In many hotels you may be charged after the second ring of your call, regardless whether or not you actually made a connection. After you hang up the software multiplies the length of time you were on the phone with the charges from the price table and a charge is send to your bill. The hotel contracts with a long distance provider or possibly a reseller for long distance services, often at large discounts because of the volume of calls involved, and marks up the call. As mentioned above, there are many justifications the hotel can cite, including equipment costs, leasing charges, payroll and more. Many hotels look at the telephone department as a profit center, but I personally disagree.
Hotels are in the business of providing lodging and looking after their customers.
They should charge a fair price for a high quality product without hidden costs. The public will respond with loyalty and will be willing to pay a premium room rate. Send me a note with their responses and I will publish them in a future issue of the newsletter.