Why can't hotels just tell you how much a room is going to be for the night? Why, when you call and make the reservation, can't they just say "that's going to be $121.50 for the night, sir" instead of telling me it's $99.99 for the night and then charging me all kinds of additional fees and taxes? It's not that I'm not cool with the $121.50, I can pay that, it's just that I budgeted for the $99.99 because, you know, that's what I was told it would cost me.

I know that's how all things work, and that I should expect to always pay more than the price tag for everything I do. A comic book isn't $2.95, it's actually $3.16 after taxes in Minneapolis. A #2 at McDonalds isn't $2.99, it's actually $3.20. A "bag" of heroin on the street isn't $20, it's actually, well, it's $20, but that's not my point.

I just want someone to tell me how much something is going to cost. I want to know beforehand, because I'm a paycheck to paycheck kind of guy and I don't have an extra $193.59 just lying around for when I need to check out of my nine day stay in NYC (great placement on the subtle point that I spent nine days, yes, nine days, in NYC). I had $99.99 a night, $139.00 a night on Friday and Saturday, saved away and ready to pay in my checking account. There was another $50 in my savings account (quite possibly the most money that has ever been in my savings account). I was ready to pay $99.99 a night, $139.00 a night on Friday and Saturday.

I even had a budget for my nine days. $60 a day. And I stayed in budget. I still had $60 left when I got up to leave at 5am on Tuesday morning, and I'd already paid for my shuttle to get me to the airport. I just had to get my bill from the hotel desk clerk and be on my way.

At which point I found out that I owed $193.59 more than I thought I did. That's just great.

They even itemized my additional charges for me. My favorite was a $1.50 "Occupancy Fee" that I was charged each day. Apparently, if I had reserved my hotel room for nine days in NYC but not actually stayed in the room I could have saved $13.50. Just something for the savvy traveler to be aware of.