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I live here, if you want to play, you have to pay. There are cheaper places to visit, but people still love coming here enough to pay the price.
I'm jealous.
The winter is long and harsh here.
Florida is practically the cheapest place to go in the winter. Hawaii is much more expensive, Mexico is cheap but unsafe, Arizona lacks the humidity my body needs.
I'm lucky that my trip is pre-Xmas. The huge difference in price between pre-Xmas winter and post-Xmas winter surprised me a bit.
People from colder climates travel to Florida in the winter to escape the cold, so of course prices will reflect that, you make hay while the sun shines, so to speak. Same principle up here, you can't touch a decent hotel in any of the resort or beach towns in Michigan for under $200-250/night during the peak summer months when the weather is gorgeous.
The resort fee isn't just in Florida either, I had to pay an upcharge of $25/night at the Omni in Hilton Head in late February, it was considered a "resort fee", even though a lot of the amenities were unusable due to the daily temperature being in the low 50s. Ridiculous, but what can you do?
Parking in any large, congested city with limited parking will be expensive and hotels will rack you for it. We have had the same experience in cities like Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, NYC, and Atlanta. Again, what can you do? They have something that you have to have and they are going to charge you dearly for it. I have been to Orlando to visit extended family several times during the winter months and it is a congested mess. Who wouldn't try to take advantage of the lack of space as compared to the number of people, same as anywhere.
I've been wanting to visit UP Michigan for quite a while. I thought it's a hidden gem, few outside the Midwest know much about it.
Summer travel is easier to plan because there are so many destinations to choose from.
Winter is hard. There aren't many warm destinations if you are not into snow sports. And ski resorts aren't cheap either.
Last month I booked cheap flights(r/t $200) to MCO(12/17 - 12/25).
I'm so glad I chose to fly back on Xmas. My motivation to fly on Xmas was purely for the lowest airfare. Accidentally, I just discovered that hotel prices start to rise dramatically after Xmas, it's not unusual to see some popular hotels to raise the price by 50% or more. Okay, this is probably common sense for many of you, but I wasn't really aware of the dramatic price fluctuation before.
Florida isn't cheap in the winter. But what irritates me most is the resort fee and sometimes parking fee. I do understand that the only thing matters is the final total price, not how the price breaks down. But advertising a lower rate to lure tourists and mentioning a hefty(from 25 to 40 per night) resort fee just before confirming booking is a shady business practice. I'm constantly forced to do the number crunching when I compare prices.
The real hidden fee is parking. They won't mention it when you finalize the booking. I thought Orlando, a city middle of nowhere, shouldn't be more expensive than Dallas. I was wrong. Most decent hotels charge you parking fee and it's not cheap. For instance, Hyatt Regency Orlando charges $25 + tax per night for self-parking. Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek charges around the same for parking on top of the already expensive $40 resort fee. Basically, you need to add $67 to their advertised nightly rate.
The only way to get around the hassle is to downgrade to Hyatt Place, Hampton Inn or the likes.
Why are you so surprised? Do you not travel much? These added fees are nothing new.
Try booking The Bobby in Nashville, or Hotel Andra in Seattle. If you want nice, you pay! Fold along dotted line.
They won't refund the resort fee even if I, like probably the majority of guests, do not use any amenity.
There are plenty of things to do in Florida from theme parks to swimming with manatees to keep me occupied.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodHombre
I'm a little bit picky about the mattress and linens. I haven't found a hotel with Westin beds and Hampton Inn amenities. Last time I tried Doubletree, I barely slept on the worn out mattress.
Maybe I should try camping, so I have full control of my bed.
Actually, non-resort style 4-star hotels fit the bill. For instance, I stay in a nice Westin hotel in Plano everytime I need to visit Dallas(The Westin Stonebriar Hotel & Golf Club). The pool is tiny, the gym is, well, I don't really know since I never use it. Parking is free and of course no resort fee.
Yeah, the resort fees are ridiculous. Since everyone HAS to pay it, it's really just a part of the room rate and should be priced accordingly. I guess they figure they'll dupe some people, though. Parking fees are a bit different in city centers and vacation areas like Orlando, since not everyone has need to park a car. I do think self-parking fees have gotten way too high, though.
I feel for you on the mattress thing. Fortunately, I can seem to fall asleep almost anywhere.
Why are you so surprised? Do you not travel much? These added fees are nothing new.
Try booking The Bobby in Nashville, or Hotel Andra in Seattle. If you want nice, you pay! Fold along dotted line.
Just because the fees are nothing new doesn't mean travelers should have to accept them. And, it's not just "nice" places, at least not in Orlando like the OP is discussing. There are 2 and 3-star dumps in the Orlando area that charge resort fees just because they seemingly can.
The beef, though, is that, unlike parking fees or checked-bag fees on airline, nobody is able to opt out of resort fees. As such, it's really just a part of the nightly room rate. These properties are simply pulling $25-50 off the room rate so they look better in travel searches. It's really just deceptive pricing and should be called out as such.
Florida isn't cheap in the winter. But what irritates me most is the resort fee and sometimes parking fee. I do understand that the only thing matters is the final total price, not how the price breaks down. But advertising a lower rate to lure tourists and mentioning a hefty(from 25 to 40 per night) resort fee just before confirming booking is a shady business practice. I'm constantly forced to do the number crunching when I compare prices.
The real hidden fee is parking. They won't mention it when you finalize the booking. I thought Orlando, a city middle of nowhere, shouldn't be more expensive than Dallas. I was wrong. Most decent hotels charge you parking fee and it's not cheap. For instance, Hyatt Regency Orlando charges $25 + tax per night for self-parking. Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek charges around the same for parking on top of the already expensive $40 resort fee. Basically, you need to add $67 to their advertised nightly rate.
I'm going to Tampa bay for the holidays, and they do the same thing there. It's a regional policy I guess.
BTW, Orlando is the theme park capital of America. So, it is not really considered to be in the middle of nowhere.
I meant about the parking. They don't disclose there's a self-parking fee unless you ask.
Oh, yes.
I often compare Florida to Texas. A lot of premium hotels in major Texan cities charge self-parking fee, but they don't charge a lot except for downtown locations. Being similar in population density and cost of living, the only thing allows Florida to be pricier than Texas is they have tons of tourists to grab money from.
Priceline doesn't show parking charges. I have learned to find parking rates on hotel official websites. It sometimes takes some effort to find the information.
Resort fees are mostly found in Vegas, Orlando, and a few resort towns.
I meant about the parking. They don't disclose there's a self-parking fee unless you ask.
That's odd, I've never had that. Everywhere I've ever stayed, the parking fee is listed up front. It's always right there with all the other amenities offered by the hotel.
I always book through the hotels website. Typically we stay at Hilton owned properties. We just stayed at a Hilton in St. Augustine over Thanksgiving (visiting nearby family), and knew before we booked that parking was going to be an extra $12 a night.
I'm going to Chicago soon, and I knew before booking that parking was an extra $65. Opted in to taking the train, as train tickets were the same price as one night of parking. Even with taking public transportation or Ubers, I still won't be spending that much on transportation while there.
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