Top 10 Meeting Industry News Stories of 2012

5. Hotel Fees Skyrocket

Just as airline fees have had the industry up in arms, hotel fees took center stage when it was predicted they would hit a record $1.95 billion this year. This prompted a letter from three consumer advocates, including Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition, to the Federal Trade Commission, asking for an investigation of a practice known as "drip-pricing," a technique in which companies (hotels) advertise only part of a product's price and reveal other charges later as the customer goes through the buying process. (It also prompted a hilarious "Saturday Night Live" skit of a front desk clerk rattling off a litany of ridiculous fees to a guest checking out.)