uShould Hotels Be Required To Include Mandatory “Resort Fees” In Published Room Rates?r

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  (Larry Smith)

  In order to minimize surprise when it comes time to pay, airlines in the U.S. now need to include all mandatory fees in their published airfares, but the same isn’t true for hotels. Many destinations now tack on so-called “resort fees” that claim to cover things like access to in-hotel gyms and pools, but which are mandatory for all guests whether you use those amenities or not. Even though these required add-on charges can significantly increase a guest’s total bill, hotels do not have to include the fee in their listed rates.

  Back in 2012, the Federal Trade Commission issued warning letters to 22 different hotel operators — the agency didn’t name names — that weren’t being transparent enough about their resort fees.

  Advocacy group Travelers United recently called on the FTC to take legal action against hotel operators who fail to include all mandatory fees in their listed rates.

  “If a hotel charges a mandatory fee, it should be included the nightly room rate,” writes the group. “Failing to do so deceives about the true cost of the room and undermines the power to comparison shop.”

  But when L.A. Times travel writer Hugo Martin spoke to an FTC attorney about the issue, the agency didn’t seem terribly interested in going after resort fees.

  “At this time, we don’t have evidence to prove that not including the resort fee in the room rate is deceptive if a hotel prominently discloses the resort fee upfront and includes it in the total price” said the FTC staffer.

  So the question is: Are these fees being “prominently” disclosed?

  Knowing that many Las Vegas hotels include resort fees, we picked three at random to see how they displayed their fees.

  TREASURE ISLAND:

  
  After selecting the dates and number of guests, the TI website gives you several options with their corresponding prices. The “Total” price is for just the room rate without any mention of a resort fee… But when you go to actually book the room —

  
  This is where you find out about the $29 (plus tax) resort fee that you can’t opt out of. With taxes, the fee adds $97.44 to your total stay, increasing your total bill by more than 50%.

  HARD ROCK

  

  This hotel’s site includes the $25 (plus tax) resort fee up front before you get to individual room rates, but in very small print and apart from the per-night numbers.

  
  Here again, the “Total Room Rate” does not actually include the mandatory fee, even though it’s nearly 2/3 the dollar value of the nightly room rate.

  
  It’s not until you get to this payment screen that you actually see how much of an impact the mandatory fee has on the total invoice, increasing the amount due by around 70%.

  THE VENETIAN

  This is by far the most expensive hotel of the three we looked at, meaning the resort fee will have a smaller overall impact on the resulting tab, but the hotel’s website seems to do the most to not include the fee.

  
  No mention of the fee in the initial offer page, though the Venetian does give an average nightly room rate.

  
  Things get a little more transparent on the next page, where there is a mention of the rate not including a $29 (plus tax) resort fee. But when you go to actually book the room you want —

  
  The “Grand Total,” which includes the room tax and the nightly room rate still does not include the resort fee, which the hotel says is “payable upon check-in.”

  While the FTC might not be able to force hotels to include resort fees in their total rates, it could provide clear guidance to the industry on best practices for displaying these fees so that consumers aren’t misled. The agency could also take legal actions against hotels that go too far in their attempts to hide their mandatory fees from guests.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uAmazon Celebrates 20th Birthday By Creating A New Holiday For You To Buy Thingsr

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  (Alan Rappa)

  Black Friday is coming four months early for Amazon Prime members. The online retail giant is celebrating its 20th birthday in a big way its upcoming deal-filled Prime Day.

  The company announced the birthday extravaganza Monday, saying it plans to offer “more deals than Black Friday” to commemorate turning the big 2-0.

  Next Wednesday, July 15, Amazon Prime members in U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria will find exclusive deals every 10 minutes starting at midnight.

  “Prime Day is a one-day only event filled with more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members around the globe,” Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime, says in a statement.

  To get the excitement flowing for Prime Day, Amazon announced it will host a PrimeLiving Photo Contest.

