Quiet Time Surcharges and Other Hospitality Industry Absurdities

Ever been blindsided by a strange charge on your restaurant bill? Imagine finishing a peaceful meal only to discover a 20% "quiet time surcharge" tacked on simply because you dined during off-peak hours. According to one customer's account, a restaurant justified this fee by comparing it to "flying private instead of commercial" – as if enjoying a less crowded dining room somehow warranted an extra cost!

The hospitality industry seems to be finding increasingly creative ways to test customer boundaries. Beyond questionable restaurant charges, disturbing research from Germany suggests our favorite sodas might be doing more than expanding our waistlines – they could be contributing to depression. Scientists have discovered a link between soft drink consumption and increased levels of gut bacteria associated with depressive disorders, with women apparently facing higher risks than men. This adds another concerning dimension to the already well-documented health issues related to sugary beverages.

Perhaps most troubling is the story of a family with a three-year-old child who were allegedly denied their Marriott hotel reservation in Las Vegas because the father didn't have his physical credit card present – despite the chain's heavily marketed digital check-in service. The family claims they were forced to spend the night in their car in the scorching Vegas heat, raising serious questions about corporate policies versus compassionate customer service. When confronted, the hotel management apparently doubled down on their position, prioritizing procedure over a family's wellbeing. What would you do if faced with these situations? Would you pay that unexpected surcharge, or would you stand your ground? These stories highlight the often frustrating disconnect between what businesses advertise and what customers actually experience. Share your thoughts or similar experiences – we'd love to hear how you navigate these hospitality industry challenges!

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 Introduction to hospitality industry stories
• 2:38 Restaurant's "quiet time surcharge" scandal
• 5:55 Soft drinks linked to depression
• 8:25 Marriott denies family without physical card
• 11:36 Question of the day: Would you pay?

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Well, hello and good morning. It's Thursday, welcome one and all. I have three stories for you, and they're all from the hospitality industry. Believe it or not, I am not bringing you major headlines that the regular news is going to talk about, like the shooting yesterday in Texas at the ICE facility the shooting yesterday in Texas at the ICE facility. I was watching or listening to Pat Gray yesterday morning when it happened and I just never really got a full story all day long, although because I stopped listening to the news, I just went on and watched my other shows and did my work at work. Believe it or not, I also wrote a little bit, but yeah, I wasn't paying attention to the news, so I've been trying to ease off of that for a little while.

Speaker 1: 1:08

We are going to talk about, let's see, we've got some drinks that make you depressed, non-alcoholic drinks that make you depressed. We've got some tips that are charges put on your bill at a restaurant that were uncalled for, and then we have a Marriott hotel refusing to accommodate people. All right, and I think some of them are fake. But you know, with the New York Post, I want to ask you something. This is not the question of the day. But do you think the New York Post excluding the Dear Abby because I do believe the Dear Abbeys are fake but do you think that the New York Post would totally make up a story and write something and put it out there? I mean, I mean total fakery. A story and write something and put it out there? I mean I mean total fakery, not embellishment of a story, but just total. Make stuff up and put it out there. Do you think that? Do you think they would do that? All right, that is not the question of the day, although it probably should be. Maybe it will be All right, let's see.

Speaker 1: 2:15

Let's see the first one up. Is this uh, let's see the first one up is this uh, greedy restaurant sneaks. Added charge onto bill for those. Why, for this wild reason, are you kidding me? A customer had some reservations about his bill at a restaurant. One frustrated customer claimed that they were charged a quiet time surcharge on their bill. What does that mean? That means they went to the restaurant when it was not busy, not during peak hours. So in other words, since they got the restaurant to their selves pretty much. I mean, you're open, you're open anyway. I can't help it that your restaurant is not filled at three or four o'clock in the afternoon. You're not going to charge me extra for that. No, sir, you are not. I will not pay it. I will pay what I ordered. I will tip my server. I'm not paying that extra, sir charge. One frustrated customer claimed that they were. I already read that. Sorry, the user shared on Reddit. Of course it's Reddit, so it's probably fake that they decided to check.

Speaker 1: 3:18

Do these reporters, reporters and I put reporters and journalists in quote in air quotes at the New York Post do they? Do they troll Reddit and look for stupid shit to write about? Apparently so, because a lot of their stories come from Reddit, which I think I never have understood. Reddit. I've created so many different accounts over there, tried to follow it and do stuff. I don't understand Reddit at all, but that's probably because I'm old, all right.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Shared on Reddit that they decided to check out a local restaurant for the first time which seemed to be a quiet place to dine. What seemed like a good thing quickly went south At the end of the meal. I checked my bill and there's an extra 20% pre-tip charge labeled quiet time surcharge. Oh, you could name it something else. Name it something else. That way you might get away with it. The diner assumed it was an error and asked the server what it meant. The server apparently looked sheepish before explaining. According to the Reddit post, the server said something along the lines of Management says when it's not busy, you are basically getting the place to yourself. It's kind of like flying private instead of commercial. No, no, no, I had to laugh. But also, are you kidding me? They wrote in their post I'm not chartering a restaurant, I just wanted a dinner. If anything, it's less service work when the place is empty.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Many people in the comments agreed that this greedy situation was ridiculous. It is ridiculous. You are already open for business. It's not like I asked you to open at special time, just for me. No, so let's see, all charges not advertised are illegal and others can be removed. One person wrote I would refuse to pay the bill until it was removed and get a receipt and check the charge online. Oh yeah, oh, wow. So what do y'all think about that little story?

