Theatre Capital Improvement Fee?

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

In the USA, some of the ideas discussed in this thread will run afoul of consumer protection laws. If you represent a specific admission price, you can’t tack separate mandatory fees onto the price other than government imposed taxes. That would be considered “bait and switch”, which is a criminal offense. This is different from any contract issues with a distributor.

If you have your own your own parking lot, I suppose you could charge for parking, but unless you are in a city where free parking is not the norm, you will find yourself without customers.

There is also the matter of pissing off your customers by annoying them with extra fees. As others have suggested, it would be much better to raise your concession prices.

[Leo Enticknap]

How about credit card processing fees for online tickets and taxes?

That depends on the jurisdiction. Different countries (and within the USA, states) have different laws about what you can and can't charge a separate credit card fee for. I don't know precisely what California's says, but in practice, credit card processing fees are charged at gas stations, to pay your property tax, to renew your vehicle registration (whenever you pay the government, basically), by contractors working at your home (e.g. plumbers or electricians) and a few other things. The overwhelming majority of consumer retail vendors do not impose them. They choose instead to bundle the cost of processing credit card transactions into the price they charge for goods and services. So if you choose to pay by debit card or cash at such an establishment, you are effectively subsidizing the users of credit cards. As a general rule, vendors that impose a credit card surcharge give you a relatively easy alternative (check or cash): if you want to avoid the surcharge, you can do so with little difficulty.

I always pay for gas with cash: the credit card surcharge is 10c a gallon at the place I usually fill up (about a buck for each refuel), and given the amount of driving I do to and from service calls (30-35k miles a year, typically), the saving is worth the effort.

I can't ever remember visiting a movie theater that imposes a credit card surcharge.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I can't ever remember visiting a movie theater that imposes a credit card surcharge.

I've seen "payment transaction costs" being added for tickets bought on-line. Along with other aggravating charges like "convenience fees"...

In the USA, some of the ideas discussed in this thread will run afoul of consumer protection laws. If you represent a specific admission price, you can’t tack separate mandatory fees onto the price other than government imposed taxes. That would be considered “bait and switch”, which is a criminal offense. This is different from any contract issues with a distributor.

Las Vegas must be outside of the USA then.

[Leo Enticknap]

Resort fees skirt around the law by means of the hotels that charge them making claims that they are actually voluntary. If you make a fuss at check-in and make it clear that you have no interest in using the pool, gym, etc., they will usually relent and waive them; especially if you demonstrate a knowledge of the law in whatever state you happen to be in.

As for Vegas hotels, parking fees are so bad that I almost wonder if they are part of a deliberate attempt by the city to stop people from driving there. If I remember correctly, it was something like $45 a night at the last Cinemacon. Even though I only live 260 miles from the place, the overall cost of getting there (calculating the cost of driving at the IRS mileage rate of $0.56) would likely have been a bit cheaper by air (a "use it or lose it" round trip on Southwest from Ontario, CA, to Vegas is around $150) with Ubers at both ends. I had to drive because of the weight and volume of stuff I had to take with me, but remember thinking that if that hadn't been a factor, I could have let myself off having to do battle with the maniacs on the 15.

[Lyle Romer]

In the USA, some of the ideas discussed in this thread will run afoul of consumer protection laws. If you represent a specific admission price, you can’t tack separate mandatory fees onto the price other than government imposed taxes. That would be considered “bait and switch”, which is a criminal offense. This is different from any contract issues with a distributor.

If you have your own your own parking lot, I suppose you could charge for parking, but unless you are in a city where free parking is not the norm, you will find yourself without customers.

There is also the matter of pissing off your customers by annoying them with extra fees. As others have suggested, it would be much better to raise your concession prices.

What about the fuel surcharges that many companies were adding the last time fuel got expensive? As for the resort fees, I find Leo's post interesting? Has anybody here actually made a stink and gotten them to remove the fee?

[Martin McCaffery]

Most of the companies I work with that put a fuel surcharge on years ago have kept it on.
Somewhat off topic, UPS and FedEx will still charge extra for overnight delivery, but since COVID have refused to guarantee it, thus selling you a product they don't have. I found this out when I tried to get a refund. I actually got it, but it took more time on the phone than it was worth.

