yangzi times: the "infringement practice" of "charging half-day room rate" should be stopped
2024-09-11
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"the hotel charges an extra half-day room fee for a two-hour delay in check-out" - ordinary consumers may just put up with this, but huang wende, a lawyer from henan dinghou law firm, took it seriously and sued the hotel in court. after eight months, the intermediate people's court of longnan city, gansu province, recently made a second-instance judgment, requiring the hotel to refund the extra 224 yuan in room fees. the news that the lawyer won the lawsuit challenging the hotel's "industry practice" has attracted social attention. (workers' daily, september 5)
at present, there is no fixed check-out time for hotels. most hotels check out at 12 noon, but some hotels can extend the time to 14:00. different hotels have different practices on whether to charge extra room fees for late check-out. some hotels will generally extend the check-out time by one or two hours for free if there is a reason for the late check-out when the rooms are not tight, and only charge a certain fee for customers who are seriously overdue. this is undoubtedly more humane.
of course, it is understandable that the hotel charges a certain amount of room fee for late check-out, after all, "without rules, there will be no order." moreover, charging extra room fee can help curb deliberate late check-out, and the hotel can also ensure that there is enough time to arrange staff to clean the room.
however, the room charge cannot be based on the abolished "tyrannical clauses" and high fees cannot be charged at will. according to reports, the "china tourism hotel industry standards" issued in 2002 had an industry regulation that "for those who check out after 12:00 and before 18:00 the next day, the hotel can charge an extra half-day room rate; for those who check out after 18:00 the next day, the hotel can charge an extra day's room rate." in the following years, "check out at 12:00" and the extra room rate have caused many consumer complaints in china. therefore, the "china tourism hotel industry standards" (revised version) issued in august 2009 has deleted this regulation, and no hotel should continue to regard it as a guiding principle.
when charging extra room fees for late check-out, it is also important to be careful about how to charge. on the one hand, whether it is checking out at 12:00 or before 14:00, the hotel should display the extra fee for late check-out in a prominent location and clearly inform the other party before the consumer checks in. instead of worrying that the late check-in fee will affect the check-in experience, deliberately concealing it and failing to fulfill the obligation to inform. the "china tourism hotel industry standards" (revised version) published in august 2009 clearly stated that "hotels should clearly indicate the room price and accommodation time settlement method in a prominent location in the lobby, or confirm that the above information has been informed to guests in an appropriate manner."
on the other hand, the extra room charges cannot be too outrageous. lawyer huang wende selected a room that costs 268 yuan per day, and there are two rooms in total. based on the 268 yuan room rate and 24 hours a day, a two-hour delay should only cost 22 yuan, and a total of 44 yuan for two rooms, which is more reasonable. the actual collection of 224 yuan is undoubtedly "a lion's mouth". what is the charging standard for late check-out of the hotel involved? from the perspective of market supervision, the relevant departments should probably deal with the hotel for not clearly marking prices and charging randomly.
in short, charging half a day's room rate for check-out after 12:00 and before 18:00 and so on can no longer be "industry practices". even if there are reasonable charges for late check-out, they must be publicized and notified in advance. in fact, with the increasing competition, free late check-out can become a new bargaining chip for hotel competition. hotels must be aware of this. what consumers need to do is, on the one hand, to inquire about the relevant check-out policies and fees from the hotel before checking in; on the other hand, in the face of some so-called "industry practices", they must be serious and not allow infringing "hidden arrows" to hurt people again and again. he yonghai
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