Hotel resort fees exceed $30/day in destinations like Las Vegas. (Image: Jim Glab)
A few years ago, the Transportation Department ordered a big change in airline pricing: It said that fare quotes must include all the mandatory taxes and fees that airlines had previously shown separately, usually in tiny type at the bottom of an ad.
Shouldn’t the same principle apply to hotel rates? The Federal Trade Commission apparently doesn’t think so.
One of the most contentious areas of hotel pricing in recent years has been the spread of “resort fees” — a mandatory charge for the availability of various hotel amenities and services (like fitness rooms, swimming pools, daily newspapers, etc.) that all guests have to pay, whether they use those things or not. The fees can amount to a significant percentage of the room rate. For example, in Las Vegas, resort fees now regularly exceed $30 per day.
A consumer group called Travelers United recently asked the FTC to require that hotels roll those charges into their room rates, since not paying them is not an option (as it is with airline checked bag fees, for example). But the FTC turned down the request.
Apparently the agency thought it took sufficient action back in 2012, when it warned the hotel industry that customers had to be notified up front — before booking — about any mandatory resort fees. but it stopped short of requiring hotels to roll those charges into their rates.
Meanwhile, apparently concerned that the resort fee is getting a bad name, some hotels are starting to call it something else. Variations include the “amenity fee” and the “service fee.” Why don’t hotels just include it in their room rate? Because showing a lower room rate is key to winning bookings through Internet search engines.
Readers: What’s the largest resort fee you’ve ever paid? Did you know about it before you booked the room?
NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: San Francisco hotels NOT most expensive + Are you a passenger with priority? Read this + Planespotting 101: Airbus + Delta adds more widebodies + More!
Do you need travel insurance? Probably! Start your search for the right plan at InsureMyTrip.com!
Stef Stefan says
November 25, 2015 at 3:05 pmI visited Las Vegas many times, and Im from the Netherlands let me tell you this, try to avoid all the hotels with resort fees this is a big rip off, If i go to Vegas then I don’t want to read a newspaper or go to the gym or get on the internet ………this is the biggest bullshit ever and I hate it, thats why we have decided not to go anymore to Las Vegas, The price that you pa online might be cheap, but if you check in you will get a surprise by paying more money, well this is not gonna happen again because I have had it with Vegas the Scam City, Everything is expensive its not the same anymore as it use to be, you pay for everything way to much, so its not fun anymore to go there
I always booked my hotels on I4vegas and they list all the resort fees but it seems that the habe followed eachother because now almost each hotel charges this bullshit fees, well I wish everyone goodluck, We are done with Vegas
insi10 says
July 12, 2015 at 4:29 pmI used to stay at Harvey’s in South Lake Tahoe when I snowboarded there. Even with the ripoff WIFI fee, the deal was good. Then, Harvey’s started charging a resort fee. Hasta la vista, Harvey.
Dan Leifker says
July 7, 2015 at 6:41 pmResort fees are why I don’t use Priceline or similar services. If I recall correctly, there was a lawsuit against Priceline a few years ago after people got winning bids and then discovered a secret resort fee tacked on by the hotel that was neither fully disclosed nor bundled into the winning bid. I think the courts ruled in Priceline’s favor because in the fine print Priceline did say that resort fees could be added by some hotels. I wonder whether this has changed.
I wish Congress would pass a law that requires hotels to quote prices that total up all required charges that customers cannot opt out of, including resort fees and all taxes. I remember my shock the first time I stayed at a Houston hotel and saw the outrageous city tax, which was more than 15%.
SheriffBart says
July 7, 2015 at 10:15 amIf you travel to Vegas often, almost all the places state somewhere that there is a resort fee charge. Frequent visitors just know it’s there. Those that come for the first time can get a shock, but most don’t read the fine print.
Again, you have to look at the total cost. I stayed ten days at the Sunset Station in Henderson, and averaged $66/night including all taxes and resort fees. Not bad.
Joph Philip Sousa IV says
July 7, 2015 at 6:49 amAs an Ambassadore Platnium member of Starwood, I get most of the items included in trhe ‘resort fee’ free, but nonetheless have to pay this highly irritating fee…even if using points….so much for a free night….Shame on all these hotels!!!!
cmcguinness says
July 6, 2015 at 10:15 pmClearly, there’s no benefit for resort fees to the visitor. I have yet to hear a resort fee and think, “Oh, it’s wonderful they’ve broken it out for me.”
The resort fee is not an optional service the guest can decline. It’s not identifying a charge the hotel has no control over (e.g., taxes). And for the most part, it’s goes to pay for nothing I care about. Free Wifi? Pfft, it’s so slow that my LTE hotspot is faster — and more secure. Swimming pool? Exercise room? They’re all free at the Hampton Inn without extra fees, so, how much does this cost a hotel? Sadly, I don’t usually have time to use them after arriving at 11pm from my late flight and before I run out the door at 7:30am. So, um, no. Free bottles of water in the room? For $20+ a night? Really?
Of course the one amenity I frequently use, parking, is usually not covered by the resort fee…
As far as I can tell, the resort fee is just a shady attempt to recapture the revenue stream from overpriced phone calls and wifi service of years ago that we no longer are forced to use.
Salvatore Johnson says
July 6, 2015 at 7:34 pmIt’s a “bargin” because they are screwing you with that resort fee. I would never go to a place that I have to pay those added fees. Also I wonder what the rules are, do they have to tell you about the fee when you book or can they surprise you on that fee? I would say that if they spring it on you, there is a reason for a lawsuit for mis representing a price on something.
cahdot says
July 6, 2015 at 6:01 pmthese resort fees are horrid..$30 or more per day to use the beach or use the gym…nuts wish we could do something about it,,, it sucks we are members of a beach clu and pay 1/4 dues but when we stay there we have to pay resort fee to use the baech double dipping
kas63032@hotmail.com says
July 6, 2015 at 5:54 pmA similar practice was done by automobile dealers after WW2. Services like gasoline fill-up, car wash, etc. were included in the cost of a vehicle and consumers paid. Congress stepped in and mandated a M.S.R.P. for each new car or truck. Yes, I do realize some dealerships are owned and ran by weasels.
SheriffBart says
July 6, 2015 at 10:46 amI hate resort fees also. But as a casual traveler, we find Las Vegas hotels to be the biggest bargain of any hotels in the country. I always factor the resort fees in my total cost of travel.
The biggest drawback to staying in Vegas is the slot machines. If you factor that, your stay will be expensive!
John R. Grout says
July 6, 2015 at 10:32 amIt is impossible to hide a resort fee from consumers who use search engines: someone will bust them. “Energy fees” are my least favorite sort of resort fee because most of the businesses I have encountered who charge them hide them at booking and only reveal them when it is too late to secure alternative lodging.
masimons says
July 6, 2015 at 10:16 amI’ve also walked away from hotels that didn’t disclose their resort fees before booking. Nowadays all major sites show them. What to do if they don’t match is up to you.