5 Ways Hotels Rip You Off to Help Their Bottom Line 

Another thing is pick up the business card on the desk when you check into hotel, It helps the taxi know where your hotel is if they don't speak language and a lot of times the business card will work in the electricity slot....so grab a couple business cards at front desk.

Did you notice that the less expensive a hotel is, the more likely it is to get free wifi? I have stayed at very expensive 5-star hotels and they still don't provide you with free access to the internet.

If you really want to lose a lot of money just try the laundry service. In some places/destinations it can be more expensive than your clothes....

Las Vegas Hotels started charging for parking, both self and valet. That is truly a rip-off.

Here is one to look out for. I stopped in South Carolina at a cheap motel. I paid cash for my one night. Then the following month I found they billed me for a missing light bulb in the bathroom, a missing iron, a broken ironing board, a broken remote control and the contents of a non existent mini fridge totaling $300+ and the original night's stay was only $50. There hadn't been an iron or ironing board in the first place. The remote worked fine for me. The light bulb was working fine in the bathroom. And there was no mini fridge and even if there had been I don't drink. I complained to management and I complained to the head office for that chain and I was told to go back to South Carolina and file my complaint in person. Who does that? I was only passing through. Finally I told my bank (they required a credit card or debit card to reserve the room so they had my card number) about it and they ended up charging it back for me after I signed a statement. The motel then complained about that and sent me an invoice and I told them in not nice language what they could do with their fraudulent invoice. Bottom line is just because the place is cheap does not mean it will cost you less in the end and now I ALWAYS photograph the entire room and if there is ANYTHING missing or not in perfect working order I will refuse the room until they make it right or put it in writing the condition I took the room in. I have heard this is a common scam among the cheaper motels to bill travelers for broken or missing things they didn't break or take.

you can ask for two key cards.....one for each person. Keep one in the slot and take one with you.

When you're visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine and want to buy a piece of salt as a souvenir, don't buy the reddish pink ones. They're from the Khewra Salt Mine in Pakistan.

Resort fees seem to be an unfortunate unintended consequence of the proliferation of "hotel comparison" websites that search 200 different websites (or whatever the number is) to find the best rate. Hotels have a huge incentive to lower the advertised rates to rank better on those sites. Think of it another way, if you paid $150 for a room you wouldn't think twice about it. If you paid $120 for a room with a $30 "resort fee" you'd be upset about it. It doesn't necessarily mean you're getting ripped off but is admittedly pretty annoying because it makes shopping for a hotel more difficult.

I cant stand resort fees...you should have the option to not use the "amenities" and waive the fee. This is why Airbnb and VRBO is the way to go for me.

This is so enlightening. Especially the first one. It’s refreshing that I’m not the only one who gets peeved off by walking into a fricken hot room when I’m paying for that AC too. Mark thanks so much for your realistic view and sharing honest experiences. Plus your passion is infectious. I can’t believe I only just discovered this channel a few weeks ago. Safe to say, tonight I’m on a Wolter’s World binge! I STAN!

I travel to Europe with a lightweight, thin power strip that has three outlets and four USB ports. It comes in very handy when there are two people trying to charge gadgets.

I have been amazed at the price of room service. In big cities, the food is expensive to start with, then there are high taxes, a service fee, a delivery fee, and finally the tip. A simple $10 burger meal could easily cost $55.

When they do the card for elec thing, I plug everything I want to charge up, then leave the room and lock myself out...when I return after dinner I stop by desk and request another key.

Thank you for the information your channel is so helpful for travel! When I was in Germany I personally really loved the keycard idea, because I never forgot my key. The front of the hotel are often nice enough to charge an item or two while away if you ask nicely.

Great advice as always. I didn't know about four of them. Thanks!

TV'S often have usb ports in the back now that you can use to charge.

Thanks for the travel tips . Love your channel . Good health to you and your family .😃😃

Mark, i really love your channel, it´s very helpful for those who like to travel.

Your videos are absolutely great and that's why I just subscribed! :D Keep that energy and positivity coming; you and your family are awesome!!!

