Barbara Scofidio
Editor at Skift Meetings
If there’s a topic that annoys meeting planners more than any other, it’s the many hidden fees they face – for the use of everything from the pool to the parking lot – with each hotel being different from the next.
Hotel fees can add 30 to 40% to a meeting budget.
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“All of these clauses are put into contracts in the hope of going unnoticed or misinterpreted,” said Bonni Scepkowski, president/chief strategy officer at Stellar Meetings and Events. “Your bottom line can be decimated in the neighborhood of 30 to 40% or more.”
Parking Fees
According to ResortFeeChecker.com, the average hotel parking fee has climbed to $44 a night. Planners face the challenge of many hotels outsourcing ancillary functions like parking to outside vendors. This arrangement leaves little to no room for negotiation.
Setup Fees
Gone are the days when each place setting came with water, hard candies, a notebook and pen, and maybe even a small decoration in the center of the table. “Once, we faced a room setup fee along with a per-person charge just for placing notebooks at each setting,” said Nandita Mohile, senior events director at Oliver Wyman. “So we opted to keep the notebooks at the back of the room to avoid that expense.” Carly Brecka, program manager at Fox World Travel, received a $500 vendor fee from the hotel for renting out its own napkins and décor.
Surprise Taxes
Local taxes, like the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund in Massachusetts, can also catch planners off guard. This excise tax of 2.75% funds projects that improve water quality and wastewater infrastructure on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket – and it will be on your next bill.
Potentially Negotiable Fees
Many other fees can be annoying but are often negotiable if planners include a clause at the contract stage. Among these are keying fees for the meeting office or storage room, early check-in and late check-out fees, room drop fees, letter distribution fees at check-in, and credit card processing fees.
