Tulum, Q.R. — Mexico’s consumer watchdog, Profeco, says they have shut down several Tulum hotels among other businesses due to unjustified high prices. The temporary shut down by way of a suspension includes hotels, restaurants, cafes and grocery stores.
Nearly two dozen Tulum establishments were suspended for a variety of reasons that ranged from excessive unjustified charges, to “encouraging customers to pay tips”. On Friday, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) reported on the suspension of four hotels and several grocery stores in response to the ongoing price complaints.
“In response to complaints of unjustified price increases, Profeco conducted a special monitoring and verification operation in Tulum,” they said. Staff from Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (Profeco) found considerable price differences between hotels in downtown Tulum and in Jaguar Park
Four hotels located within Parque Jaguar have been suspended for various violations of the Federal Consumer Protection Law. Federal inspectors conducted the special monitoring and verification operation in response to complaints from visitors and residents.
The complaints, they said, were regarding the significant increase in the price of basic products and tourist services. In parallel with the actions carried out by the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) and the Government of Quintana Roo, the Attorney General’s Office (FGE) carried out a monitoring and survey of prices with the help of the Who’s Who in Prices (QQP) program through visits to 29 establishments.
Those establishments included five self-service stores, five convenience stores, five pharmacies, five hotels and nine restaurants and cafes. Within Jaguar Park, 22 establishments were visited including hotels, beach clubs and restaurants.
Among the findings it was discovered that the average price of a single hotel room is 3,577.50 pesos. The minimum price of a hotel room inside the park is 1,200.00 and a maximum, 10,569.00. “The Hotel Mi Amor had the highest price in this category,” they reported.
The average price found for a double room was 4,771.94 pesos, with a minimum of 2,200.00 and a maximum of 13,860.00. In this category, the Hotel Diamante K had the highest price.
Prices are significantly high compared to hotels in downtown Tulum, where a single room costs between 600.00 and 1,200.00 pesos and a double room between 700.00 and 1,400.00 pesos, they reported.
The Diamante K, Pocna Tulum, Villa Pescadores and Cabañas Playa Condesa Tulum hotels were placed under suspension due to various violations of the Federal Consumer Protection Law (LFPC).
The federal agency said they were placed under suspension “since they did not display rates, did not have terms and conditions of service provision, induced the payment of tips, or did not have notes or receipts of the lodging service provided.
As for their restaurants, “prices were not offered on the menu, nor were they displayed in foreign currency and the dishes were in a language other than Spanish,” Profeco reported.
Two other Tulum hotels that were on their complaint list were found not operating due to a lack of business.
“The Kore Tulum and Villa Miramar Tulum hotels were found to have no commercial activity at the time of the visit, and the former reported that they had decided to close around June due to low occupancy,” they said.
Profeco also monitored 11 food and beverage places, detecting excessive prices. One overpriced product was guacamole for which tourists can pay up to 280.00 pesos for an order, where normally, an order costs between 160.00 and 226.92 pesos.
“The same thing happened with a simple hamburger for which tourists can be charged more than 400 pesos,” they said.
An order of three tacos (carne asada pastor or bistec) can cost 400.00 pesos, but should cost between 240 and 306 pesos. Other menu items such as quesadillas, were also found to be overpriced.
Grocery stores were also on the federal inspection list to verify what consumers are being charged to shop in Tulum. A total of eight verifications and seven surveillance operations were carried out in order to find variations in prices.
The inspections were carried out at the Super San Francisco de Asís, Nueva Wal-Mart de México S. de RL de CV, Chedraui Tulum, Comercializadora Farmacéutica del Sureste SA de CV, Farmacon SA de CV and Proveedora del Panadero SA de CV (Grocery Store).
Suspensions were issued at the establishments, except for Farmacon, primarily due to the lack of price displays and information regarding warranties and returns.
Monitoring visits were also conducted at restaurants Burrito Amor, Batey Mojito and Guarapo Bar, Encanto, Wang Tulum, Restaurante Estrada, Sabor de Mar and Negro Huitlacoxe.
In all cases, they were advised to make the necessary adjustments to comply with the Federal Consumer Protection Law (LFPC), as it was found that in some instances, they were encouraging customers to pay tips or were not displaying prices for some of the products they sold.
Prices were also monitored in seven convenience stores that included OXXO, GO MART and 7 Eleven where data was obtained using the Who’s Who in Prices tool for 11 products sold in the three chains.
For most of the products surveyed at 7 Eleven and OXXO, it was found that prices in Tulum are higher than the national average price, and that of the three chains monitored, prices at GO MART are higher than at the other two.
