash" seems unlikely and not relevant to the disussion.

 

[buzglyd]

Like ARCO gas stations. Their sign in front lists their cash pay price, but it says that. I think it is mostly about transparency. If you have two fees, or a required “surcharge,” that should be plainly disclosed up front.

ARCO doesn't accept credit cards. Only debit and they charge a .35 transaction fee.

 

[brp]

To me, the discussion here on this thread whose topic is "surcharge for CC" was already summarized by the posters who explain that the original story was sensationalized click-bait from a blogger, describing something that just one General Manager did at one location...

This. Completely.

Cheers.

 

[Mongoose]

This does not sound like a Hilton charge. It sounds like the specific hotel is doing it.

Correct. Hilton followed up by saying this violates their brand standards and they are addressing.