Ever walked away from the travel agent, fizzing with excitement after securing a great deal on your holiday? Well there’s over 1 billion reasons why that might not be the case.

Reports released from the Tisch Centre for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management in New York showed that the add-on surcharges have increased by 6% this year, equating to an industry total of £1.12 billon.

Many put the increase down to the rise in occupancy levels that have seen growth in America slowly coming out its recession, but surcharges have been rapidly increasing for years.

The story on Surcharges

In fact, add-on charges have more than doubled since the millennium.

But travel consumers are become more tolerant to paying these charges, with more hotels leaning on them as an institutionalised revenue source.

Amongst the reports were some shocking revelations such as holding baggage fees, resort fees and mini bar restocking fees. Yes that right, you did read that correctly. Hotels are not only charging astronomical fees for whisky miniatures, they’re also charging you for the privilege of restocking the fridge. Stateside where the charges are customary, you can expect to pay in the range of $3 to $10, regardless of how many items you use. On that basis, if you buy a single miniature of whiskey you could be paying up to $30, without the mixer.

But most commonly tourists have the biggest animosity surrounding resort fees, because there is no real escaping them. Resort fees cover things from safe rental to internet access, all amenities that many travellers would expect as part of the accommodation fee. It’s likely that at some point in your travelling history you will have picked up a bill on check-out, questioning ‘what… I have to pay for the sofa bed and its $20 a night?!’

Unfortunately, there is no escaping these charges. The best advice is to clarify with the reception upon check what and where the surcharges are. Avoidance is the only remedy. Have it spelled out for you from the outlay at reception and that way you can’t go wrong.