I was asked to pay £50 if I chose to land near the Manoir aux Quat' saisons this summer. Apparently there have been problems with the restaurant's own landing site so helicopters are using an adjacent farmer's field.
If we had done this we would then have needed a taxi to the hotel (the £50 naturally did not include a lift!, fire cover, ATC or security).
Maybe I expect too much but I chose to be driven instead rather than to fly to the Manoir. There is definitely a sentiment that those of us who can afford to fly can also afford to be stung in the wallet for using a small area of otherwise unused grass for a few minutes.
Private landowners have the perogative to charge whatever they feel represents a reasonable fee for landing. I also accept that hotel managers need to balance the noise pollution against increased kudos that helicopters movements bring.
We are also free to choose not to use unlicensed sites who charge and I try to make this a rule as often as I can. It is nothing less that a matter of principle for me.
SB