While room rates are dropping and revenue is plummeting, operating costs are going up as hotels add more cleaning and protective measures for both guests and employees.
“Our employees aren’t first responders but they are on the front lines,” says Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard International, with properties in urban centers like London and Miami. “If they see 50 guests at check-in, that’s 50 people they interacted with. The guest interacted with only one. It’s a tough job.”
Additionally, hotels can’t open their bars, restaurants and spas to full capacity and many have to operate outside or not at all.
Lalvani agrees guests shouldn’t pay for things they aren’t getting, but in many places, guests are now paying less for the overall stay. “If rates are down, resort fees may still be there there structurally, but it’s the overall cost that you’re paying that I think really matters,” he says.
Should the resort fee be rethought completely?
Whether hotels should just include the resort fee in the room rate or list them separately as they do now remains a fierce debate among travelers and hoteliers alike. In the meantime, hotels are switching up their offerings.
“We’ve been looking at how they can have new experiences, even though they are different experiences from before,” Lalvani says. The Standard East Village, which charges a daily $30 facility fee (plus tax) has opened up its penthouse event space to all guests as a makeshift outdoor fitness center with yoga classes, Peloton bikes, and ping-pong tables on the terrace.
The JW Marriott Anaheim has reopened, but has held off on charging a destination fee for the time being.
Transparency is key
In Las Vegas and Orlando, most resorts have been able to fully reopen but with social distancing, limited capacity at the pools, face masks, and temperature checks. The Grove Resort in Orlando, about 15 minutes from the theme parks, still charges a $35 resort fee per day but its all-suite accommodations with in-room laundry machines, water park, pools, and arcades are operating normally with some added events like poolside movies.
