Just when you think hotels couldn’t get more creative with junk fees, a Marriott Fairfield Inn in Texas decided to disguise its parking charge as a “City Fee.”
Marriott Fairfield Plano Caught Labeling Parking Fee As “City Fee”
A Fairfield Inn & Suites in Plano, Texas has been caught charging guests a mandatory $2.87 “City Fee” that was, in reality, a hotel parking charge…even for guests who didn’t have cars. The scheme came to light after a frequent guest noticed that the property’s previously free parking suddenly carried a $2.87 daily cost, which suspiciously matched a new “City Fee” on her bill.
When she questioned it, the front desk clerk admitted the charge was parking-related and promptly removed it.
That’s not just sneaky, it’s deceptive and unlawful. As View From The Wing reported, the property was labeling a hotel-imposed charge as a government fee, a move that violates Marriott’s own disclosure policies and should subject the hotel to regulatory scrutiny. It’s one thing to impose a parking fee; it’s another to mislead customers by implying the city required it. The guest, who happens to be a Titanium Elite, summed it up bluntly: “I don’t expect much from a Fairfield, but I expect honesty.”
What makes the deception obvious is simple math. In Plano, the only legitimate “city” hotel tax is 7% of the nightly rate. Yet the so-called “City Fee” was a flat $2.87 on nights with different room rates. That’s not how percentage-based taxes work. Add to that a “state cost recovery fee” (another hotel add-on that sounds official but isn’t), and you start to see a pattern…fees disguised as taxes to slip past guest scrutiny.
Guest Persistence Put A Stop To It
One reader took action beyond customer service. After realizing the issue wasn’t an innocent mistake, she contacted the Collin County Tax Assessor to report that the hotel was effectively collecting a non-existent tax and keeping the proceeds. Within days, the assessor’s office coordinated with the City Manager, who ordered the Fairfield to halt the practice immediately. City officials confirmed they’re now working on guest redress. It’s striking that the hotel didn’t stop because of Marriott oversight, it stopped because a guest refused to ignore a dishonest bill. Kudos to her…