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Hilton Quietly Settles Resort Fee Lawsuit

October 11, 2006 at 11:29 AM | 0 Comments

Until a reader tipped us off, we hadn't heard anything about Hilton settling a class action suit on how it administered "resort fees." While resort fees are universally panned as being unethical, illogical, annoying, and basically just an extra tax slapped on guests, this is the first time we've seem them pegged as illegal.

It turns out that the problem was Hilton didn't disclose the fees up front, nor tell guests that the fees were optional. The legal nitty gritty can be found here on the settlement site.

The settlement is kind of an odd one that you'll need a calculator to decipher. The bottom line is that Hilton is lowering its resort fees across all properties by a certain percentage until the overcharged amount in the past is paid down. This might not go into the reservation system until after the final mid-November settlement ruling though: when we went through the booking process at Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa (pictured here), no resort fee was disclosed.

In addition, former guests who can provide documented proof that they stayed at any of the 11 hotels prior to Jan. 1, 2004 and paid the resort fee will receive full reimbursement.

(The complete list of hotels can be found after the jump.)

Alas, this probably won't keep other resorts from charging a resort fee, even though this is kind of like a golf course charging a "cart path fee." They might get slapped with the same kind of suit though if they haven't been making it optional. Unless you're an attorney that finds another legal snag in the practice, we suggest you just ask up front and then vote with your wallet.