CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Some hotels are now passing off what used to be basic services as perks, such as daily room cleaning. Others are charging mandatory resort fees.
Syndicated travel columnist Chris Elliot told the WBBM Noon Business Hour that travelers should not be enticed by the promise of free breakfast, given that they are paying for it.
“Basically, a breakfast is included,” he said. “You can’t walk in off the street and start eating breakfast at a hotel — that would be a free breakfast, and that doesn’t happen.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elliot said many hotels decided to cut back on housekeeping or make it optional as a way to save money.
“They laid off staff, and now hotels are realizing that people like clean rooms … so they are advertising the fact that they have daily housekeeping.”
According to Indeed, nearly 85,000 hotel jobs are open nationwide, and a study by the American Hotel and Lodging Association reports that 82% of hotels are short-staffed.
The bottom line, he said, was to look into all facets of the hotel stay before hitting "book."
“Do your homework before you make a reservation at the hotel, find out what is and isn’t included and, again, don’t make any assumptions, because you’ve got a lot of this nonsense going on right now,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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