Hotel Parking Scams

Now, I don’t want to start sounding like the resident old crank blogger - Is that Tim McDonald or Archie Bunker? - but hotel parking is one of the last great scams out there. You have to love these establishments that charge you for a room and then turn around and charge your car for a room.

The Omni in downtown San Francisco charges $45 for valet parking, plus $7 in taxes. Heck, you could feasibly get a room at the Omni through one of those travel sites for less than it would cost to park your car. No kidding. I ran into a guy bragging about how he only paid $75 for his room by listening to Captain Kirk. Meanwhile, there were some poor souls getting hit with a 50 buck charge for pulling up to the curb. Of course, no one at the Omni tells you there’s a $28 garage literally 20 steps from the lobby door that’s not affiliated with the hotel.

What is it with hotels and ridiculously-pumped-up parking charges? San Francisco’s expensive, but it’s not that expensive.

My favorite all-time hotel parking scam has to be the Hyatt on the outskirts of La Jolla, Calif (near San Diego). though. There were so many available spots on the streets outside the hotel that they were almost begging to be parked in. Still the hotel got many takers on its $14 garage right next to all these free spots in an upscale neighborhood.

Talk about your easy revenue streams. Guess the $5 mini bar potato chips just weren’t doing it.

Coming soon: A charge to store suitcases in your room closet.