Just like airlines, hotels charge customers an array of fees for everything from WiFi access, minibar usage, premium coffee, and other little extras. Instead of surprising guests with these costs when they check in (or, even worse, when they go to pay their bill at checkout), one hotel company is experimenting with packages of add-ons that customers can select when they check in.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Hilton’s DoubleTree hotel brand has begun rolling out a program called Little Extras Upgrades, offering customers staying in a standard room a package of extras for $25 to $35 a night.
Under the program, packages will include a mix of high-speed in-room WiFi, snacks, candy, water, fruit, drink vouchers, and in-room premium coffee.
Bjorn Hanson, an expert on hotel fees and a professor at New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, tells the L.A. Times that the new program would allow hotels to collect extra revenue without rocking the consumer-friendly boat.
“This is a way hotels can be upfront and say, ‘You have a choice,'” he said. “I think it’s a positive way of having fees and surcharges.”
Hanson anticipates that other hotels will likely jump on the packaged bandwagon, perhaps creating specific deals for business travelers or families.
Hilton tries a new way to boost revenue without hidden fees [The Los Angeles Times]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist