Bad hotel fees that must die

I like Chris Elliott. He's the ombudsperson for National Geographic Traveler Magazine and is frequently on MSNBC TV.

In November, he mentioned that nudist resort vacations can be great bargains. He recommended our resort as one of the 2 particularly good bargain nudist resorts. To read his story CLICK HERE

Now he wrote about hotel fees that must die. Here's his story:

"Hotel fees that must die — and how to kill them

February 7, 2010

Resort fees. Mandatory tips. Concierge surcharges.

If you’ve stayed at a hotel in the last few years, you’ve become accustomed — if not anesthetized — to these annoying extras. You expect them. You’re indifferent to them when they appear on your bill...

Here are five hotel fees that must die.

Resort fees
These add-ons to your room bill started innocently enough. Resort guests complained that they were being nickel-and-dimed by extras for beach towels, umbrellas and the use of exercise facilities, among other things. So the properties rolled them all into a “resort fee” and made those amenities “free.” But along the way, the fee got horribly twisted by greed. First it became mandatory, so you no longer had a choice about using the amenities, or, more specifically, being charged for them. And then larger, urban hotels that didn’t have resort-like amenities, decided to copy it... Guests were being hit with the fees everywhere, causing their room charges to mushroom by $15, $20 or even $30 a night. Unacceptable. It’s time to give resort fees the heave-ho!...

Fees for furniture
The most common flavor of this fee is a surcharge for your safe. (Ironically, the hotel often doesn’t vouch for the safety of the items you store in one.) But that’s not the only item hotels ask you to pay extra for. Corinne McDermott, who runs a Web site about family travel, asked to be put in a room with a refrigerator on a recent visit to Quebec City. The hotel asked for an additional $10-a-day-fee...

Concierge, bellhop and housecleaning fees
Believe it or not, some hotels tack on a fee for their bellhops and concierges — two optional services that guests usually pay for with tips. At one hotel, motivational speaker Barry Maher was hit with a mandatory fee for bellhop service. “Never mind the fact that I rolled my own rollerbag to the room and never even saw a bellman,” he says. He also found a fee for housecleaning on his final bill...
How to kill them: Common sense is your most effective weapon against these unreasonable fees. Not only are they often improperly disclosed, but they also fly in the face of reason. The cost of your room should include housekeeping...

Way-out-there fees
Never underestimate a hotel revenue manager’s creativity. Seriously, these employees sit around all day wondering how to make more money from us...

Fees that ought to be illegal
Leslie Dykeman stayed at a Comfort Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz., and an Econo Lodge in Tempe, Ariz., recently. Both charged a $3 per day “energy fee.” “Mind you, I am from the northeast,” Dykeman added, “and in Scottsdale, I didn’t turn on the air conditioner once.”... If these fees are allowed to stand, it can’t be long before we’re charged for pillows, blankets and toilet paper. Enough already...

Point is, at a time like this, you shouldn’t have to put up with any of these fees. A property charging mandatory resort fees, valet fees, safe fees or energy fees doesn’t just hate its customers — it probably also has a death wish.

For the full story click here

Some hotels in the nudist industry has come up with the day fee on top of your room rate. I've seen some day fees at more than $50/day.

Some Florida nudist resorts are tacking on these daily membership fees. Although here in Palm Springs one nude place also has day fees on top of their room rates.

These resorts should be ashamed of themselves. Roll your day fees into your room rates so that people know exactly how much you are charging. Having artificially low room rates to falsely entice people to your place and then hitting them with expensive daily membership fees does not create customer good will.

Sadly many places are only looking at the short term, getting a head into a bed and don't care that once that person leaves they hated feeling ripped off and tell everyone at other nudist places never to go to those places that have resort fees.
And I hear guests say it ALL the time.

Here at Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa, in Palm Springs we have always been one of the best values of ALL resorts in Palm Springs. We have NO hidden fees or expenses. Even our soda machine is only 50 cents a can. We WANT our guests to come back and we succeed as we average over an 80% repeat guest rate one of the highest in the whole travel industry.


