Do you dislike these Hawaii resort fees? What’s going on, plus ways to avoid them.
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28 thoughts on “$65/Night Hawaii Resort Fees Persist But President Says Stop”
Do you dislike these Hawaii resort fees? What’s going on, plus ways to avoid them.
I agree this is an egregious practice. These affect all travelers, tourists and kama’aina alike. Hotels need to be required to show these fees as part of the per night total and not some fine print somewhere right before you click on payment. However, we are not the sole place doing this. I just stayed in a hotel in Scottsdale that charged $35 a night for one and they had nothing to show for it, and that was the same as last year in Palm Springs.
Better yet, eliminate them. But then they will raise the room rates to reflect them. But that is better than trying to hide them from the consumer. It will help consumers make better choices, and perhaps give a leg up to those who choose not to charge for these things.
Curtis, what about parking? We are paying $25/day.
BOH mentions vacation rentals but they have many additional fees as well. Looked at a VRBO rental on Kaanapali Beach tonight and this was the recap.
7 nights – $3493
Admin fee 282
Management 94
Cleaning 257
Service(VRBO)473
Taxes 608
Grand Total 5207
$1714 in fees. Almost 50% of listed rental price
The same thing was true when I was searching for nice places to stay in AZ. It’s not just HI. And some of the fees, like cleaning fees, are legit. I mean, I don’t want a unit that was not cleaned between the person before me and me. But many of these things are just like Ticketmaster fees…covering nothing of value and sticking it to the person buying.
Travel fees will be here forever. Airlines are depending on them, now so do hotels in resort areas like Hawaii, Vegas, and even Reno and Dallas. As the hotel and airline industry consolidate, we will get these olygopolies that can set these charges, which are part of the travel traps. Condos have cleaning charges and other fees as well. What has desensitized travelers is the state and county taxes around 25 percent. So the hotel chains are getting in on the grift. The fees allow the price to be lower which gives the traveler a sense of getting a deal. And the hotel industry can say that consolidation is good because it keeps prices lower. And yet the travelers pay it because everyone is in on it.
I object to resort fees. If you stay for one night (as a rest stop on a travel elsewhere), you will be charged a resort fee. I think you should be given the option, if you’re not going to use the resort amenities (pool, gym, whatever) don’t pay for it.
This fee charge must be somewhat a new thing. I do not remember too much about it on previous trips. In any case it does seem to be a money grab. Yes, any money adds to the bottom line. Get that, but openness on what you are going to be paying should be reflected in the room rate quoted. Hotel can’t make ends meet; seems that would be a business thing to deal with; up the rates or make it better on the running of the hotel.
Having to pay $40+ dollars a night so I can get a free USA Today, free local calls, two bottles of water and access to a “gym” with a broken treadmill and 6 mismatched dumbbells is absolutely insane.
I hope the hospitality industry in Hawai’i pays heed to your thoughts on fees. Once again, my wife and I recently started the process to spend some time in the islands. Airfare from Orlando, where we reside, was reasonable. However, we were unable to find a reasonably priced hotel without resort fees and excessive parking fees. We even offered to spend a daily amount on meals at the resort restaurants equal to the resort fees and parking…there were no takers. Hawaii hospitality should study was is transpiring with Disney…an ousted CEO that had a history of price increases that priced out guests. Disney recently dropped daily parking fees; there were no Resort fees.
The resort fee in Reno is $45/ night.
Condos, timeshares, etc. also charge a resort fee. There is no frequent guest program you can belong to as there is with hotels. The price of condos has skyrocketed in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and for 2024. Each year they increase substantially. Isn’t increased rent enough to satisfy the owners and the State?