QUESTION: We plan to visit Dubai in December, but our agent tells us that the hotels we selected all have compulsory charges for a Christmas Eve dinner of 40-75 US dollars per person. As we specifically chose a Muslim country for our holiday to avoid the commercialism of Christmas, we find this unbelievable. Can we refuse to pay? - Molly Rae
ANSWER: You cannot refuse to pay if it is a booking condition for this period and you are notified in advance. What you can do is find a hotel that does not levy the charge. Compulsory charges for Christmas dinners and New Year's Eve banquets are becoming common around the globe. Hotel managements see this as a way of generating additional income over a high-demand period and guests are force to pay up, whether they attend the functions or not. Smaller hotels or budget chains (like Holiday Inn Express) do not always levy this charge, so you could ask your agent to locate a hotel in your chosen location and price bracket that does not have this compulsory add-on. A hotel in Dubai which has made the charge optional this year is the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites.
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