Thank you Mark,as always,very helpful video x

Hi again mark! What I do is lose my plastic security card and they give you another one. The only place I really got screwed was in Prague. They wanted €15 to park my motorcycle in the hotel parking because they told me I couldn't park on the street in the blue zones. The next day I found out it was free for motorcycles to park in the street! Pissed! Bernie in sydney

Great Video. Thank you for posting.

Mark, another great video - the electricity thing drives me crazy, suggest you ask for two key cards, most reception staff will oblige without question even if it's a single occupancy booking. We're off back to the Canaries in September, can't wait!

Hey, I left Kraków 1 hour ago. That's a incredible place to know! I wish I can go back there sometime. Thank you for the advice, Mark!

This is so true.. thank you for sharing

Great insights. We take the multi-adaptors (ready packed). We too have also requested a second key card for a room (with occasional success) stating we are doing different things on certain days which was very useful for keeping electric going for essentials only. Thanks again, look forward to more vids :)

Mark here in Alaska my town has a tourist economy. I work with raft and wildlife tours. It's the cruise ships that tack on a hefty extra fee for any tour. The smart folks will go through an independent company like ours and save $80 for the exact same tour minus 40 other shipmates. Thanks for the tips!

With the electricity in Europe, I always request 2 room keys and leave one in all the time while the other one comes with me when we go out. My wife and I have never needed to have our own room key so this has worked out so far. Regarding the plugs, I just thought they were few and far between in the rooms because we've always been staying at old hotels in Europe that probably never used many plugs to begin with. I've experience the same thing living in old homes on the east coast. I have notices more outlets in modern hotels throughout Europe. We've been taking an Anker USB charging strip that has one cord with a long 6ft plug and a small box with 6 USB ports. We plug in our phones, camera, tablets, etc into this and it's been great for every trip we take whether in the US or overseas.

Yes, I hate resort fees so much! I'd much rather they increase the price to include everything so I know what I'm paying ahead of time instead of trying to factor in the resort fee afterwards.

Sensible travel tips presented with insight and humor! Plus Jocelyn is cute as a button.

Thanks for the awesome travel tips! :)

My gripe is about the cost some resorts (cough cough, Disney) charge for bottled water. They know the tap water is over chlorinated and just about undrinkable in its unfiltered state so they gouge you $5.00 a bottle. It's the same bottle you could get anywhere else for a buck. Our trick is to buy a $10.00 filtered Brita pitcher at Walmart and take it with us. They way we can fill our own bottles with filtered water each day on the cheap.

Great post. The key cards were a pain. Not having the A/C running while we were out and about meant that none of our clothes dried in the meantime. The in-room coffee service in France and Portugal was great though.... Regarding tours, we had a great experience with a Niagara Falls tour we booked through our hotel.

Thanks for all the videos!!

All good tips. I'm seen more hotels requiring you to insert your keycard in order to get the power to work. I simply ask for an extra keycard because who wants to come back to a hot room. I've asked sometimes what the 'resort fee' entails. If they say it's for use of the pool and fitness room, then I might ask I don't plan to use those facilities and won't charge me. It's worth it to ask. Perfect tip on the power strip. They have super compact ones now.

Man i miss Krakow. It was deffinetly one of the most fun trips i have had. Poland in general is great. Creds from Norway.

This is so true. Recently we went to Maui and stayed at the Grand Wailea. There was a resort fee of $30 and taxes on the fee for each day you stayed. Also, they would not let you self park. You had to use their valet with was $35 per day which, of course, was taxed as well. Oh...and don't forget about tipping the valet staff. Lol! It's those fees in the fine print that get me:(.

Very informative!!! Im saving this one!

Thanks for the tips. I don't order room service, don't use the mini bar items or purchase tours direct from the hotelier. Most of the time I book everything even before I arrive at the destination. I always look out for free wifi and swimming pool. And sometimes if necessary, free parking. I also look out for sofa bed and king sized beds if I'm travelling with family. Most times I purchase through travel sites.

Purchased a power strip with a European plug for recent Paris trip. Kept multiple phones, tablets, laptop, camera batteries nicely charged during the trip. Nice thing with newer electronics chargers is they adapt between voltages automatically so no kind of converters required.

