A businessman checking out of The Hotel Zags Portland last week was shocked to learn he owed an extra $332 in "amenities fees" accrued during his 12-night stay.
He hadn’t raided the minibar, although he could have.
For the mandatory $24 daily fee, Zags guests can have $15 worth of snacks during the duration of their stay. They can also borrow the hotel's gear, from skateboards to fishing rods.
If they don’t take advantage of the perks, like round-the-clock concierge services and a laptop-size safe, the fee is still added to the bill. And since the fee is not a tax, it gets taxed, pushing the daily charge toward $30.
-- Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman
The Hotel Zags Portland/Pebblebrook Hotel Trust
Vacation destinations with swimming pools, tennis courts, spa facilities or golf courses have been tacking on resort fees for decades. Urban hotels caught onto the extra revenue stream and renamed the service cost.
Some downtown Portland hotels call the additional charge an amenities or facility fee, or even, although there isn't one, a resort fee.
Unlike incidental fees for parking, minibar charges, room service and movie rentals, these fees are not optional.
Reservations booked online, either through the hotel or a travel site like Priceline, typically break out the added charge as they do taxes and other fees.
But "would-be hotel guests have to journey deep into the booking process just to find out how much hotels charge," warns data collectors at ResortFeeChecker.com. "This makes it difficult to comparison shop by price."
If you book at thehotelzags.com, the price quoted for the room rate, say $289 a night, becomes $360.89 after adding a guest amenities fee of $27.67 ($24 plus 15.3 percent tax) and a city of Portland tax of $38.44 plus the Portland Tourism Assessment of $5.78.
Amenities at Zags, the former Hotel Modera, include a two-hour rental from the Gear Shed, access to the game room, $15 food and beverage credit for the in-room minibar or hotel sundry shop per stay, two bottles of water, in-room coffee maker, wireless internet, unlimited domestic phone calls, concierge services, passes to 24 Hour Fitness, access to the business center and printer, and 10 percent off the next stay if you book direct.
Hotel Lucia/Provenance Hotels
A 2018 TripAdvisor reviewer who stayed at Hotel Lucia appreciated receiving a handwritten welcome note in the room as well as a bottle of water.
"Unfortunately, at checkout there were 'facilities fees' and when I inquired about them I was told [they] were to help pay for all the hotel's amenities like the water and the handwritten note. Wait, what? I thought that was what the room price paid for."
The reviewer suggested the fee be added to the room price.
Hotel Lucia charges a $27.67 fee for its added luxuries, such as down comforters, Italian Mascioni linens, duvet covers made of 100 percent Supima cotton percale and Simmons Black Label pillow top mattresses with an EnduroTech environmentally responsible foundations. The pillow menu offers choices of down pillows and alternatives.
Hotel deLuxe/Provenance Hotels
A 2017 TripAdvisor review of Hotel deLuxe complained of a facility fee that is now $27.67 a night.
"This is a terrible, deliberately misleading practice and I would not have booked the hotel had I noticed this," wrote Arthur R.
The fee includes use of wireless internet, fitness room, business center, in-room HDTV on LCD flat-panel TVs, Tivoli Bluetooth clock radio, safe, Lather bath products, robes, coffee maker, Portland Roasting Coffee and Steven Smith Teamaker tea.
Heathman Hotel/Provenance Hotels
The venerable Heathman Hotel has a daily guest amenities fee of $26 ($29.97 with tax) that includes access to high-speed wireless internet, room service, concierge service, a fitness center, same-day laundry and dry cleaning (except Sunday), copy and faxing services, shoeshines and steaming services.
In the room, guests receive daily newspapers and evening turndown service plus use of a 65-inch TV, electronic safe, radio alarm clock, French press with Water Avenue Coffee and Steven Smith Teamaker teas, robes and slippers.
The Benson Hotel/Coast Hotel
The Benson Hotel charges $25 ($28.83 with tax) for morning Starbucks coffee and tea service in the lobby, upgraded wireless internet, in-room safe, Gilchrist & Soames bath products, premium bedding, "breathable" and biodegradable robes, slippers, bottled water, unlimited local and domestic long distance phone calls, access to leading digital newspapers and magazines, concierge and notary services, use of 24 Hour Fitness and live jazz music Wednesday through Saturday in the lobby's Palm Court plus a daily appetizer there and a Banana's Foster at El Gaucho with entrée purchase.
River’s Edge Hotel & Spa/Taggart Cojan Sorensen
River's Edge Hotel & Spa, which includes Portland's largest spa and views of the Willamette River, has a resort fee totaling $28.83 with tax.
Amenities are Green Natura bath products, an iron and ironing board, hairdryer, Sealy Posturepedic mattress, mini fridge, Keurig coffee maker, laptop-sized safe, 55-inch-wide LCD TV, premium cable and wireless internet.
Staypineapple at Hotel Rose/GlobalImageCreation
Staypineapple at Hotel Rose charges a resort fee of $23.06 to have use of a beach cruiser, fitness center and umbrella plus enjoy afternoon coffee and pineapple treats in the lobby, Wi-Fi, and the room's double duvet European style bedding, robes, "fluffy" towels, Keurig coffee maker with unlimited custom blended coffee and tea, unlimited bottled water and unlimited local and long distance phone calls.
Dossier/Provenance Hotels
Dossier charges a $24 resort fee to use the Wi-Fi, Tivoli bluetooth clock radio and have access to a fitness center and the pillow of your choice.
Sentinel/Provenance Hotels
Sentinel charges a resort fee of $27.67 for use of the Wi-Fi, fitness and business centers, in-room safe, Lather bath products, robes, cribs and rollaway beds.
Woodlark/Provenance Hotels
The new Woodlark hotel, inside restored buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, adds a resort fee of $27.67 to guests' bills.
Amenities are Simmons Beautyrest Black Napa mattress, Italian Mascioni linens, robes, a safe, charging station, Urbanears Lotsen Bluetooth speakers, high-speed Wi-Fi, LCD flat panel television, clothes steamer and hairdryer.
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