  The contest asks customers to submit photos using the hashtag #PrimeLiving, showing off how their Prime benefits. The company will pick one winner from each Prime-eligible country to wing a $10,000 Amazon gift card.

  Amazon did not elaborate on whether or not Prime Day is a one and done event or if the company might bring it back each year.

  Step Aside Black Friday – Meet Prime Day [Amazon]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uNewest Oreo Addition: Same Flavors, Less Cookier

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  (Danny Ngan)

  
  It seems like every new month brings a new Oreo flavor, from cotton candy to lemon and brownie batter. (And that’s just this spring and summer!) The cookie conglomerate’s newest cookie, though, isn’t a new flavor at all. It’s just 40% less cookie.

  “Oreo Thins” are hitting store shelves on July 13. If your first thought is “diet Oreo,” you’re not alone — but parent company Mondelez swears that’s not their intention, the Associated Press reports.

  Apparently the thinner cookie is, instead, meant to invoke sophistication: Oreos are for kids, according to their maker, but Oreo Thins are for grown-ups. The skinnier cookies aren’t meant to be twisted or dunked but instead just eaten — despite the fact that apparently half of Oreo eaters do in fact dunk or dismantle their sweet treats.

  “If people want to do that, it’s clearly up to them,” a senior Oreo executive told the AP.

  So why is Oreo sucking all of the joy out of life? Because the thinner cookies sold like gangbusters after a trial run in China, and — despite cotton candy, s’mores, red velvet, and brownie batter — Oreo’s cookie sales are apparently slumping in North America. The company hopes that the thinner new product, which costs the same amount as the old product, will reverse the trend.

  Oreos get thin, going for ‘sophisticated’ air [Associated Press]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uFord Recalls More Than 400,000 Vehicles Because They Should Turn Off At Some Pointr

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  (saguarosally)
  

  When you’re done driving your vehicle, it’s best to, you know, turn it off. But that’s apparently not always possible with more than 400,000 new Ford models.

  The car maker announced over the weekend that it would recall 433,000 model year 2015 Focus, C-MAX and Escape vehicles because of an issue with the body control module.

  Ford says that the issue can cause the engine to continue to run even after turning the ignition key to the “off” position and removing the key; or after pressing the engine start/stop button located on the dash.

  The company is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the recall.

  Of the recalled vehicles, 374,781 in the United States, 52,180 in Canada and 5,135 in Mexico.

  Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by the company and dealers will update the body control module software.

  Ford Issues Safety Compliance Recall In North America [Ford]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uDollar Tree, Family Dollar Will Sell Off 330 Stores To Get Merger Approvalr

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  (Steve Depolo)

  A year after the sordid dollar store love triangle began and nearly seven months after Family Dollar chose Dollar Tree to have and to hold for a mere $9.2 billion, the merger process appears to be almost over with federal regulators officially asking the new couple to ditch 330 stores.

  The Federal Trade Commission announced today that discount retailers Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have agreed to sell 330 Family Dollar stores to settle charges that their proposed merger was likely anticompetitive.

  Under the settlement, the stores on the chopping block will be sold to private equity firm Sycamore Partners within 150 days of the closing of the acquisition.

  According to the FTC’s complaint [PDF], the original merger proposition was problematic because Dollar Tree and Family Dollar compete “head-to-head in terms of price, product assortment, and quality, as well as location and customer service in local markets nationwide.”

  “Dollar stores offer convenience and value by providing a broad assortment of general merchandise at discounted prices in stores close to where consumers live or work,” said Debbie Feinstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “This settlement will ensure that consumers will continue to benefit from competition among their local dollar stores.”

  Had the two companies not agreed to the settlement, the FTC says the acquisition would have eliminated direct competition between Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. And increase the likelihood that “Dollar Tree will unilaterally exercise market power.”

  Earmarking 330 stores for divestiture isn’t exactly a surprise. Back in April, it was reported that the FTC was considering putting 340 stores on the sales block.

