Tourist fees charged in Niagara Falls are voluntary, but they won’t tell you

The much improved view on our second night.

We spent a few days in Niagara Falls (Canadian side) last week and had a lot of fun. There was, however, this strange “tax” that we kept seeing on many of our bills. Not being one to just shrug and pay it, I decided to look it up. The first hit I got from Google was this 2012 CBC article about tourism fees being collected with little oversight. The part that intrigued me most, though, was the bit that noted it was a voluntary fee.

Wait. It’s voluntary?

No one bothered to mention that. And that’s why I grew annoyed. Who doesn’t dislike hidden fees? Or cash grabs? Of course it could be argued parts of Niagara Falls are little more than cash grabs (Clifton Hill anyone?) but those are known tourist traps and you choose to either partake or not. Did we over pay for indoor glow-in-the-dark mini putt? Yes. Did we know that beforehand? Yes. But we chose to go ahead and do it. It’s this extra fee masquerading as a mandatory tax that’s unacceptable. An additional 3-3.8 per cent might not seem like much, but it does add up. Plus it’s the principle. This is the whole opt in vs. opt out, but without letting the consumer know they can opt out in the first place.

I wondered if perhaps things had changed since that article was published, but looking around online it seemed not to be the case. So I tested this when we arrived back at the hotel. I spoke with someone at the front desk about the fee and asked to have it removed. They said they would remove it for that night. I told them I wanted it removed for my entire stay. I was informed I’d have to get a manager to do that in the morning (we hopped around rooms due to an issue with the view of the falls on the first night, so they were considered separate bookings although it was all one booking).

Before speaking with the assistant general manager the next morning, I decided to run another test. I went to a chain coffee shop that had earlier charged me a 3.8 per cent TIFF and, after giving them my order, promptly told them I didn’t want to pay the tourism fee. No problem, the barista said, and with the punch of a few buttons on the till that extra fee was removed from my total. It was that easy! I really wish I had known it was voluntary the first day we were there.

Back at the hotel the assistant GM reversed the TIFF charge and the HST charged on that TIFF charge (yes, they charged tax on it). I asked her about the fee, which she informed me stands for Tourism Infrastructure Funding Fee, but she insisted it was really a resort fee, gave me some story about the website being updated 2 months ago, and then played the “sympathize with the consumer” card and noted she had to pay a similar fee in the Bahamas. We chatted some more but nothing really seemed to add up and I didn’t really get a clear answer as to why they are charging a voluntary fee without being up front about it being a voluntary fee, so I was given the name and number to the GM.

The “tourism infrastructure funding fee” added to one night at the hotel – we had it reversed because it’s voluntary, but they don’t tell you that.

I called the GM when I returned home. Frankly, I didn’t get much of an answer from her either. The gist of the conversation was this: It’s a resort fee, it’s to pay for free WiFi (then it’s not free, is it?), it’s meant to pay for other amenities (there’s a $20/day fee for parking on top of all this), the name comes from what other hotels in the area use, they’ll probably change the name (a rose by any other name is still a rose), and yes it’s voluntary and they will take it off if asked to do so. She asked how we booked the room, noting they are up front on their website and if you call. I noted we used the hotel’s website and there was absolutely nothing on it regarding this TIFF. She told me she’d follow up with corporate, but assured me that had we called the hotel they would have told me all about the fee over the phone.

So if I call directly they’ll be more forthright? Well that’s something that is easy to test. About an hour or so after talking with the GM, I called the hotel directly to book a room. They gave me the room rate, and when I asked, they gave me the total. I asked if that included all taxes AND fees. I was put on hold. After a few minutes I was informed there’s a $20 charge plus tax for parking each day. So I repeated the information I was given and asked if the taxes were the 13 per cent HST. Yes I was told, then a pause, and then she mentioned there is also a 3 per cent TIFF. I asked what that is. “Just a tax,” she said. I asked about this tax and she told me it was mandatory.

So much for being up front when you call directly. And is it a tax, a tourism fee or a resort fee? They don’t even seem to be sure what they’re charging us. I had to prompt the person on the phone over and over to get the information regarding the fee. Plus I was told it was mandatory, which, according to the GM, it is not.

The point is we don’t have to pay these fees as they are voluntary, but no one tells us that, which really puts a sour note on an otherwise fun vacation spot. I would recommend Niagara Falls as a place to go if you’re looking for a bit of fun or just want to get away for a few days. But it’s worth asking each and every time that the tourism fee or destination fee be removed from the bill, otherwise the prices are inflated that much more. That we even have to ask each time is ridiculous, but such is how the system is currently set up there.

I’ll also point out that not all businesses are charging this fee. I collected some of our receipts and took a look and found that there are still some honest folks around.  Unfortunately, those who charged some sort of destination or tourism fee outnumbered those that did not. All the restaurants we went to charged the fee. So if you’re visiting Niagara Falls, be aware this fee is voluntary and you can get it removed, but you have to ask.

Related to this, the Globe & Mail had a piece on surprise hotel fees.