[Scott Norwood]

I've surprised that no one has mentioned that "fees" are customer-hostile. I hate being nickeled-and-dimed and I hate being misled. I had (and won) an argument over a hotel "destination fee" once because of this. Just charge a fair price and pay the film rental like everyone else. The cost of maintaining the building is part of your cost of doing business, just as it is for AMC and Regal and all the rest.

[Gordon McLeod]

What about "airport improvement fees" you usually dont know about that till you get to the airport

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

Around here (NY, NJ, Philadelphia) separate Airport fees are usually allowed via specific laws in specific localities, and as they are government imposed they are considered taxes.

As for movie theatres, as Scott wrote above, nickel and diming customer is a quick way to lose customers.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Resort fees skirt around the law by means of the hotels that charge them making claims that they are actually voluntary. If you make a fuss at check-in and make it clear that you have no interest in using the pool, gym, etc., they will usually relent and waive them; especially if you demonstrate a knowledge of the law in whatever state you happen to be in.

Well, I had to fight to get mine deducted last time. I was there purely for business and we booked via booking.com and paid in advance on purpose, to avoid those nonsense fees. It was in the Aria hotel and it was something like $42 a day if I remember correctly. I made clear that my booking.com receipt stated that I had paid for all the fees in advance. In addition to that circus, they charged me for some minibar items I never consumed. I fiddled my bottle of water in there and apparently, that triggered their automatic registration system. So, beware of auto-scam minibars, the best thing is not even to touch them and cool your outside drinks with buckets of ice...

As for Vegas hotels, parking fees are so bad that I almost wonder if they are part of a deliberate attempt by the city to stop people from driving there. If I remember correctly, it was something like $45 a night at the last Cinemacon. Even though I only live 260 miles from the place, the overall cost of getting there (calculating the cost of driving at the IRS mileage rate of $0.56) would likely have been a bit cheaper by air (a "use it or lose it" round trip on Southwest from Ontario, CA, to Vegas is around $150) with Ubers at both ends. I had to drive because of the weight and volume of stuff I had to take with me, but remember thinking that if that hadn't been a factor, I could have let myself off having to do battle with the maniacs on the 15.

I don't know what the deal is with that town, really... Either make it friendly for pedestrians and introduce some REAL public transportation, not a worthless monorail that goes nowhere you want to go or make parking free of charge again. This situation is just bonkers and is actively killing the fun of it all, at least for me. It's not like taxis or Uber is a real alternative, as you sometimes have to wait an hour or more to get one at some ridiculous premium fees...

Up until 2015 or so, my yearly routine used to get a rental at LAX, meet some friends in the neighborhood and then head up to Las Vegas for a day or two by car. I'm not a gambler and besides flashy lights and the technology behind it, Vegas certainly isn't my kind of town, but for a day or two, it can be some good fun. But Vegas was built around the car and parking used to be free everywhere, up until somewhere around 2016, when some of the resorts started to charge parking fees for self-parking, not just for valet parking.

But Vegas was always about skimping the customer out of money, it always felt like Italy in the 1970s and 1980s... Its mobster roots are clearly still alive. Adding random charges is just one of the more blatant ways of scamming your customers out of more money. Go eat at some of the restaurants on the strip or have a drink at a flashy bar and there certainly will be some Bullshit Service Charge on there. I must have some receipts left from 2018, so if I'm really bored, maybe I'm going to look for them and look at what kind of random, unannounced charges they came up with.

It's not just Vegas, b.t.w., it's all around you... Your average cheapo airline? Your average cruise line? Or your shady restaurant somewhere in an otherwise lovely little random town in Italy? They all like to add some random "service charges" to your bills.

[Harold Hallikainen]

On "resort fees," there have been several lawsuits.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-...er-resort-fees

For more on resort fees, see http://killresortfees.com/ .

It is also becoming more common for restaurants to add a service fee in lieu of tips. It would be far nicer if they just paid their employees properly and put the real price on the menu.

On airline baggage fees, I think they are ok. United has "Basic Economy" that does not allow a checked bag or a bag to go overhead, but allows one that fits under the seat (a "personal item"). If you can travel light, that could be sufficient. They charge $35 for a checked bag of up to 50 pounds. I think that's less than UPS or FedEx would charge. Expedia and such services should have a form where you tell how many checked bags, how many carry on, and whatever other options the airlines offer. Then they would show you the real price of your ticket. You could then modify your selection and see the prices change. Would be nice!

