Hotel Workers’ Union Fights “Resort Fee Ripoff,” Launches Website to Help Guests Avoid Unfair Fees at Curator Collection hotels

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08/21/2025 - 05:08 PM

The “Curator Collection Con” website helps guests request refunds

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UNITE HERE, the union for hotel workers and a critic of resort fees in the hospitality industry, is launching a website that shines a light on the prevalence of these unpopular and sneaky fees at hotels that make up the Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. Curator is a so-called “soft brand” of approximately 75 boutique and resort hotels and is majority-owned by real estate investors Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB).

CuratorCollectionCon.org alerts guests booking travel at boutique hotels and resort properties to check if their hotel is part of the Curator Collection. If it is, the hotel is likely “charging you mandatory fees for services you might not want,” like a photoshoot with a hotel-branded item or a 20% discount on a plush hotel mascot; or things you “didn’t think you’d have to pay extra for,” like WiFi, fitness center access, or filtered drinking water taps.

"Resort fees can feel like a con: deceptive and unfair,” concludes the website. Guests at Curator Collection hotels have an average of $40 in resort fees added to their bills each night, according to a UNITE HERE analysis, with fees at some Curator Collection properties reaching $100 nightly or more depending on time of booking.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust launched Curator Hotels and Resorts Collection in 2020 and promises that “[hotel] owners can reduce operating costs and boost their bottom lines.” In February 2025, Pebblebrook CEO Jon Bortz said that Curator has implemented new practices that he called “Pebblebrook’s DOGE.” Curator Collection CEO Jennifer Barnwell has promised hotel owners “no property inspections” and “no brand standards.” Despite the promise of cost cuts and no property inspections or brand standards for hotel owners, Curator Collection membership has decreased by approximately 37 percent since launch. The website asks travelers, “Hotels aren’t choosing the Curator Collection – Why should you?”

The website features the following information and tools for Curator guests:

Examples of different names Curator Collection hotels use to describe their mandatory extra fees, such as “Amenity fee” or “Destination fee”;
A template resort fee refund letter, including state laws protecting consumers from having to buy goods or services they didn’t request, and contact information for the management of each hotel in the Curator Collection;
Customer reviews of Curator hotels.

The union reminds guests that hotels may have discretion to waive your resort fee charge upon complaint or request and encourages guests to visit the website and learn more about their consumer rights.