Speaker 1: 5:36

All right, moving on to the next one. All right, non-alcoholic soft drinks. This is kind of a no-brainer right here for me. If you ask me but nobody's asking me I'm just telling you Okay, so does popular. Oh sorry, so much for a sugar high.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Soda's popularity has fizzled over the years as study after study has revealed that its sugar and calories fuel the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental issues, among other health problems. Well, yes, we did know that already and you know, with all of this cdc and the rfkj thing and the new information on vaccines and autism and tylenol, the dye is being removed, the chemicals being removed and everybody getting on glp. Is anybody even exercising? We are getting all kinds of new health information, but is anybody exercising? Because exercising I think I'm not a doctor. I will. I'm not a doctor, but I think exercising helps with mental health issues too. I trust me, I speak from experience.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Okay, now new research out of germany suggests that consuming so keep that in mind, it's a germany study suggests that consuming soft drinks can also increase the odds of developing depression. Researchers say that popping pop raises levels of eager thalia, a type of gut bacteria found to be more abundant in people with depression. Women are at higher risk than men. These findings underscore the role of diet in depression and highlight the gut microbiome as a key mediator. I know, I, I tend I would probably believe this.

Speaker 1: 7:19

Participants self-reported their okay, they, I guess they did a study. 250, 527 people, wait, wait. This team studied 405 people with major depressive orders and 527 people without it. Participants self-reported their mental health symptoms and soda intake. Stool samples were used to analyze their gut bacteria. The study authors hypothesized that soda consumption is linked to depression symptoms and the bacteria.

Speaker 1: 7:49

Okay, well, okay, that's great, you can go finish reading that. It is on the New York Post site and I think it's under the the lifestyle. So if you really want to go read about that it's more involved you can go check that out under lifestyle. All right, last up, this one, I think, has got to be fake. I mean, who does this? Marriott? Apparently vegas hotel ousted family to sleep in their car in scorching heat for a wild reason, they claim. I repeatedly sought help. A marriott left a young family high and dry in sin city, literally.

Speaker 1: 8:28

A dad has claimed that he, his wife and their three-year-old were forced to spend the night sweating in their car after the brand new element and ac hotel, hotel Symphony Park, refused to honor their reservation. All because he didn't have a plastic credit card in hand, the only reason I had misplaced my physical plastic credit card, the only reason I had misplaced my physical plastic credit card. The furious guest revealed to one mile at a time, slamming the chain for standing them up in the Vegas heat. Veiled to one mile at a time slamming the chain for standing them up in the vegas heat.

Speaker 1: 9:04

I have many, many, many questions. Um, why are you taking your three-year-old and wife to vegas? Maybe they were just passing through and they needed a place to stay for the night? That could be. That could also be. I mean sure he's got all his rights and to go, but I just they don't take cash. I guess nobody takes cash anymore. Maybe he didn't have cash, I don't know, but could he have not gone somewhere else? Maybe, I don't know, I would assume he would have cash, but maybe not know. I would assume he would have cash, but maybe not the only reason. Okay, the? Instead of a cool Marriott suite, his toddler curled up in the back seat while mom tried to sleep in the passenger seat. My young child and wife slept in our vehicle on a. Well, you did too, didn't you? I repeatedly sought help through every official channel. The Marriott, okay.

Speaker 1: 9:59

So the kicker the Marriott actually promotes digital check-in as a way to skip the front desk, but when this desperate dad tried it, he alleged the so-called perk turned into a parking lot punishment, according to One Mile at a Time, the general manager eventually sent a message that read more like a script than an apology I do apologize for not being able to check you in without a physical credit card being present at the time of check-in At our property. We do require a matching ID and credit card be run through the chip and pin machine. I do sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. All right. So then he escalated the complaint and corporate allegedly doubled down on the statement to him, with Marriott Brass saying that Vegas Hotel was within its rights to demand a physical credit card and ID, even while admitting they're much hyped digital. I mean, what would you do as a manager at this point? I think I'd give him a room. I'd say come on in, just stay for the night, and then you have to figure something out, especially for that three-year-old. I mean, maybe I'm a softie, I don't know. The story goes on. If you want to finish that, it's over at the New York Post in the lifestyle section. I get most of my strange stories over there from the lifestyle section.

Speaker 1: 11:22

All right, we need to move on to the question of the day. Okay, I think I'm going to stick with that original question. If you had some kind of weird extra charge you remember during covid they did this crap too extra charge on your bill. That's not food related. And you're in a restaurant. I'm not talking about tip. I'm not talking about tip. I'm not talking about a pre-designated tip. Some restaurants do that too for big parties. But if they gave that excuse of quiet time surcharge, would you pay it? I would not. I'd pay my regular bill. Here's what you get. Here's the tip for the server cash. Bye, call the cops. All right, I gotta go. Thanks for listening. Bye.