Harold

[Steve Guttag]

Screw the baggage fees. I fly Southwest when possible...never hassles. I just few AA (when flying into small airports, often, you don't have choices). First checked bag is included. The cargo of the plane is going there regardless of if there is a bag in there or not...that is particularly true on the overhead. If United wants to fee me to death, I won't fly them unless there is no other way.

I too would not like to "see" the fees on a ticket price. Normally, when one buys a movie ticket for x-amount, the consumer is unaware of the amusement tax and all of the other goodies that have been added into that. if a ticket is $10.00, then that is the cost of seeing the movie. When one goes to things like hotels or (airlines) and you see the rate you are buying and then at the end you see all of the crap that gets tacked on, it ticks me off...just build that in on your price and let's have a law that requires it so everyone is playing by the same rules. Then consumers can make informed decisions.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I too would not like to "see" the fees on a ticket price. Normally, when one buys a movie ticket for x-amount, the consumer is unaware of the amusement tax and all of the other goodies that have been added into that. if a ticket is $10.00, then that is the cost of seeing the movie. When one goes to things like hotels or (airlines) and you see the rate you are buying and then at the end you see all of the crap that gets tacked on, it ticks me off...just build that in on your price and let's have a law that requires it so everyone is playing by the same rules. Then consumers can make informed decisions.

I don't really have any problems with the price being broken down into components, as long as the individual components are the real thing and not just made-up stuff and the end price, the price I'm paying, is clearly listed.

The nice thing with having a price broken down into their respective components is that you can see where your money is going and you may appreciate the business delivering the service to you more.

[Scott Norwood]

I thought that there was a law in the US that airline prices must include all required fees and taxes. Is this not the case? I don't think that I've ever seen an "airport improvement fee."

Baggage fees are a different thing, since they are not mandatory. I always thought that this was false economy on the airlines' part--yes, they collect the fees from some passengers, but they also encourage more people to try to carry oversize bags on the plane, which increases boarding and exit times, reducing the number of flights that a particular plane can make in one day. It is also something of a safety issue since, in the event of an evacuation, many passengers try to take their bags with them, even if told to leave them.

That said, I personally dislike checking bags and generally don't. I have a nice rolly bag that fits perfectly fine in most planes. It won't fit in a CRJ or anything smaller; in those cases, it generally gets checked at the gate.

The hotel fee thing was new to me a few years ago when I spent the night in NYC. I paid through Priceline, where everything is normally paid in advance. The hotel tried to charge me a $30 fee for services that I wasn't going to use. The whole thing seems to be a bit of a scam for hotels to a) appear cheaper than they actually are in online searches when sorted by price and b) evade hotel taxes. I wouldn't be surprised if someday we end up with a $1 hotel rate and a $250 hotel fee. Anyway, these things will only go away if people refuse to pay them. I feel badly for hotel employees who have to deal with the complaints, though.

The argument for restaurant tipping is that tips encourage better service by waiters who want bigger tips. The problem with that is that studies have shown that people tend to tip based upon how they happy they are, rather than how good the service is (e.g. people on vacation tend to tip more; also, most bills are paid by men, so waitresses tend to get tipped better than waiters given similar quality of service). I would personally prefer that restaurants just pay waiters more, increase their prices by 15%, and get rid of tips, but that hasn't worked out too well for restaurants that have tried it. I don't really have a solution here, but the current (American) system just seems bad for everyone.

In any case, I would strongly prefer to patronize businesses that have a simple pricing policy, rather than a misleading or confusing one.

[Mike Blakesley]

When it comes to added fees, the big one irritating one for me is concert venues. Our nearby arena (10,000 seats) was charging $26 per ticket in "fees" for a recent Toby Keith concert -- $14 for "convenience," and $12 for "building improvement." They had free parking in a distant lot, but were charging $10 extra to park in the close-by lot. Then if you bought your tickets online, they were charging a $2 "internet fee" on top of all the other fees. So looking at a cost of $64 extra to buy two $55 tickets, we decided to hell with it and didn't go. I'm not even that much of a Toby Keith fan anyway, and most of the best seats were gone within 10 seconds of being put onsale (don't even get me started about how they'll say the top price is one amount, but there are really much higher prices for all the best seats).

The concert business makes the movie business look like a bunch of innocent angels when it comes to money.