....regarding the following excerpts from the travel section in today's Los Angeles Times from all you people who feel it is alright to charge an additional handling fee on top of any actual postage cost that you incur for your labor, gas, ebay fees, electricity, toilet paper or what ever else you can dream up to satiate your cupity.

Example #1
The Riveria Hotel in Las Vegas charges guests an additonal $4.91 just for making a reservation--a fee not disclosed until checkout time. Riveria manager, Geoff Robinson says the fee covers credit-card processing, postage on the letter confirming the reservation, post departure correspondence and archiving and microfilming of records. He declines to say why the charges are not included in the room rate.

In addition, they charge a $3.00 per night energy surcharge ( which is a common practice by many of the Las Vegas hotels--but is usally removed if asked,) but get this--- and a $10.90 charge for canceling a reservation any time after making it.

Example #2
Resort charges. This fee has begun appearing in the past few years, partly to address consumer complaints. People felt they were being "nickled and dimed" to death by charges for towels, gym access and other services and facilites at resort hotels. So now there wrapped up on one fee charged to everyone. The Westin Mission Hills resort charges a $14 per day resort service fee, on top of the room rate, to cover in-room coffee and tea, daily delivery of the newspaper, and a few other things.

Example #3
In California, you might see a "California tourism"fee commonly 10¢ or 15¢ per night. Under a 1977 law, California hotels have agreed to contribute $450.00 per $1 million worth of annual sales to a state fund that promotes tourism. It's up to the hotel whether it wants to absorb the fee or charge it separately.

Example #4
The Comfort Inn in Powell, Tenn, charges a "safe warranty" of $1.00 per night pluys $0.13¢ tax for the room safe. the fee is automatically posted on the room bill (but can be removed if asked.

Of course, such additional charges like these really upset me and would be enough to divert my patronage to another hotel, but I know that it wouldn't bother most of you as you are doing the exact same thing with your excess handling charges your trying to impose on us.