Now is the perfect time for a fun, romantic, unique vacation experience.

Never been to a clothing optional resort before? No problem. We are the most mainstream nudist resort in the US and are perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time!

Give us a call at 800-786-6938 (toll free US and Canada) for more information or to make reservations.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/nudist_resorts

We hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs, California!

Chris Elliott on MSNBC mentions a vacation at Terra Cotta Inn, Palm Springs is a bargain

"5 reasons to bare it all on your next vacation

...why would you still want to consider baring everything on your next vacation?

First a warning: A clothing-optional vacation isn’t for everyone. For example, when I posted Schuttauf’s interview on my blog, I illustrated it with what I thought was an appropriate photo of four unclothed women running into the Baltic. The picture only showed their uncovered derrieres, but the outcry from some of my readers was loud. They demanded I remove the “not-safe-for-work” image, and because I love my readers, I did. (Even if they’re prudes.)

And by way of full disclosure, no, I haven’t taken a nakation. But I’m open to it.

Here are a few reasons you might consider vacationing in the buff.

It’s not what you think
There are so many misconceptions about vacationing sans clothing, it would take an entire article to address them. But let me clear up just a few. Nudists are not perverts, and their resorts — at least the ones represented by AANR — are not seedy...

It’ll open your mind
Take it from someone whose neighbors were nudists: Going clothes-free can be an enlightening experience. I only mention this because many of us are looking for a different perspective when we’re on vacation, and removing our clothes can certainly offer that.

It’s a good time
“Nude recreation is fun,” says AANR’s Schuttauf. “Anyone who has ever gone skinny-dipping or as a kid romped through the back yard sprinkler in their birthday suit knows.” Fact is, most of the mainstream media coverage of nude recreation skips over this important point. Instead, we’re fed a lot of titillating nonsense — lists like the “Top 5 naked events” and “Top 5 nude beaches” that leave many of us firmly convinced that all nudists are hedonists...

It’s a deal
The entire travel industry is on sale, and nude resorts are no exception. For example, the Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs, Calif., was offering a two-day nude sunbathing special for as little as $149 a night per couple, as I wrote this. That’s $20 a night off the normal price.

...Put differently, you might pay less for your nakation than your vacation.

It’s easy to pack
You can blame Air New Zealand for this idea, since it came up with the clever ad campaigns featuring flight attendants in body paint. But packing for a clothing-optional vacation is so easy and you won’t ever have to worry about additional luggage fees. That’s a compelling argument when your carrier wants to charge $15 per bag — and more on some flights..."

Ready to strip down on your next vacation? While it’s true that you could save a couple of bucks on baggage fees and hotel rates, and that it definitely will broaden your horizons, allow me to add just one piece of advice: Try it before you book a whole week. Visit a clothing-optional club — many offer affordable day passes — and see how it feels.

If you like it, have a nakation.

If you don’t, you can join the rest of us prudes — yeah, I guess I’m probably one of them — and keep your clothes on."

For the full article click here

Chris Elliott is a travel reporter for MSNBC and the ombudman for National Geographic Traveler.

I have always been telling readers that our resort, The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa is the best value resort in Palm Springs. And now Chris Elliott agrees by mentioning us. Yes, we are a fantastic value which is one of the reasons why we are so popular.

For more information about our resort, the Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa, visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Or give us a call at 800-786-6938.

We are the most mainstream nudist resort in the US and perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time.

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/nudist_resorts

We hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs!

PS I invited Chris to take a nakation with us. Are you coming Chris? Drop me an e-mail or call me at 800-786-6938. We answer the phones from 8am-10pm PST.

Nude Recreation is Fun writes Chris Elliott

Erich Schuttauf, the executive director of AANR, the American Association for Nude Recreation is featured in an interview with Chris Elliott. Chris writes for National Geographic Traveller and MSNBC.com. He is a very influential travel writer.

Earlier this week I wrote that nudists need to get across the point that nude recreation and nudism is fun.

So what's the headline of this article? "Nude Recreation is fun."

