UNITE HERE Releases Resort Fee Refund Guide for Marriott Customers

The hotel workers union says that Marriott’s "destination” fees are forcing guests to pay for things they don’t want. Forty states have a law that protects consumers from having to buy unsolicited goods.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While thousands of hotel workers are on strike at Marriott locations in San Francisco, UNITE HERE’s “Resort Fee Ripoff” website has published a new guide for customers who’ve been forced to pay the company’s unpopular destination fee and now want to demand a refund.

UNITE HERE’s website www.ResortFeeRipoff.org provides this 3-step guide for Marriott customers seeking refunds on fees they paid for unwanted hotel services:

1. Download and fill out a sample letter demanding a refund on destination fee charges.
2. Customers may cite from a database of state laws that ban the sale of unsolicited goods.
3. Find Instructions for emailing completed demand letters to Marriott’s chief customer officer.

Laws in forty states protect consumers from having to pay for unwanted goods and services. In California, for example, no corporation shall offer “unsolicited sending or providing of goods, wares, merchandise, or services not actually ordered or requested by the recipient.” And doing so “...shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the recipient...” (Cal. Civ. Code § 1584.5.)

UNITE HERE is asking regulators to investigate Marriott’s destination fees, which are forcing consumers to pay for unsolicited goods. Striking hotel workers are calling on the company to respect their guests and stop charging unfair fees.

Marriott’s destination fees make customers pay for hotel basics like Internet and fail to cover important services like parking, while charging customers for things they might not even want--like a fortune cookie, cable car tickets, or a private showing with a magician.

Visit www.ResortFeeRipoff.org to find out more.