Check Your Hotel Bill for Hidden Costs

Los Angeles, CALawyers are investigating a possible class action lawsuit against hotel chains that routinely overcharge their customers for services such as in-room safes, mini-bars, and resort amenities, even if customers do not use them. In many cases, customers are not informed of these extra hotel billing charges when they reserve their rooms and only learn of them when they receive their bills.

According to a 2005 article in USA Today, hotel billing errors result in extra revenue for hotels to the tune of a half-billion dollars a year. While some of the errors are honest mistakes, others are fraudulent charges that customers did not authorize but hotels still charge for.

Customers are increasingly finding extra surcharges and hidden fees on their bills. These fees are not usually disclosed when the room rate is negotiated so customers wind up paying more for a hotel room than they expect. In many cases these surcharges are automatic so there is no reason a customer should not be informed of the fees when the rooms are booked.

The "safe warranty fee" is one of the extra charges that consumers may not know about but often wind up paying for. Some hotels charge a flat fee for an in-room safe regardless of whether or not the guest actually uses the safe. The purpose of the fee is not only to cover use of the safe but also to cover up to $5,000 in insurance if there is a break-in and items are stolen. The fee is automatically charged at a number of hotel chains unless the guest specifically says "no" to the fee when checking out.

But the best solution is to find out the hotel policy on these hidden costs before you even book a room. If you aren't satisfied with the response, you might want to shop elsewhere. If you already got stung on hotel's illegal billing practices, you might want to seek legal help. Check back with us for more information on hotel's billing practices...