ORLANDO, Fla. — Workers in the hospitality industry packed Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting in Orange County to raise awareness of what they call abusive resort fees.
“When we fight? We win. When we fight? We win,” members of the Local Unite Here union chanted ahead of the meeting in downtown Orlando.
The workers said their mission was simple: they wanted to bring awareness about the charges and how they affect the tourism industry.
“We are here because hotel companies in Orlando keep telling us they don’t have the money to pay for raises and health care and contracts that we need. But do we believe them? No!,” said Ella Wood with Unite Here.
The resort fees at the center of their criticism are the charges paid by guests who book a room at certain hotels in Central Florida. “We know that many of these hotels, like the Buena Vista Palace, make millions of dollars off of resort fees,” Wood said.
Hotels charge the fees as a way to offset their upkeep costs and pay for amenities like pools, Wi-Fi, and gyms. While there’s nothing illegal about the added cost, however, union leaders claim the fees are getting out of hand.
“Resort fees in Orlando make millions of dollars a year while offering guests goods and services they’ve come to expect as part of their room rate, like WiFi or bottles of water. But they don’t cover many services guests actually need, like parking,” said Kany Motte, an analyst for Unite Here.
According to the union, the average occupancy of Orlando hotels is about 77%.
That means, based on their calculations, that hotels like the Hilton Buena Vista Palace could make about 10 million dollars every year just in resort fees.
“While hotels charge resort fees on top of room rates, I make $10 and 18 cents an hour, said Dale Johnson, who’s a hospitality worker in Lake Buena Vista and claimed he has not received a pay raise in five years. “We serve our guests and make their dreams possible. While hotel companies are padding their bottom lines, refusing to raise our pay.”
Union leaders also announced a new platform where they are sharing exactly how much you’ll pay in resort fees depending on the hotel you choose.
Orlandoresortfeeripoff.org was created by Local Unite Here to raise awareness about the extra fees. “When hotels are making millions in arbitrary fees and guests are still being charged 35 dollars for parking, hotels are risking making lasting damage to Orlando’s reputation as the country’s premier tourism destination, with severe economic consequences,” Mote said.
Channel 9 has reached out to Hilton Hotels for comment, but has not heard back.
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