Hi Mark, love the tips ..I have used an old SIM Card holder also in the hotel room, I remember staying at a hostel in Stockholm, having a UK Power strip with EU plug, all the others in the room wanted to use mine ....

Great tips Mark!!

The hotel we stayed at in Brazil - Ilhabela - for my cousin's wedding, had something similar to the first item. You had a physical key on a key fob, and the fob is what you slid into the slot right by the door that turned everything on. (And you couldn't get multiple keys for the room, which meant that my cousin's friend and I, who were rooming together, had to check with each other to make sure one or the other wasn't locked out of the room when they needed to be in it.)

Great tips. When I go to Las Vegas I usually go for decent hotels with the lowest resort fees. Luxor has one of the lowest resort fees on the strip. Those hotels with free breakfast are usually has a bit higher room rates which compensates for the "free" breakfast plus they're only open for breakfast at a set time and some are far away from the places you want to see.

Thank you so much for a travel USB suggestion!!

I couldn't find it on your channel, so maybe you haven't done this yet... but I would love to see a history post about how you and your wife & family became travelers. Were you military kids or did you start traveling as students? What a great channel and such fun videos! Love it!

Any credit-card-sized card will work to keep the electricity on. It doesn't have to be the room key card. We carry expired gift cards and leave them in there. Once in a while the maid will remove it, but that is rare. We leave it in because in a few places we have found that it turns off the AC, too (if you're lucky to have it) and then you come back to a room that feels like a sauna.

Sometimes a plug near the bed that is easy to get to is vital. I have sleep apnea and need to sleep with a CPAP machine. When electric plugs are scarce or hard to find, it literally can affect a person's health.

Thank you for mentioning the key card for the electricity! I wish I had known this years ago in Ireland. They had a plate on the wall to tap your card and I didn't know and was only there overnight so I could go to the airport and didn't bother to ask. I just dealt with the 1 light that worked. I found out after I left. D'oh!

Great info! 👍

I managed a mid quality hotel here in the states for a couple years, while it's not necessarily a rip off or anything, when hotels only change your sheets when you ask (with the little sign you leave on the bed) it is just as much about saving the housekeepers time as it is about saving water.

You guys are such a happy family.

Good vid as always 😊😊

I have sleep apnea so I travel with a CPAP machine, and I always have to worry if they'll be a reachable power outlet near the bed. I always travel with a power strip with a fairly long cord just in case I have to plug in from the opposite side of the room.

Granted not hotels, but power strip best €4 I spent on my trip. Got the power closer to my hostel bunk (if not power at bunk) and helped me and my dorm mates share the 1 or 2 outlets with out having to take turns.

Krakow is indeed a fantastic historical city in Poland. What I just could not believe there, is the way they market the tours to Auschwitz, it´s almost as it´s a tour to Disneyland! One of the most horrible things that has ever happened, I was really sad after visiting Auschwitz.

The lack of plugs in hotel rooms is so true! I always take a power strip with me.

What if you leave the key of the other person that is staying with you and use your key to get into the room?

We bring a wall charger that has usb slots on it too. But we also each bring a 10 ft. long charging cable in case the outlet is a little far or inconveniently behind furniture or something.

Every hotel I stay in gives (or at least offers) two room cards when I check in. When you go out, leave one of the room cards in the slot to keep the electricity on.

If you’re in the south of Poland, try the north once. Gdańsk, Toruń, Olsztyn and the whole Lake District. It’s gorgeous :)

Im going on an overseas trip soon and i was able to find a converter plug with 4 usb ports on ebay for $4 with free postage. Also purchased a power bank for the international flight.

Great advice!

Thanks for the tip, Mark :-)

There are light socket power plug adaptors for plugging in your batteries and other electronics. If the room key is a HID card then get a HID duplicator to perfectly copy the features and security levels onto a blank HID card. That way you can leave things switched on. Cloning key cards could be a sideline business to make some cash after getting junk fees while on your travels.

