Booking to Charge Commission on Resort Fees in Major Shake-Up for Hotel Revenue

In a game-changing move, Booking.com is notifying hotels around the world that it will begin charging them commissions on resort fees, as well as other fee-based services, such as for Wi-Fi, on top of a hotel's base rate, Skift has learned. This is believed to be the first time Booking.com or any other major online travel agency charged commissions on controversial resort fees, although it may be in some hotel contracts, but was never implemented. Hotels levying resort fees have often used them to avoid paying commissions to travel agencies to boost their own coffers. Resort fees have been a lightning rod between hotels and consumers. The fees are not part of the advertised base rate for a room and can vary by hotel and city. In Las Vegas, for example, resort fees are sometimes higher than the room charge. Hotels rationalize charging the fees because they say it pays for various amenities at hotels, including pool use, gym access and newspapers. Consumer groups have argued resorts fees are not disclosed clearly enough to potential guests. Booking.com views some hotels penchant for charging resort fees as a way to game the system, and therefore cheat the online travel agency out of the compensation it believes it deserves for driving business to the properties. Commenting on the move, Booking Holdings spokeswoman Leslie Cafferty said: "As an extension of our overarching aim to provide our customers with transparent information about the total price they will need to pay a