Joiner Fees

[Gaybutton]

In the "All Seasons Hotel Pattaya" thread below it was mentioned that the hotel charges a 300 baht joiner fee. Wowpow responded with:

 

There seems to be very little logic to the Joiners fee business though charging someone in a room for 1 person to cover charged for a second person - breakfast? - can have a certain logic.

 

The subject of joiner fees has come up before, but it almost always is about how much certain hotels charge or whether any fees are charged at all. I don't recall any threads ever discussing why joiner fees are charged in the first place.

 

I can understand joiner fees if someone has booked a room for one, but two people end up sleeping in that room. I doubt that it has anything to do with breakfast because few hotels are going to charge 300 baht for breakfast and most hotels issue breakfast vouchers if breakfast is included. If someone joins for breakfast, but is not booked into the hotel, they normally receive a separate bill, just like going to any restaurant.

 

To my mind it is perfectly fair to charge a joiner fee if an extra person, not booked into the hotel, is sleeping in a room that was not booked for him. That's fine if someone is sleeping over. But what about "short time" guests? Some hotels ask a joiner fee as soon as they see a "farang" heading for his room with a boy. If that same "farang" is headed for his room with another "farang," nobody bats an eye. I don't see the justification for charging a joiner fee if someone is visiting one's room for a couple of hours, whether "farang," Thai, or anything else, even when the reason for the visit is perfectly obvious.

 

To me, under those circumstances the hotel is taking advantage of the customer, just like the hotels that force their customers to pay for a Christmas or New Year's dinner whether they want it or not.

 

I'm curious what your opinion is.

[Guest buaseng]

I have always considered joiners fees to be, in most cases, a feeble attempt to discourage farangs from taking bar boys (or girls) back to their rooms. The hotels are too frightened to put an outright ban on such visits for fear of losing customers.

 

I did hear or read somewhere that upperclass 5 star hotels in Bangkok (those few which do allow joiners) and some of the 'posher' hotels in Pattaya charge joiners fees of 1000 baht or more to act as just such a deterrent.

 

Personally I would never stay in any hotel that had a joiner fee policy. To my mind joiners fees are also just another excuse to rip-off tourist visitors.

[Guest]

The Marriot and the Hard Rock both have joiners fees or did at one point. I always booked a room for 2 and when they tried the joiners fee, I just registered the boy for the room and that was that.

 

In Brazil, you are NOT allowed to take any Brazilian into most hotels. If you do, there is a very large fee often 25-50 US to get to the room. They will make a copy of the ID and require you to sign a waiver. The hotel i stay at there is great and they do have a joiners fee as well. But, I always book a room for 2 and then just add the boy of the night to my room. I don't mind they make a copy of their ID at all. The whole process takes about 3 minutes if there is no line waiting for reception and it is pretty easy. Since I stay at this hotel often, I am allowed more leeway in things I do and often they just let me pass by if they have see the boy that week and know they have an ID on file. I did stay one week during New Year's at a 5 star hotel in Copacabana to see the fireworks from my room and they did not allow any Brazilian to my room. My friend was a 60 year old lady and they gave her hell at the front desk to come to my room. I was shocked at this was my first stay in the country and she was not coming for a booty call but to see us on New Year's Eve. It was not allowed and we could not even pay to get her into the room with us. I have never used this hotel again and would not stay there. But, back to topic, joiners fees are common in many places around the world.

[Bob]

If you're already paying for a double, then I object to a joiner's fee....unless you're bringing in more than one person per day.

Otherwise, I really don't have a problem with the hotels charging a joiner's fee. When you've paid the single rate, bringing guests back means more use of water, towels, soap, wear on the premises, etc., so why shouldn't the hotel have the right to charge for that?

Besides all of that, the hotel, if it desires, probably has the right to try to stop prostitution on its premises on the grounds it offends them or may offend some of their other guests. Like a message board, the owner still retains the right to make the rules and you either accept them or move on.

It probably would be helpful and a more honest policy if the hotel would clearly advise of the rules in advance. It's obvious that this isn't done most of the time because the question keeps resurfacing.

[Guest TomUK]

Joiner fee has never been an issue for me, but while reading this thread I just had an idea how to get around this problem. Assuming you would want to stay in a double room anyway why not fill in the booking/reservation form as in the following example:

Names of guests: Mr Joe Bloggs + Khun Nomen Nescio


Maybe someone would like to give it a try and see what the hotel receptionist would make of this.

TomUK

[Up2u]

Joiner fee has never been an issue for me, but while reading this thread I just had an idea how to get around this problem. Assuming you would want to stay in a double room anyway why not fill in the booking/reservation form as in the following example:

 

Names of guests: Mr Joe Bloggs + Khun Nomen Nescio

Maybe someone would like to give it a try and see what the hotel receptionist would make of this.

 

TomUK

 

My most recent experience with hotels is that details of both registrants is required (e.g. passports or Thai ID's). Trying to create a fictious "guest" may be a problem.

 

[Guest fountainhall]

My most recent experience with hotels is that details of both registrants is required (e.g. passports or Thai ID's). Trying to create a fictious "guest" may be a problem.

 

I do know that security is one issue that is linked to joiners. In many countries, it is the law that hotels must have a list of who is staying overnight. Not sure if this applies in Thailand, but I guess if you don't have joiner's fees, extra guests can easily find their way into rooms and the hotel is then technically falling foul of the law.

[khaolakguy]

The positive side of Joiner fees is that at least, at a small cost, you are allowed a member of the local population in your room. I can think of lots of countries where you aren't even allowed locals in your room, at any price.