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Leave the Added Fees to the Airlines

It's nice having the beleaguered airline industry to kick around. In recent years hoteliers have talked about the opportunity they have welcoming disgruntled customers coming from the nearby airport where they've been hassled, harangued and hit with additional charges, fees and maybe even a loose piece of luggage.

InterContinental Hotels Group is taking that a step further. IHG announced a new promotion that rewards guests by reimbursing their checked bag fees when travelers stay two straight weekend nights at any IHG property. The “Check it Free” promotion period begins Sept. 1 and runs through the end of the year.

“With Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the December holidays just around the corner there are many opportunities for weekend getaways, or even a week-long vacation,” said Del Ross, IHG's vice president, U.S. sales & marketing.

Kimpton has a similar program it began a couple years ago when airlines first started charging for checked bags.

As much as the hotel industry likes to kick around its travel counterpart, there have been grumblings within this industry the past two years about the idea (and opportunity) of more ‘a la carte' pricing and added charges for added services. There are plenty of examples of resort, Internet and other random fees that customers already love to complain about. Continuing that and adding more would be a mistake. Leave that to the airlines and hoteliers should continue to be the hospitable ones.

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