ATLANTA According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, energy surcharges are starting to show up in Atlanta as a result of rising energy costs nationwide. At Jameson Inns where energy costs have risen 50% in the last six months, according to the paper executives recently imposed at $2 per night surcharge at all of the company s 107 hotels. Bass Hotels & Resorts two properties in the Atlanta area the Crowne Plaza Atlanta-Airport and the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Marietta have added a varying surcharge, with an average of about $3 per night.
According to the newspaper, wholesale natural gas prices nearly doubled this winter from last year, sending heating costs soaring as Georgia and much of the country suffered through an unusually cold winter. The Georgia Public Service Commission is scheduled to rule this month on Georgia Power Co. s request for a 2.1% increase in consumer bills to pay for increased costs of natural gas and other fuels.
As previously reported by HOTEL BUSINESS., California hotels were among the first to use the surcharges, after the state was hit with soaring costs and rolling blackouts. Now such surcharges are popping up in other states, and industry experts don t expect to see an end anytime soon. (5/9/01)
SOURCE:The Atlanta-Journal Constitution