Resort fees, city taxes and the price that is not the price

Comparisons of accommodation surcharges usually pick a winner. This one picks the circumstances, which is more useful.

Three different kinds of extra

Government tourist or city taxes are levied by the destination, usually per person per night, and go to the local authority rather than the hotel. Property fees, sometimes called resort or facility fees, are charged by the hotel for amenities and are entirely its own commercial decision.

Payment and service charges appear at some properties and in some markets and are a third category again. Only one of the three is outside the hotel's control, and it helps to know which line you are looking at.

Why they exist at all

Separating a fee from the room rate makes the headline price lower in search results, where ranking and comparison are driven by the displayed rate. A property that bundles everything appears more expensive than an identical one that unbundles, which creates pressure to unbundle. This is a distribution effect rather than a plot, and it is why the practice has spread wherever comparison sites dominate.

Regulators in several markets have moved to require all-in display, and the position varies by country and is still changing.

Local taxes vary in structure

Some destinations charge a flat amount per person per night, some a percentage of the room rate, and some vary by star rating or season. Children are frequently exempt below an age threshold, and long stays are sometimes capped after a number of nights. Payment is often required in cash on arrival even where the room was prepaid, which surprises people who arrive with no local currency.

In practice, rules are set locally and change, so check the current requirement for the specific city rather than the country.

Reading the total before booking

The booking confirmation usually itemises taxes and fees under a heading that requires expanding, and the total there is the number to compare. Where a fee is described as payable at the property, it is not included in the prepaid amount however the page is laid out. Comparing two properties on the headline rate when one has a facility fee produces a straightforwardly wrong answer.

Take thirty seconds to reach the final total on each option, which is the only comparable figure.

Deposits and holds

Many properties place an authorisation on your card at check-in for incidentals, which reduces your available balance until it is released. Release can take several days after checkout, and on a debit card that is money you cannot use in the meantime. Amounts vary widely and are usually disclosed only in the fine print or at the desk.

From the queue, using a credit card for the incidentals hold, where you have one, avoids tying up cash you need for the trip.

Border and customs rules are national and are the ones worth double-checking.

What to check at checkout

Ask for an itemised bill rather than a total, since minibar charges, breakfasts you did not take and duplicate room charges are the common errors. Currency conversion at the desk is dynamic currency conversion under another name, and paying in the local currency is nearly always better. Keep the itemised bill, because a charge queried after departure needs evidence.

Nine times in ten, where a fee appears that was never disclosed, raising it at the desk is far more effective than disputing it later.

Side by side

The takeaway

Compare the checkout total, not the search result, and carry a little local cash for the tax.

Pack for the trip you are actually taking, not the one in the photographs.