Are Whistler hotels 'nickel and diming' visitors?

When Susan Russell checked out of the Executive Inn at Whistler, she was expecting to see the 10 per cent hotel tax on her bill, but was surprised when an additional $4 was added as a "hotel amenity fee."

"When I asked about it, the gentlemen at the desk couldn't answer what amenities they were charging for," said Russell.

"So I went home and looked at the website and it listed things like 'using the pool, phone calls from your room, bike storage, ski storage, newspapers at the [front] desk — paying $4 for that? I was thinking what's next? Are they going to start charging for sheets?"

The vice president of hotel operations at the Executive Inn says the resort fee was created in response to customer feedback and is listed on the website so consumers are aware before booking a room.

"We just for ourselves wish to resist the sort of nickel and dime approach," said Dale Dyck.

"We've had guests in the past be more critical of the fact there are individual fees for these things as opposed to an all inclusive approach so we took the step a good year and a half ago to introduce a small fee to offset the continuation of obviously maintaining those facilities, providing those services are complimentary."

Other hotels in Whistler like the Fairmont also charge resort fees in addition to the hotel tax. 

"It's sort of ancillary revenue which is popular with the airline industry and is gaining popularity with the hotel and accommodation industry as well," said David Tikkanen, BCIT's tourism management program head.

"It's a major boost to the bottom line for the industry but it may not be the most customer-facing thing to do."

Not all Whistler hotels charge resort fee

Several hotels, including the Hilton Whistler Resort and Spa, do not charge an additional resort fee on top of the room rate.

"At our property Wi-Fi is included in our room rate, we also include use of hotel facilities, so our outdoor pools, our two hot tubs and our 24 hour gym is all included in your room rate price," said Hilton's director of marketing Lisa St-Amand.

"Our guests want as few additional fees as possible. Being a Hilton property, they come to expect certain things — we are a 4 star property, they expect things like the pool, the water station in the lobby, coffee and tea in the rooms, they expect all that to be included in their rooms."

For Susan Russell, the resort fee was eventually refunded by the manager but she still feels it's an unfair charge.

"It's really confusing. I don't think consumers should have to go look up what hotels charge. There's a bottom line — it says you pay whatever for the hotel and that's what I expect to pay. I don't expect to be having little charges added to my bill."