An American woman on her whirlwind honeymoon just went viral (she has over 6,800 comments) for roasting Marriott hotels in Waikiki for charging her $200 for a poolside chair among other “resort fees” that left her with a huge bill. @funkshe, who is popular on TikTok, said she was having a great time until she got the bill at the end of her stay and noticed over $500 in “resort fees” for things she didn’t ask for or enjoy.
@funkshe Done 👎 Hawaii is great. The hotels in Waikiki are not. Fiji was amazing. There are amazing places in the world to visit and stay in. Greedy companies in the US are ruining it for everyone #honolulu #travel #traveltips #hawaii #honeymoon ♬ original sound – funkshe
Embedded above is her video, which she captioned: “Done 👎 Hawaii is great. The hotels in Waikiki are not. Fiji was amazing. There are amazing places in the world to visit and stay in. Greedy companies in the US are ruining it for everyone #honolulu #travel #traveltips #hawaii #honeymoon”
And here’s her transcript:
“Dude, travel in the US is dead and it’s all because of corporate greed. On my honeymoon right now, my last leg, I’m in Honolulu, and I just stayed at a resort and saw a $500 charge added to my bill at checkout. It says there’s a daily resort fee of $52 plus tax per room per day.
The following amenities are included: fresh flower or coconut nut greeting upon arrival for two guests per stay, which we didn’t ask for because the flower was itching my neck but that was the one thing we got. Daily morning yoga for two guests, a bag of freshly baked (shitty) banana bread muffins from meditation class for two guests, refillable logo water bottles, daily cultural activities, daily high-speed internet access which you already get as a Marriott Bonvoy member. The only thing you get from being a Marriott Bonvoy member.
Guess what’s not included? The actual beach chairs. If I’m at a resort, I assume that I will have a place to lay under an umbrella. Look at this beach, oh no, we got stuck under the sand. So we’re at the pool now, and all of these chairs up front, we thought they were occupied, but no, there’s a $200 fee to reserve one of those chairs in the sun.
Why would I pay $200 as a guest on top of what I’m already paying, on top of this resort fee that charges me for things I don’t want, just for a beach chair? I could just go farther back and find one of these shittier chairs to sit in. But is that how you’re going to treat your guest? Give them a shittier chair because you have other chairs up front that you’re going to charge $200 for, not even on the actual beach, because Dollar Beach is reserved for them a day in advance for $70 per chair and otherwise there’s no space on the beach.
Literally, go anywhere else, any other country, for your honeymoon or vacation. Save your hard-earned cash and do that because in the US you’re never going to feel welcome as a guest. Everything you don’t want to pay for, you have to pay for. Everything you actually want, you have to pay for on top of that. It’s not included in the fee you already paid. Not to mention the actual hotel, it’s so messed up.
When a hotel would lose nothing by giving something out for free, like these chairs, instead they want to charge $70 for a chair that guests are already paying for. It would mean nothing to them to just let us sit on it for free but they charge us because they can. When you’re paying a lot for a fancy five-star resort, let us sit in the damn chairs, dude.”
The comments on social media were mixed but the majority were definitely in favor of @funkshe.
Amy E.: In Sri Lanka, that $500 extra alone would get you at least two nights in a stunning five-star hotel in a villa probably bigger than what you rent at home with breakfast, a tasting menu dinner and your own butler. Beaches are just as stunning and surfable.
M.J. K.: There’s an open class action lawsuit about this right now. Go get in on it.
Ecko878: Corporate greed is Americas down fall.
Fred C.: Not taking the hotel’s side here but aren’t there many videos of people rushing to the pool very early to “reserve” those poolside chairs? Looks like Black Friday at Walmart.
One follower asked her, “$70 per chair PER DAY???!!! 😳” and @funkshe responded, “Per DAY per PERSON if you reserved 24 hours in advance 😭”
I really dislike hotels that do this and sadly more and more have started since they can earn more revenue without raising their room rates. I’ve stayed at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki multiple times, which is the hotel she’s talking about. It’s been a while so I wasn’t up to date on the fees but when I went to reserve two beach chairs and an umbrella, the friendly staff said there was nothing available for three days and there was a fee.
When I asked about a pool chair, since they all had towels on them, they said the chairs are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. It was 7:30 a.m., all the chairs were reserved yet no one was sitting on them and not a soul was in the pool. Guests run down early to get a chair and then go back to bed or breakfast. It drives me nuts. It’s like this video of hotel guests literally lined up early in the morning for the pool gate to open so they can RUN and reserve chairs. See video below.
@chloeturner_1 Another day another sunbed war 😂 #holiday #tenerife #playadelasamericas #sunbeds ♬ original sound – Chloe Turner
Meanwhile, guests like us who just wanted to relax for an hour or two had nowhere to sit so the chairs and pool went unused. It’s a ridiculous policy. I wrote back in 2014 that I hoped they would change as it doesn’t feel like a luxury experience. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of a luxury experience and not how a hotel of this caliber should treat its guests. Obviously they haven’t changed and their prices for beach chairs have gone way up. I think it’s going to hurt them long term.
If you don’t want to pay their steep prices and are okay not using a lounger, my advice is to go to Target, less than 2 miles away, or Costco, under 4 miles away, and purchase beach chairs and an umbrella, which would cost less than a day’s rental. You can then either bring them home or give them to another guest. Or, book a hotel that doesn’t charge these fees and always check the prices before booking.