Now as much as I would like to take some credit for it, Erich Schuttauf is a very savvy director. He also preaches that nude recreation is fun.

Way to go Erich. You make me and ll other AANR members proud!

Here's the story:

“Nude recreation is fun”

Erich Schuttauf is the executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation, a group that represents clothing-optional resorts. There’s been a lot of talk about nudism in the travel world lately, from two highly-publicized incidents this summer in which disruptive airline passengers disrobed, to the group’s efforts to coin a new term: the “nakation.” That’s right, folks. AANR has trademarked the word. Do nudists have an image problem? I asked Schuttauf...

[Chris]While we’re on the subject of image, I wanted to ask you about Paradise Lakes Resort in Florida, which withdrew from your association after being temporarily suspended for violating what have been termed “family-friendly” principles. Do nudists have an image to uphold, and if so, what is it?

[Erich] Behavior within the nudist community should require no apology. We have earned a reputation as the credible voice of reason for family social nude recreation since 1931 and take that reputation very seriously.

[Chris]Section 1.4 of the AANR procedure manual says “it is important that we maintain the highest standards of courtesy, dignity, and personal integrity.” Call me a prude, but I think there are a lot of Americans who think the words “nudism” and “dignity” — let alone “personal integrity” don’t belong in the same sentence. Am I missing something?

[Erich] Those who have not given nude recreation a try are definitely missing out on something: the level of body acceptance and personal comfort that comes with allowing yourself and others to be who you are. We often say it but a visitor to a nudist club doesn’t know a bank president from a bus driver. Likewise, those with scars or a few pounds to lose find self-confidence. Its about body acceptance rather than bodies...

[Chris] The latest Y Partnership 2009 National Leisure Travel Monitor finds that interest in nude recreation slipped from 11 percent in 2008 to 10 percent this year. In the interests of full disclosure, I should also mention the Y Partnership is your public relations firm. Are you concerned that your popularity has peaked?

[Erich]Reviewing the entire study the traveling public’s interest in virtually all activities has dropped a little bit. I attribute this to the fact there are even more and more choices of things to do. And, relative to many widely popular activities, nude recreation is doing very well. [Tom's note. Chris, get real, it's the worst recession since the great depression. That's fantastic numbers.]

[Chris] Speaking of your PR firm, I understand it coined the term “nakation.” That’s very clever. What do you think of that term?

[Erich] A nakation is a vacation you will want to brag to friends about. I love the term chiefly because it’s so much fun. Anyone who has ever gone skinny-dipping or as a kid romped through the back yard sprinkler in their birthday suit knows. Nude recreation is fun.

[Chris]I can’t help but notice surveys like TripAdvisor’s “5 naked events and top 5 nude beaches,” which, if you don’t mind me saying so, seem a little exploitative. Come to think of it, there are some who will think this interview is just a shameless attempt to attract visitors. Where do you cross the line between legitimate journalism and a titillating ratings grab?

{Erich] We’re more than willing to have a little bit of fun in the media if it means having an opportunity to let others know about where they can experience the joys of going clothes-free. For example, in July we convinced members and first-time visitors alike to give swimming in the buff a try as we set a Guinness World Record for the most number of people simultaneously skinny dipping. We’re talking about 13,648 people in more than 100 locations throughout North America shedding clothes.

On the other hand the importance of maintaining credibility means that we’re committed to striking a balance. Nude recreation is a lot of fun to experience and to talk about, but only if we can be a good neighbor as we do so..."

For the full article click here

This is a great article. Erich talks about the wholesomeness of nudism. He talks about the body acceptance and confidence building of nudism. But, he also talks about the FUN. And that is what Chris Elliott picked up on is the FUN.

Way to go Erich and Chris. A great interview!

Now if you want to take a fun vacation nude vacation, give us a call at The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa located in sunny Palm Springs, CA.

We are the most mainstream nudist resort in the US and are perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time. You don't even have to be a nudist to vacation with us.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/nudist_resorts

Hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs!