Romanian Seaside Hotels Forced To Lower, Even Negotiate Fees

Usually, the fee paid at a hotel’s front desk is the highest, but tourists who use a tour agency or make a reservation online pay less. Tour agencies bought rooms in hotels on the coast at a certain price last fall and were unable to renegotiate it later. Raducan explained that the effects of the economic crisis were not as severe then, but as the crisis deepened, hotel operators started lowering their prices.

Raducan considers this unfair competition, because the contracts between hotels and tour agencies stipulate that hotels are not allowed, in theory, to lower their fees below the price of a room bought through an agency. He said that hotel operators even negotiate with tourists right at the front desk.