The "resort fee" ripoff escalates..

I have no doubt you will find yourself mostly off strip after your move. We spend most of our time off strip. Harrahs at Laughlin does waive resort fees for Platinum (unlike Vegas). I agree there are a ton of options though.

I rarely visit the strip to gamble. When I move here in May, I expect to go less. I am joining a group that gives free show tickets each night so I'll be there for those, but I learned long ago that for BJ and VP, you have better choices elsewhere.

It's always good to have choices.

Choice is good!

It's their JOB to be greedy bastards...or ahem...to maximize return on stockholder equity. Sometime they try to do it by raising prices, sometimes by lowering prices, sometimes by offering great gambling promos and comps, and sometimes by tightening pay tables. It's a judgement call, and it's always their call, isn't it?

But there's a world of difference between fully disclosed parking fees and resort fees, because bait-and-switch click-three-times-before-their-disclosed hard-to-read-typeface resort fees are deceptive. Fortunately, we have a United States Senator working on a legal solution. Me, I'm working on a tech solution.

I have not looked into it very closely but I am led to believe that the root cause of resort fees are the on-line booking sites'. "Charge" a very low room rate to get to the top of the search list on the booking site then get your "true" room rate with a resort fee after the booking.
Should not the blame be shifted to the booking sites? If the booking sites had listed the true, end price of the room in their search by price would these resort fees have ever reared their ugly heads? I am told that some sites are now listing the resort fees in their search criteria. Will this render the fees unneeded, or is it too late?

The Travel Technology Association which represents the major online travel agencies (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc.) is opposed to mandatory resort fees.

The reason these online travel agencies don't disclose resort fees up front? Because it would put them at a competitive disadvantage re those that don't disclose.

Absolutely not. Third party booking sites get the short end of the stick. They only receive commission over the room price without the resort fee. So basically all the Vegas resorts that charge a resort fee cheat those booking sites by paying them a lower commission than they should.

I don't stay or gamble at MGM or CET properties. but they don't care about little ole me. it would take a full scale, massive revolt to get their attention and then they might change their ways. and I am all for that, but it is easier said than done. so many of the strip tourists are uninformed and / or first time visitors and that would not be a priority for them. $30 PER NIGHT for a resort fee is effing outrageous to me, and I do vote with my feet / dollars. clearly, I have been outnumbered by other "voters" who are willing to pay the sky high fees.