How to Present What Is Included in Your Fee

Because I travel two days per week in my line of work, I stay in many hotels, ranging from budget rooms in the middle of nowhere to five-star properties at world-class locations. At the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, one thing that has always mildly annoyed me about the “luxury” properties is the inverse relationship between price and value. To cite but one example, my personal pet peeve is what I typically have to go through each day to get my morning cup of coffee at these high-end hotels. At the mid-range properties that I stay in, a complimentary coffee maker is included in the price of the room, but in the luxury properties, that is too much to ask for. I must therefore start my day with a trip down the elevator, five-dollar-bill in hand, as the only coffee option is extra, and it is the Starbucks conveniently located in the lobby.

I had an experience recently that will further illustrate the point.

I was the guest speaker for an orthodontic study club at one of these luxury locations; in my room, there was a placard on the dresser notifying me of a mandatory “Daily Resort Fee” of $18, with a list of what was included. Since the fee was non-negotiable, I took a moment to review what I was receiving for my $18 investment. Here is what I found:

“In room wireless internet”. Painfully slow was free; but there was good news too: you could pay extra to increase the speed to something usable.

“Free admission to hotel nightclub”. I tried to remember the last time I stayed in a hotel in which nightclub admission carried a cover charge. I drew a blank.

“Admission to Paradise Springs”. This turned out to mean “admission to swimming pool”.

“Free local calls.” A great value, just in case you left your cell phone at home.

“2 bottles of water”. Enough said.

The reason that “what’s included” is the subject of today’s post is not to gripe about hotel fees, but to address how you present yours. Since most of you, like this hotel, also charge an all-inclusive fee for services, you should consider how the presentation of what is included  affects the buying decisions of your prospective patients.

The issue to consider here is that of the absentee parent. In many of your consults, the person visiting your practice will be taking your fee sheet home to a non-attending spouse. That person will not look at your fee with a sigh of relief. If you do not list what they are getting for that investment, you are shooting yourself in the foot by omitting a summary of value, thereby making the decision exclusively about the money. Think about it.