I take extension cord with several plugs then I can plug everything, plus I can use laptop on bed as plugs in hotels are pretty far from bed. Plus it has a light so I can check if socket is live before sitting down and also it has power surge switch. Also, I don't need to buy many socket convertors.

one thing that i'm a little surprised you didn't touch on is hotel check in times that are late in the afternoon! a lot of hotels i've noticed have check in times ar 3, 4, or 5pm so if you have a flight that land in the morning you're basically forced to wait, or pay for the night before to be able to crash in your hotel at the time you arrive. If you're lucky the hotel might hold your luggage until check in time but even so it still sucks to not be able to recharge and refresh after a long time travelling. IMO i'd like to be able to travel to a new and arrive at my destination in the morning, but if my hotel has a late check in time in the afternoon it can be as if half my day is already gone!

Stayed in Roosevelt in NYC for honeymoon in 2010... Only time had food in hotel was a local pizza place who delivered... guy took off before I could give him a tip though - part of me felt bad but also surprised he was out of there so quick. Great pizza though.

Fortunately, hotel reviews on the internet have often helped me avoiding these problems lately. Most of these little "scams" rely on surprising the guests at a time when they can't do anything about it any more or when they don't want to spoil their holiday by fighting. On sites like tripadvisor or booking or HRS, reviewers often candidly report on these things, like hidden extra charges or permanently out-of-service facilities etc. I try to do that myself, too, if they annoy me.

In Rome I had one outlet where you plug something in and it falls out😂. It was just me and my mom. Luckily the rest of the outlets were fine. There were also too many beds.

I did complain to Delano in Las Vegas and they returned my resort fees / I told them I did not use the internet or gym which was true and they refunded it instantly - they were very nice.

When I went to Barcelona I did notice the card thing. As an American I found it odd. There was one day that it was hot out and came back to our room and it was warm and took awhile for the room to cool down. On the upside the room had plenty of power outlets.

Your videos are the best!!!!

I also have that slot in my hotel room in Shenzhen. I think it's a good way they spend less on utilities. Yes, one hundred degrees outside, but still. Money.

Resort fees, UGH! One way out of them (sometimes) is to leverage status if you have it. We have Marriott Rewards Platinum. Things like high speed internet are included with Platinum, so if internet is on the resort fee I argue that they should waive it for platinum. Sometimes it works, sometimes they reduce the fee by half...same with parking fees, I do the same thing, ask for it waived with status. It works maybe half the time. Once you have high status with one chain, you can use the status matcher website and try to get it matched with other chains.

Oh my gosh, we are in an apartment now and it has so few outlets. It's like airports that don't have outlets. Makes no sense to me. I now travel with a multiplug adapter. Cheap and light to carry, also use the USB port chargers- Henry

Great video as usual Mark. My two cents, the resort fee. My first encounter with that was in Vegas when it first started. Stayed at a five star resort. Found out about the fee at check out. My query is why is it not added in to the price when you booked your room/package. If I stay longer then charge me but I didn't get hitting me with a $200 bill on the way out. Just saying.........

Hey! Here is another PRO TIP: When traveling in Aust and NZ: Don't stay at caravan parks! They appear cheaper options, but by the time you add on all the extras it can be more pricey than staying at an AirBnB or hotel. Some caravan parks will set a price then ad on: Towel hire Linen use Wifi Washer Drier Use of the bathroom facilities!!! Power/electricity Etc To me, if you book a place to stay it should definitely include the use of toilet and shower! And you would think they'd let you use the sheets or blankets as built into the price of the room! Wifi can be up to $20-30 for 2gig of very slow connection. I don't know! Do I sound like a tight ass? By the time you pay for all these things you could have stayed almost anywhere else cheaper! Thanks for your awesome content Mark and team!

I also started paying for, or always getting the wifi hotspot option on my data plan, which now just comes with most plans. Then, I can skip the wifi charge if I'm going to a string of hotels where the reviews say they have a wifi fee, and since the hotspot is now just included with my phone plan, it's no extra cost! I try to always have that as a backup on my international sims too

For plugs, most TVs have the USB where you can charge a phone or a laptop on the back of the tv but the tv has to be on for it to work. Might save you an extra outlet problem!

If you're in the hotel with your partner they give a second keycard. Leave it in the caddy to leave keep the power on

thanks man

I take an extension lead with me and plug that into the adapter the into the wall socket only need one adapter.

