Hang-Up on Phone Bill

A few months ago I checked into a hotel in New York City. I wanted to keep my expenses down, especially on telephone charges. I belonged then to a telephone service that offered a toll-free 800 number. Once I dialed it I would hear a tone, punch in my account number and the number I wanted to call.

I stayed at the hotel for three days. I ordered no room service, watched no in-room movies and didn’t eat in the hotel restaurant. But when I checked out I got a phone bill for $253!

How could it be?

Simple. The hotel charged me a $1 “access” charge for each toll-free number I called. But even then, the figures didn’t add up. I know I’m a phoneaholic , but I also know that I didn’t make 253 calls.

I checked my records. During the three days I made 67 calls. But on numerous occasions when I tried to reach the 800 number it was busy. I had to hang up and try again. Each time I tried I was being charged by the hotel.

Bill Adjusted

I protested the charge to the hotel cashier and the bill was adjusted.

This hotel incident is by no means an isolated one. More often than not, hotels eager to increase their profits tack on outrageous access charges for guests who use their room phones. And, for those guests who do make direct long-distance calls, the charges are often astronomical.

Many hotels use services such as MCI, but bill their guests based on full AT&T; rates. And for local calls, which can average less than eight cents per call to the hotel, some hotels charge up to $1.25. And things can go from bad to worse when you use your AT&T; or Bell calling card to make long-distance calls from your room.

Not All Gouge Guests

Not only are you socked the access charge, but wait until you return home and see your phone bill. Many hotels that use alternative phone services accept your telephone company credit card--but only to get the billing information. In many cases another telephone company really is handling the call, and the bills can be as high as 500% above AT&T;’s published rates.

Not every hotel gouges its guests for calls. The Scottsdale Princess resort and hotel makes a 50-cent charge per local call, as well as a 50-cent charge for access to toll-free numbers.

“We think it’s a resonable charge where the customer doesn’t feel he’s being soaked,” a spokesman said. “We could always raise our rates and then offer free local calls, but why should we build that into my room rate? It makes us less competitive, and we end up charging the people who don’t use the phone. This way, the room rates are lower, and people are charged only when they make calls.”

Still, the idea that the only free telephone service in most hotels is the wake-up call has begun to anger frequent travelers.

At Least TV Is Free

“These costs can really irritate some people,” said Barron Hilton, chairman and president of Hilton Hotels Corp. “Hotels are always looking to amortize their costs for certain services when, in some cases, they should absorb them. Twenty-five years ago some hotels even charged 25 cents a day for having a television in your room. Today, the TV is free, and now we charge for movies. But even that may be changing soon.

“We’re now developing video libraries at many of our hotels, where the guests can select their movies. People don’t mind paying for their films this way. But soon the competitive nature of the business may dictate that the videos will be a cost we’ll simply absorb, and we’ll just invite our guests, free of charge, to borrow video tapes.”

Perhaps the ultimate in nickel and diming hotel guests is at the Radisson Inn in Park City, Utah. Believe it or not, the hotel adds 75 cents a day per room as a charge for--and I’m not kidding--simply having a phone in the room!

“If they want to charge for things like that, then they might as well charge you extra for having lights in the room,” Tom Gurtner, general manager of the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C., said. While Westin charges guests an average of 75 cents per local call, these charges--and others, for credit cards, 800 numbers or collect calls--are posted visibly near the phone in each room.

Factored Into Room Rate

“We know the phone department of a hotel is a loser,” Harry Mullikin, chairman and chief executive officer of Westin hotels and resorts, said, “but then again, so are the elevators. You expect them to be there, and to work, and for the most part it is also not without reason to expect that their costs will be factored into your room rate.”

It may be reasonable to expect this, but not always usual for it to happen. There are exceptions, of course. When the Westin in Chicago charged guests for local calls and added an additional per-minute charge, Mullikin had them eliminate the per-minute fees entirely. In-room safes is another ridiculous add-on charge that catches many guests unaware. At a growing number of hotels the per-day rate to use the safes can run as high as $4.

“There’s one hotel in Nashville,” Robert Wilhelm, managing director of the Westin St. Francis, San Francisco, said “where there’s an automatic charge for the safes whether you use them or not, unless you notify the front desk. It’s insidious, it’s annoying to guests, and often results in an after-departure charge billed to guests who thought they already paid their bill.”

What can you do?

For starters, understand how hotel telephone systems work. Almost all hotels have timers attached to their phone operations for each guest room phone. And most of these timers don’t turn on until roughly 45 seconds after you pick up the phone.

Sweet Revenge

Smart travelers have been able to have some sweet revenge by dialing and talking very fast. The result: Their short, long-distance phone calls are free.

At least one hotel has decided to be honest about its system. “People should know what they’re being charged, as well as when ,” Jonathan Tisch, president of Loews Hotels, said. Tisch is a frequent traveler who also suffers the abuse of some hotel telephone bills. And he was determined to let his guests know how the game is played.

As a result, all the guest phones in the Loews Regency Hotel in New York City have special cards attached. The cards not only list specific charges, they also acknowledge the timers. “There is no charge,” the cards inform guests, “for incompleted calls which terminate in the first 42 seconds from the completion of dialing.”

No, you don’t need a stopwatch to stay at the Regency, but at least there won’t be any unpleasant telephone surprises when it comes to paying your bill.