Musician's Union Fee?

I was wondering if anyone is hiring their own musician/DJ and was asked by their hotel resort to pay a $150 musician's union fee for bringing in someone on their own. I person I was going to hire is from Cabos. I just don't understand the whole situation...

There are Union laws that they followed and are very strict. If you hired someone that works with the hotel you will not have to pay the fees. However, if you don't there's no way around it. Otherwise the hotel can get fined. What you can do is ask the hotel for a list of all the musicians that they work with and see if they can hire the one you like so you will not have to pay the fee.

barrie, the westin is ridiculous about musician outside vendors. we've asked for a list of djs, and still have not received it. so if you have any luck please let me know. are they charging you $300/hour for a DJ? If so, it might be cheaper to pay the $150 and find another DJ willing to work with you for less than $300/hour. Because of that whole situation, we still have no DJ and my wedding is in 3 months.

$300/hour for ONE freakin DJ. totally ridiculous, and i refuse to let my FMIL pay that. the westin likes to try and charge double for everything.

Maura, that's insane! That's a complete ripoff the Union Fees are not that high. I wonder if you should speak with a manager and let him know that you're aware other properties are not charging this. They're CRAZY!

Also, I can't understand why they are not providing you with a vendor list.

probably because my wc is a moron? haha

trust me, its being taken care of. my FMIL is going to lay the smack down.

That's funny!

Thanks for the info. Now I have a better understanding and can try to figure this whole thing out!