One of the US' largest hotel owners is charging guests $25 to use the swimming pool and $20 for early check-in - but is cutting room prices in return
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- One of the US' biggest hotel owner-operators is adding extra pool and gym charges, the WSJ reported.
- Guests at some MCR Hotels pay $25 for the pool over the weekend - but rooms are cheaper.
- Hotel owners are also charging guests extra for daily housekeeping, industry executives said.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
One of the largest hotel owners in the US is charging guests extra fees for the swimming pool, early check-in, gym, and breakfast at some hotels - while cutting room rates in return, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
MCR Hotels, which says it's the US' fourth largest hotel owner-operator, has added extra charges for amenities and services at about 12 of its independent hotels, the company's CEO Tyler Morse told The Journal.
Guests have to pay $20 to check into the hotel early, and pay a similar amount to check out late, Morse told The Journal.
The swimming pool will now cost guests $25 to use over the weekend, but is free during the week, he added.
Guests will also have to pay to use the gym and to eat breakfast, Morse told The Journal.
In return, the hotels are cutting their room prices. Insider has asked MCR to clarify the reduction in room rates.
"Not every guest wants every product, and they don't want to pay for something they were never going to use anyway," Morse told The Journal.
Among the hotels with the new charges are the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport and the High Line Hotel in Manhattan, Morse said.
Industry executives told The Journal that hotel owners are also charging guests extra for daily housekeeping in their rooms, as well as for WiFi.
Hotels have been spending more on sanitization during the pandemic to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Kerry Ranson, CEO of hotel management group HP Hotels, told The Journal. The only way to recoup those losses was to charge guests, he said.
"It shows the consumer is willing to pay for it, and for years we've been giving it away," Ranson said.
Hotels offering cheaper room rates on online travel agents' sites would overall save money, The Journal reported. Agents won't get as much money from bookings through their site, and won't take a share of the extra fees hotels charge.
Greg Friedman, CEO of hotel owner Peachtree Hotel Group, told The Journal he was interested in saving cash this way, but said he wouldn't implement the strategy any time soon.
"The challenge is, who would jump off the cliff first?" he said to the Journal.
Hotels have had a hard time recovering from the pandemic. Many staff remain unemployed as hotels cut back on services to save money, Insider's Sarah Jackson reported on Sunday.
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