I can't speak for other countries but here in the US there is lots of food and even alcohol delivery services ie : uber eats, amazon, grub hub, doordash, etc

I agree with the resort fee, the second time I went to NYC they took it from my security 100 fee 22 dollars for using the wifi and the TV. I was shocked and surprised how ease they rip me off like that.

I caught holy hell in Italy for using my second card to keep the power on.

Oh the resort fees!! 😡. My friends and I went to Vegas in February for my birthday and a wedding, and it just happened to be a Freezing cold 36 degrees the entire time. That didn't stop the hotel from charging us resort fees for pools and outdoor decks that we couldn't use and they didn't even open!! Smh

Good tips again Wolter...the last ten years my only destination has been vegas.....never had resortfees( because of my diamondcard) and since last year also free wifi......those resortfees are silly though and if you dont have that card/ and/or good host it will cost ya even if you get free rooms by a certain game the resortfeesmakes it expensive

Airbnb. Rent a bike, shop at the grocery store. In Krakow, stay in Krowodrza and ride a bike into the old town, or take the tram. The electric train will take you right to Weilicka to see the mine. Stay for 4 days. My favorite city in Europe.

Two other ways are toiletries. While some hotels will provide tooth paste and shaving kits, others will tell you that they sell the items in their pantry. The other is parking. I typically travel to places where hotel parking is free, and where I live is devoid of public transportation and ride-sharing options. I went to Chicago and stayed at downtown hotel where I had to pay $48 per night for parking. My rental car was only $90.

Hey Mark, I'll be going to two partying trips in Europe this summer, your tips definitely helped a lot during my trip planning. Have you ever think of making a video about partying in Europe? I know you have done that for sure, so spare us the "I don't party nowadays" look and give us the good stuff ;)

If anyone can answer this I'd appreciate it thanks - wouldn't the additional 'fees' be included or informed on the travel site, Agoda etc?

Good tips! And check your credit card statements. I got charged by an airport hotel for a breakfast I didn't have. After a couple of emails they reversed the charge so I won't name them but really how apart from being a try on could that happen.

When staying in Cancun, my friend would work out daily, and in the work out room was a bowl of fruit for anyone ..He would get a couple pieces of fruit and eat them later..

I always ask for 2 card keys. I leave one plugged into that master switch/card switch and other one goes into my wallet when I go out. I have also used my DC metro/subway card to keep the electricity going when I'm out 😁

We stayed at a place in B.C, that charged a "refundable" 5$ parking permit fee. When we went to the desk in the morning for a refund we were told the register did not open till 11AM. Who wants to hang around for another 4 hours when you are traveling?

At hotels in the UK, you even have to pay the TV license. First thing i did was to turn the thing off and never touch it. If there is a restaurant in the hotel, they can offer to "put it on your tab", it may see like a good idea, but you lose track over how much you spend on food, and it can be expensive - i think i spent £25 on a burger(!) in London. I tend to eat out most of the time when i travel so i know how much i have spent on food, also restaurants are cheaper and offers a wider variety. One warm night i was thirsty and went down to the bar and got 4 x 25cl bottled Cocacolas (1 L in total=1 quart), and that was €8, would have cost me maybe €2 in a store. Some even charge for the daily tidying up the hotel room, but you can put up a sign on the door that says that you do not want it.

I found that many hotels give two cards if you just ask. But I've travelled a lot and stayed in hundereds of hotels and never came a hotel that lacks sockets.. I have a 4 port USB plug just in case, and also to charge all my stuff from one socket like at the airport etc. I always book tours online, and for food delivery Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber eats etc are the way to go in Europe

I don't have too many issues as I don't use room service or the mini bar. In the days when I used to review hotels though, they used to want me to pay for the mini bar so I made them clear out the fridge! This was most common in Asia. My only gripe at the moment is not being able to join the points scheme as my hotel is the only one in Accor not signed up to the scheme, cute huh! So the future is Air BnB, gonna try that out very soon and see how it goes, it's quite an expensive room but still works out half the price of what I'm paying for the hotel!

Nice