Question of the Day - 16 June 2007

Back in 2004, there was something of a scandal in the hotel industry, with a number of major chains, including Hilton, Wyndham, and Starwood facing class-action lawsuits alleging that extra fees added to their room charges were unfair, since customers had not been informed of them prior to checking in. Station Casinos here in Las Vegas was also involved and agreed to a settlement of between $2.50 and $3 per guest in coupons for 940,000 former guests who'd stayed there between April 1, 2001 and April 4, 2004 and had been hit with $1-a-day telephone charges (regardless of whether the phone had been used or not) and a $3.50-a-day energy surcharge.

We haven't stayed at a Station property lately, but we can only assume that they're advertising these charges better, because we can confirm that they were still in place at those Station properties we contacted, and in some cases had escalated up to a whopping $19.99! And the Stations aren't alone. As we reported back in the November, 2005 issue of Las Vegas Advisor, there's an unwelcome trend towards hotels tacking on all kinds of surcharges for amenities that you may or may not want or use, plus all kinds of things that you might well assume are included in the price of your room -- parking, coffee, in-room safe, maid service, electricity, air (OK, maybe not air -- yet) -- but turn out not to be. So, whether you're booking via an agent or direct with the property, it's a very good idea to pin them down up front and make sure that you're not going to get hit with a bunch of unexpected extras when you come to check out.

We didn't call every hotel in town -- with nearly 100 major properties, excluding motels, extended-stay joints etc., we'd have had to have made this a "Question of the Week" to justify the time -- but we did call enough to give you a good flavor of the kinds of things you need to be aware of.

• Caesars Palace: Doesn't charge a resort fee, but does require a $200 deposit, which will be returned if you don't watch any movies, order room service, hit the mini-bar etc.
• Bellagio: Again, no resort fee, but does charge $25 a day for use of the spa/fitness center. However, if you order a treatment, that charge will be waived.
• Palace Station: Charges $4.95 per day, which covers the "free" shuttle, fitness center, and local and long-distance calls for the first 30 minutes.
• Stratosphere: $5 per day, which covers 2-for-1 show tickets, Tower passes for all room occupants (usually $9.95 per person, but these ones are valid from 10 am-2 am only), the pool and fitness center, laundry facilities, a funbook, and valet parking.
• Tropicana: It's $5 per day, which covers access to the fitness center, the in-room safe, local phone calls, incoming faxes (phew, all those incoming vacation faxes taken care of!), check cashing and currency exchange services, parking, the pool and Jacuzzi, and information about shows and tours in town (hey, check out www.lasvegasadvisor.com for all that stuff and we don't charge a dime!)
• Sahara: $4 per day, which breaks down into a $3 energy charge and $1 phone charge (just for the privilege of having one).
• Green Valley Ranch: It's $19.99 for twice-daily maid service, shuttle to/from the airport and Strip, 24-hour access to the concierge (so, if you get bored in the night, you can go down and chat to him?), daily paper, and access to the pool and spa (no treatments included).
• Ritz-Carlton: $25 per day, which includes high-speed Internet access, phone calls, transportation to/from the airport, business center, daily newspaper, spa and fitness center, yoga classes, pool, reduced tee fees on the golf course, mountain bikes, board games, volleyball, croquet (are your flamingo and hedgehog included?), beach toys, and a $100 gift certificate for the boutique.
• Orleans: $5 per day for in-room co