One of Editor Rob’s favorite places to stay in Honolulu is AlohilaniThe rates were pretty fair and the city view room he stayed in was nice but not much of a view, location was great and the pool deck was trendy with a bar. In addition, first-class coffee shops, Kai Coffeesitting on the street facing the beach.
The hotel had some issues, but honestly what we saw with our own eyes felt wrong. Sometimes it’s not about the money, it’s about the feeling of dying on nickels and dimes.
This seems strange too. Because many hotels these days go completely cashless to avoid all the problems. This is a hassle for the hotel and a total annoyance for the guests. Not to mention, who is actually carrying his extra $3,000 in cash while vacationing in Hawaii?
Alohilani Resort leads the way with bold new Hawaii hotel rates.
Alohilani Resort is a large mid-range Waikiki hotel with over 800 rooms. It was rebranded from the Pacific Beach Hotel and opened under its current name in 2018. During a rebrand and redesign, his legendary two-story oceanarium was saved.
Regarding the new surcharge, we were alerted by a comment from Mary who reported:
“The last time you booked a room three weeks ago, you understood it was customary to book a hotel with a credit card, right?
no! At his one of my favorite hotels, Alohilani, it became necessary to:
Please Note: Effective March 3, 2023, a two percent (2%) credit card processing charge will be applied to all credit and debit card transactions related to hotel guest stays and property-wide charges. A fee will be charged. ”
I wasn’t sure, so I went back to Alohilani’s website. Credit card surcharges are somewhat normal in many industries, but what about large hotels in Hawaii?
Upon checking, I confirmed the exact language Mary was referring to.
It wasn’t immediately obvious, but I found it on the terms and conditions page available before paying and after selecting the room. There were some other interesting points on that page.
- A valid credit card is required to guarantee your online reservation. BOH: We guarantee payment by credit card, but bring cash to the hotel to avoid additional credit card charges.
- Cancellation/Modification/Non-Arrival Policy: If canceled up to 72 hours prior to arrival, credit card will be charged for 1 night BOH: Plus 2% of course.
- A daily resort fee of $48 will be collected upon arrival. BOH: Bring cash.
- Tree Fee: Optional $5 per room. BOH: Commenter Patrick said this is automatic unless you opt out.
- “All credit and debit card transactions related to hotel guest stays, as well as overall accommodation charges, are subject to a 2% credit card processing fee. Applies to both virtual credit cards.” BOH: How about let the price be the price and be done with it?
How much will it cost in total?
In all honesty, for a week’s stay, the credit card charges below totaled just over $50. So it’s not a question of money, but when added to the other ancillary charges, it was, we would say, for the best.
We decided to play with the numbers based on our ‘best price per night’ of $284 based on a 7 night stay in low season (early May). Stop here for 7 nights including resort, fees and credit card surcharges. Non-room charges add up to a whopping 39% of the total bill.
- Room: 284.05 1 night x 7 nights: $1,988.35
- Mandatory Resort Fee: $48 per night x 7 nights: $336.00
- Parking (optional): $48 per night x 7 nights: $336.00.
- Total for 7 nights excluding tax: $2,713.56.
- about. Tax (17.92%): $486.27.
- Above credit card surcharge: $64.00.
- total: $3,263.83
Photo by Beat of Hawaii editor Rob during his stay in Alohilani.
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