July 06–Following months of complaints and an investigation by the N.C. Attorney General’s Office, the Ritz-Carlton in uptown reached an agreement July 1 to refund guests who paid a 15 percent service charge in the hotel’s lounge during the February CIAA basketball tournament.

The Office of Attorney General Roy Cooper announced the agreement Monday, which included the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Though the hotel company denies acting unlawfully, it agrees to:

–Pay a refund to customers who paid the service charge.

–Notify customers of special service charges in the menu and have servers remind customers in the future.

–Donate $75,000 to the CIAA Scholarship Fund.

–Pay the N.C. Department of Justice $5,000 for consumer protection efforts.

“Being upfront with consumers about fees is always the best way to do business,” Cooper said in the statement.

Heidi Nowak, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, said in a statement Monday the CIAA service charge was added in response to the popularity of the event.

“Information about the service charge was displayed on the Lobby Lounge menus, signs at each bar, and on customer checks,” she said. “We pride ourselves on providing outstanding service to all our guests.”

The Ritz-Carlton drew ire after Patrice Wright, an educator from Mint Hill, told media that she paid a $10.20 surcharge on her bill after eating in the hotel’s lobby. The attorney general’s office launched an investigation as more patrons said they paid the unprecedented gratuity, which the hotel distributed in full to its servers.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is the oldest African-American athletic conference in the nation and has hosted its tournament in Charlotte since 2006. The CIAA plans to move the tournament’s headquarters from Hampton, Va., to Charlotte this year.

Last month, the attorney general’s office said it would file a complaint in court against the Ritz — the first time the state agency has sought legal action against a North Carolina hotel for such a charge — after the hotel failed to address issues and concerns. In a draft of a complaint, the agency claimed the hotel violated state law by failing to inform customers of the service charge.

The Ritz countered that hotel representatives met with the attorney general’s office several times and responded to all information requests. The hotel also said it was optimistic a resolution could be reached.

On Monday, Wright said she was “delighted” with the situation’s outcome, especially the hotel’s decision to fund a CIAA scholarship — an idea she pushed several times during interviews with national media.

“I’ve always said give that money that was collected for the CIAA surcharge…make sure that students are able to stay in school,” she said. “I wanted (the hotel) to be accountable.”

She does have a suggestion for the Ritz-Carlton: “Employ a very, very good diversity manager so they can talk over decisions like this with someone who can be the devil’s advocate,” she said.

She added: “This could’ve been avoided had they just said, ‘maybe that’s not the right thing to do.'”

Fowler: 704-358-5294