  FTC Requires Dollar Tree and Family Dollar to Divest 330 Stores as Condition of Merger [Federal Trade Commission]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uNYC Mailman Accused Of Stealing More Than $1M In Tax Refunds In Years-Long Schemer

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  (Mike Matney)

  Is there some kind of greedy bug sweeping through the New York City mail system? Okay, probably not, but for the second time in two months a postal employee has been charged by federal prosecutors with taking part in a scheme to pad their own pockets. The most recent case involves a mail carrier who allegedly stole more than $1 million in tax refunds.

  The Associated Press reports that a 36-year-old Brooklyn man was charged with conspiracy and theft of government funds for his part in “delivering” bogus tax refunds to himself.

  According to investigators, the mail carrier and his accomplices would file false tax returns using Social Security numbers for Puerto Rico residents they believed were unlikely to file on their own. These returns used addresses along the postal employee’s delivery route in the Bronx, allowing him to easily intercept the refund check

  He and his fellow fraudsters would then deposit the checks into their own bank accounts.

  “As a taxpayer and a United States Postal Service employee, I find the allegations against the defendant disturbing,” Philip Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, tells USA Today. “I have little tolerance for those who would use their position of trust to facilitate criminal activity, as is alleged in this investigation.”

  Last month, three postal workers were arrested and accused of allegedly rigging the postal service’s “Operation Santa” program that provides gifts to underprivileged children. A U.S. Postal Service agent says that the three employees worked their scheme between November 2013 and January 2014, writing fake letters to rake in gifts, and even allegedly replaced underprivileged kids’ addresses with their own to get the gifts delivered directly.

  Feds: NYC Mailman’s Scheme Delivers $1M in Bogus Tax Refunds [The Associated Press]
  Mailman charged with stealing $1M in IRS refunds [USA Today]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSan Francisco Creates New Office To Regulate Airbnb, Other Short-Term Rentalsr

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  (Chris Camargo)

  The city of San Francisco and Airbnb have a somewhat contentious relationship, most recently involving tens of millions of dollars in back-taxes the short-term rental company agreed to pay the city earlier this year. Now, to ensure things continue to go smoothly for renters and rentees of services like Airbnb, the city has created a new office for the sole purpose of enforcing rules regarding vacation and short-term rentals.

  The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the city created the Office of Short Term Rental Administration and Enforcement to streamline host registrations and investigate violators of city rental laws.

  An advisor to Mayor Ed Lee says that the new office is the first of its kind for cities in the U.S.

  Under San Francisco law, those who list their homes as short-term rentals must be a permanent resident and register their intent with the city. Unit rentals are then limited to 90 days per year.

  Only about 700 hosts have registered with the city so far, representing just a small segment of the more than 5,000 San Francisco listings on Airbnb, the Chronicle reports.

  An official with the city’s zoning commission says enforcement can be difficult at times.

  “All code requirements impose certain challenges,” Scott Sanchez, a zoning administrator, said. “We’re focusing on complaints about the bad actors who are clearly in violation of the code, taking multiple units out of the city’s housing stock.”

  And that’s where the new office comes into play. The six-person department will first focus on outreach to encourage compliance among rental owners.

  “The more we outreach, hopefully we will have less violators,” city administrator Naomi Kelly tells the Chronicle. “This will allow (the city) to be laser-focused on going after enforcement and bad actors.”

  In another attempt to encourage compliance, the city plans to make required business licenses available online. The office will also start allowing hosts to complete their in-person interview portion of the process as a walk-in instead of scheduling the appointment in advance.

  Airbnb applauded the city’s new approach to enforcement of short-term regulations, saying the city is finally “making the short-term rental permit process simple and frictionless for our many middle-class hosts.”

  While the new office aims to provide the city with better oversight of the growing vacation and short-term rental industry, some groups continue to push for tighter regulations to curb the services.

  S.F. to create city office to enforce Airbnb law [San Francisco Chronicle]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist