More hotels charging fees for early check-in, late check-out
BOSTON – If you are planning a fall getaway, you might want to be on the lookout for a new hotel fee that is becoming more common.
According to CBS travel editor Peter Greenberg, more hotels are starting to charge fees for early check-in or late check-out.
"It's been going on for the last year-and-a-half at many hotel chains, especially when they are convention hotels," he said.
Travelers have traditionally enjoyed this perk for free when the hotel can accommodate, but now if you want to sleep in on your last day, you might have to pay by the hour.
They key here, according to Greenberg, is that hotels are supposed to be upfront about it.
"If a hotel does not disclose a fee to you in advance, then charges the fee, you can dispute it on your credit card because they fail to deliver a good or they fail to disclose, it's part of national federal credit laws," he said.
Greenberg believes this is all about hotels trying working around local taxes.
"Hotel room rates are charged a high-occupancy rate, taxed by local municipalities. However, if they charge you a resort fee, or a late check-in fee… they are taxed as sales tax and as a result the hotel retains much more of that revenue," he said.
If you ask about an early check-in or late check-out and the hotel does disclose the fee, it's worth asking them to waive it.