Beware of hidden charges in Hotels & Airlines
TRAVEL CRITIC
Travellers are charged for everything, and it’s become a fact of life that there are a lot of extra charges for travellers and tourists to pay now days, from the most obvious ones like baggage charges on budget airline flights and room service in Hotels. To the hidden ones that might be missed unless you’re looking carefully at your bills.
Some of the most overlooked service charges are in Hotels, small amounts of money that can quickly add up, but can also be easily missed unless you check your bill carefully before paying on Check Out and checking the terms and conditions before checking in.
As a norm you should be informed of the cost of things before they are charged, but sometimes this is not the case, what some hotels do is to say some items and services are chargeable and are to be paid for on check out, this means they are not required to list every single thing that is chargeable, because technically you have been informed that there may be additional charges, the problem with this is you don’t know which items and services are free and which are chargeable
Some of the things to look out for are Service charges for tea/coffee facilities in the room, welcome basket and when you take towels to the pool and don’t return them.
Talking about pools one fee that most people would not expect are called Resort Fees, this is a daily fee automatically added to your bill in some hotel resorts accommodation, for things that you might expect to be complimentary, like access to a pool or fitness centre and daily newspapers supplied. You need to check if there is a Resort Fee before you check in and dispute it then, because after check in, most hotels will not waive or reduce the resort fee.
Another fee that is very tricky, is a new type of mini bar in some hotels. As some people like to remove all the expensive mini bar items supplied by the hotel and keep them to one side, they then refill the fridge with cheaper drinks and sweets from the local shop, the only thing you need to be careful about is now some hotels have a new type of mini bar with pressure sensitive points where all the items are kept in the min bar, as soon as you life the items up they are automatically charges to your room even if you replace them later.
An Extra cost that a lot of people disregard is tipping the Bellman when checking in or out, the thing is that most people are just being lazy and could have taken the bags them self and saved their money, another tip to avoid paying a bellman is to make sure you have a suitcase with wheels and a shoulder bag, then you can easily carry your own luggage.
In conclusion, there are a lot of things that can easily bump up the cost of your Flight, Accommodation and Holiday so here are some top tips to save money
Flights
Check what is including in your flight ticket before you book and pay, take into account, taxes, baggage charges, are meals and drinks included, do you have to pay for pillows and blankets onboard, are ear phones free, because after all the added charges it may be almost the same cost to pay for a normal airline rather than a budget airline.
Accommodation
When deciding on what type of accommodation to stay in on holiday remember that sometimes a budget Hotel, Guesthouse or Youth Hostel might be a better option to a 3 star or above rated hotel, as you are not going on holiday to stay in an expensive hotel room.
Food
If you’re the type of person that gets the munchies at night, or during the day, its always best to plan ahead and stock up with your own snacks from a local shop, of crisps, nuts, sweets and drinks or whatever you like, its easy to keep a bag of goodies in your room or with you during the day to stop yourself buying expensive things from the hotels mini bar or near tourists sights where things are always more expensive, after all who likes to pay $5 USD for a can of drink or £3.50 for a bottle of water, when you could have bought at least 4 for the same price if you had gone to a local shop.
Luggage
Always travel light, I know it sounds easier that what is actually is, but here’s a helpful tip; pack your suitcase in advance, then unpack it and think whether you really need everything you packed, remove what is not necessary, usually you will find that some things are not needed, this stops excess baggage charges and bellman tips, as you can easily carry your lighter luggage on your own.
Be aware
When away from home you should use your common sense and be aware of what is going on around you even more than at home, everyone wants to relax and unwind on holiday, after all you have worked hard and everyone deserves a break, but you also don’t want to be taken advantage of, or pay through the nose for everything.
Using your Common Sense is the key to a happy, enjoyable and cost affective holiday.
Posted on: Monday, June 7, 2010 at 12:30 am 
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