NOT FOR PROFIT
Year-end travel has just become that much more expensive with Supreme Court allowing restaurants and hotels to sell bottled water at more than the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on the items. The latest ruling of course applies to all days and seasons. But all those who are trying desperately to book flights and hotels to spend New Year’s Eve away from home would know how prices are shooting up every passing minute and any additional cost seems like a burden. And no, staying back home is not an option for anybody chasing holiday deals even though budget flights and hotels have no meaning at this time of the year.
“This is your last chance to grab the deal before the room goes away or the price increases,’’ is a warning showing up every now and then across travel websites. And it’s not a false scare, any stressed out holiday-booker would tell. Before you know it, the room is gone because you are told many more lastminute bargain hunters were watching the property from various parts of the globe at the same time, or the tariff is up by several thousands because high demand has triggered surge pricing. Also, as one gets closer to making a payment, the discounts often convert into extra charges. The beast at work here is “compulsory gala dinner’’, a common factor pushing up your bill if you’ve decided to get away on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, whether it’s to Goa, Udaipur, Andaman Islands, Barcelona, Phuket or London.
The inclusion of mandatory dinners and live entertainment as part of the hotel package is not a new phenomenon, but it’s interesting to find how customers have continued to protest against what many call “extraction’’ by the hospitality industry over the years and across geographies. The concerns have grown recently as compulsory gala dinner, which implies at least doubling up of hotel room tariff, has also started applying to other holidays such as Diwali, Eid, Holi, Republic Day and Independence Day in many places.
Social media and customer review sections of travel sites are full of rants about such compulsory packages. “We will be staying at Sunset Beach Resort on Christmas, can anybody tell us anything about their compulsory gala dinner? We have never heard of a compulsory dinner,’’ a travel enthusiast wrote. Another said, “I will be in Phuket 23-29 December and have to pay an extra A$85 for the compulsory gala dinner at Patong Resort on Xmas eve. I’m not really into gala dinners and as I will be there alone, I’m not that keen on going. Has anyone had an experience of these dinners and can tell me what form they take? Also, is it possible to negotiate when I arrive at the hotel and ask for meal credits or something else?’’
Answers to those questions, again from people looking at holidays, vary from “give it a go (ask for meal credits etc.), the hotels have no justification to charge extra on Christmas which is not a holiday in Thailand’’ to “compulsory dinner is justified as the staff must be paid for working when everyone else is celebrating’’. Another reply to a customer who’s reluctant to participate in a compulsory hotel bash was, “you will find that the dinner they put out for $111 will be one of the best you’ve had in your life, and more than unlimited alcohol is included…’’
There have been refunds too for the extra payment one had to make for a mandatory gala dinner. Among the reported cases was about a room booked at Anantara Dubai Palm Resort for New Year’s Eve. The hotel booking site had slammed an extra Dh5,000 for a gala dinner, against which the guest fought and managed to get a refund recently.
Seasoned travellers are well aware that there’s no option except to buy whatever festivities have been planned by hotels and resorts. But the outpourings on the subject show that given a choice most guests don’t want to buy a forced concept that doubles up their accommodation cost.
Wish there was an opt-out possibility, like in the case of do-not-disturb (DND) for unsolicited calls or blocking spam mails, but there’s none when it comes to these must-have dinners at an inflated price. Whether you are on a business trip or wanting to stay alone with a book, just grin and join the party if your travel coincides with the gala days and nights planned by hotels and resorts.