In 2025, multiple hotel brands have landed in hot water over something to do with the basic liquid that we all need for survival.

At the end of October, MGM Resorts International President and CEO William Hornbuckle apologized for the sticker shock that many of the hotel giant’s customers experienced when a photo of a $26 hotel bill for an Eska bottle of water at the Aria resort in Las Vegas went viral on the internet.

A month earlier, the National Park Service had shuttered all lodges and overnight accommodations in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for the year after a series of breaks in the 12.5-mile-long Transcanyon Waterline carrying water into the area.

Sign at Marriott property goes viral

The latest water-related scandal concerns the Fairfield by Marriott branch of the hotel giant. On Dec. 27, LinkedIn user Curtis Crimmins posted a photo of a lobby sign informing guests that complimentary water is not among the benefits offered by the chain.

“At Fairfield Inn & Suites, we follow Marriott’s brand standards which do not include complimentary bottled water as part of the Fairfield member benefit,” the sign reads. “We understand that other properties may offer it but it is not part of the Fairfield standard.”

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Founded in 1987, the Fairfield brand is a midscale franchise of the Marriott chain. As of December 2025, there were over 950 Fairfield properties in the U.S. and around the world.

Crimmins did not specify the property where he spotted the sign, but the decorative Christmas stockings behind the reception table offer a clue that the photo was snapped recently.

The sign goes on to state that those with Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador status with Marriott will be given a market item that one can choose to make a bottle of water.

This drew immediate mockery from hotel industry insiders on LinkedIn (poster Curtis Crimmins identifies himself as a former Fairfield GM), for what they see as penny-pinching that makes a bad impression on guests.

Curtis Crimmins captured this post at a Fairfield by Marriott property.

LinkedIn

“It really makes you wonder what level of financial strain they’re under”

“Quite a way to kick off a stay,” Phoenix-based hotel Erick Molinero wrote underneath Crimmins’ post. “It really makes you wonder what level of financial strain they’re under or believe they’re under if offering a bottle or two of water, costing mere cents, is considered untenable and warrants such firm language and decisive action.”

Others speculated whether the decision came down to maintaining a uniform standard across the different franchise locations, given the brand’s lower price range and what each individual property will expect to provide.

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“The product can be one of the best stays in network for guests because they check in with lower expectations, making it easier to surprise and delight,” Crimmins wrote in the post. “Or you could do this.”

Fairfield and Marriott could not be immediately reached for comment on the sign. Year to date, Marriott stock has been up nearly 15% at $315.58 despite multiple guest complains about increasing prices.

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