Guests accuse hotels in Phu Yen of ‘cutting corners’ on service fees

On May 4, Mr. Vo Ngoc Thach, Chairman of Song Cau Ward People’s Committee, said that the government had worked with representatives of the tourist delegation from Gia Lai and the owner of the Timothe Beach Hotel & Apartments hotel to report “cutting edge” services. Authorities noted that the hotel returned 2.5 million VND to guests, but did not conclude whether the establishment violated price transparency or not.

Previously, Ms. Trang Dai (Gia Lai) reported a bad experience at this facility during two days of renting a room on April 29-30. The group rented a room, brought their own food and used the hotel’s tables and chairs. According to Ms. Dai, the owner suggested that the group could stay to eat after checking out and would charge a “reasonable price”. However, when paying, the group was “shocked” with a total bill of 14.5 million VND.

In particular, the service fee calculated separately for 3 meals is 1.8 million VND, 900,000 VND and 2.5 million VND. Ms. Dai believes that this fee is not transparent because the group cooks for themselves. In addition, beer prices were also pushed up to 900,000 VND per barrel, nearly double the market price. For two barrels of beer the group brought themselves, the hotel also charged a surcharge of more than 900,000 VND.

“I don’t understand what the hotel service fee is, it’s very non-transparent,” she said, saying that on the morning of April 30, the group made their own pancakes to eat on the hotel premises. For other meals, the group mostly used food they brought themselves.

Explaining this, Ms. Bui Thi Kim Binh, hotel owner, said that although the group was only 12 people, in reality there were up to 30 people gathered to eat. The service fee is essentially the staff’s wages for cleaning, washing dishes and depreciating assets. “On the night of April 29, the group had dinner like a wedding party, the staff had to move in until 1am the next day. On holidays, staff salaries had to be paid high so the price was reasonable,” Ms. Binh said.

In addition, the owner also expressed frustration when a group of guests brought portable speakers and sang karaoke after 10 p.m. without consent, affecting other guests and surrounding neighbors. When reminded, the group of guests arbitrarily moved the speakers to the beach to continue singing. Early in the morning of April 30, Ms. Binh reviewed the camera and discovered a group of guests camping and sleeping in the yard of the resort.

According to the provisions of the 2017 Law on Tourism, accommodation establishments are obliged to publicly post prices of goods and services and sell at the listed price. Surcharges for additional fees beyond the room price need to be clearly agreed upon in writing or confirmed before the guest uses the service.

The incident is being continued to be monitored and handled by the authorities. Local tourism industry leaders recommend that tourists carefully check the price list of surcharge services and request cost confirmation before using the accommodation facility’s common space to avoid disputes.