RUSTIC GETAWAY Completed

in 2005,

Whiteface

Lodge offers

fee-inclusive

packages

year-round.

FRONT DESK›››››››››››››

WHILE A RELAXING RESORT VACATION can send guests into a state of euphoria, their happy mood can quickly turn sour at check-out when they discover a long list of fees and surcharges tacked onto their bill.

U.S. hotels collected an estimated record high of $2.25 billion in fees and surcharges in 2014, according to a trend analysis report from Bjorn Hanson, clinical professor at New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tour-ism, and Sports Management. Hanson’s report charts the steady rise of resort and amenity fees over the past 12 years, with travelers now en-countering everything from mini-bar restock-ing fees and room service delivery surcharges to automatic gratuities during their stay.

Given the highly profitable nature of fees, it’s no surprise that many resorts are hesitant to eliminate them, even if it results in guest complaints. But a handful of properties have taken their guests’ advice by rolling fees into their room rates—and they’re reaping the benefits in increased revenue and positive reviews.

Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y., has seen great success since imple-menting what general manager Chris Pulito calls a “resort-inclusive concept.” After eliminating the resort fee three years ago, the property turned its focus toward adding value by folding all other amenities, such as Internet access, daily breakfast, and various entertainment sources into its packages. “If guests stroll by an ice skating rink, a s’mores pit, or a movie theater, they feel like they can participate without taking out their wallet,” Pulito explains. “It’s not just that we have these amenities but that our guests feel as though they committed to a price that covers their experience.”

Since the switch, Pulito has noticed that guests are spending more money at the resort. For instance, more guests are dining on property rather than giving the business to a restaurant down the road—and they’re buying an extra martini or ordering dessert with dinner.

While Whiteface Lodge has benefited from this resort-inclusive approach, Pulito stresses that it may not be right for every hotel, especially select-service properties. Hanson agrees that ditching fees is far from an industry-wide trend at this point. “There are some brands and some specific resorts and hotels that are eliminating resort fees, but those are the exceptions,” Hanson says.

Fee SimpleRESORT-INCLUSIVE CONCEPT PREVENTS STICKER SHOCK AT CHECKOUT BY SARAH BERGEN

Q U I C K TA K E

After a bad experience trying to locate a pair of shoes his wife left in a hotel room, Paul Mercer founded ILeftMyStuff, a cloud-based software solu-tion designed to streamline how hotels file, find, and return lost items to guests. The PCI-compliant ser-vice puts a simple user interface on its direct UPS connection to facilitate the management and return of the items guests have forgotten at hotels.

PEST CONTROL Consider these environmentally friendly techniques to keep critters awayBY WILLIAM D. FRYE, PH.D., CHE

Guests should never worry about pests during their hotel stay, and if you take the right approach to preventative control, they never will. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) emphasizes source reduction and considers why pests infest a facility in the first place to comprehensively address infestations before they start. Here are a few environmentally friendly pest control techniques hotel managers should discuss with their pest management professional when they’re developing or reviewing a property’s IPM program:

Fly lights and sticky boards. Installing ultraviolet lights inside entrances and doors to food service zones and delivery areas lures flying insects to sticky board traps that keep them out of the hotel. In kitchen and storage areas, the sticky boards can also be used as a monitoring tool to detect the warning signs of a potential infestation.

Repellents. Small amounts of a repellent dust can keep pests from hiding and breeding in those hard-to-reach cracks and crevices throughout the hotel. Applying repellents along the edge of exterior walls followed by the use of a sealant will eliminate these popular pest hideouts and help prevent future infestation.

Non-volatile baits. Non-volatile baits are often a good substitute for chemical treatments, and they’re odorless. Once an insect or rodent consumes the bait, it will take it back to its harborage area, which can help eliminate whole pest populations.

n Dr. William D. Frye is coauthor of Managing Housekeeping Operations.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

FRESH INC

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