Internet Booking, t&c query

TOMP

Im booking a hotel over the internet. Should I run away if I see comments in the small print like this -

"The price above excludes property-specific charges, such as tax and service charges. These will be paid directly to the property at the time of your stay"

It seems that more and more travel sites/holiday firms/hotels are adding small print to allow them dream up an excuse to charge you extra eg fuel surcharge, local taxes, etc

kerry4sam

TOMP wrote: »

Im booking a hotel over the internet. Should I run away if I see comments in the small print like this -

"The price above excludes property-specific charges, such as tax and service charges. These will be paid directly to the property at the time of your stay"

It seems that more and more travel sites/holiday firms/hotels are adding small print to allow them dream up an excuse to charge you extra eg fuel surcharge, local taxes, etc

I wouldn't say you should 'run away'. Just looking at my bookings for France next year and
~ all say "A service charge is not applicable"
~ some saying "Vat of 10% applicable"
~ a City tax is only applicable for some and only ranging from .22c to €2.47 per person
~ Only one is completely prepaid and that one has 10% Vat incl. so only owe the €2.47 City tax.

In the grand scheme considering where I'm staying and the dates involved, I'd be okay with mine listed above. I won't be cancelling my reservations considering the reason(s) I'm going.

Just look around. Weigh up the pricings for your chosen location(s) elsewhere and add up those 'extras'. You'll soon find out just how much of a difference there really is.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

munchkin_utd

if you gave a hint on the hotel/ location/ website then maybe we could be a little more prescise on an answer.

The "extra" for taxes is often a couple of euro for the city, which is not included in the price you pay over the internet as then there would be VAT issues or sometimes its just a practical thing that the hotel manages it with a cashbox and you get a guestcard with discounts on local attractions, or in other places a guestcard which gives unlimited free local travel.

So, its not necessarily something sinister
I actually like the local tourist tax idea because you normally get a heap of stuff for your 2 or 3 euro extra

smurfjed

I run away when i see.... "Internet is available for a surcharge"! Strangely enough it appears to be the more expensive hotels that charge for internet.

endofrainbow

depends on what country you are booking hotels in - some have local taxes taxes that cannot be collected in advance of check in

Dodge

depends on the charge.

Plenty of places have a local tourist tax. There's nothing you can do about this so whatever site you book doesn't matter

Personally I'll try and avoid hotels with service charges