Question of the Day - 10 September 2009

With approximately 350 hotels, motels, and inns in Las Vegas, we trust you will forgive us for not answering this question comprehensively – that's a lot of phone calls. We can give you some general information and advice, however. Plus, we did make a whole bunch of calls, because that's how we roll. Just not all 350 of 'em.

"Resort fees" first reared their ugly heads in Las Vegas almost a decade ago, when guests of Station Casinos properties found themselves hit with daily charges for phone calls, whether or not any had been made, and an energy surcharge. Stations were subsequently involved in a class-action lawsuit, along with the Hilton, Wyndham, and Starwood chains, and were forced to send compensatory coupons to 940,000 former guests who'd stayed at Station properties between April 1, 2001 and April 4, 2004.

What got those hotels into hot water wasn't the fees themselves, but rather the fact that guests had not been forewarned of the charges prior to check-in. Hence, unfortunately, the fees themselves remain and in many instances have only continued to climb – Green Valley Ranch now whacks on an additional $24.99/day, for example, which they're now obliged to declare on their website (it's in pretty small print).

As to what these "resort fees" cover, it varies from property to property. At Bellagio there's a $25/day charge for use of the spa and fitness center (the fee's waived if you order a spa treatment), while the $3/day fee at the Gold Coast covers access to the fitness center, shuttle service, in-room coffee, and toll-free calls. Hard Rock's $7/day fee includes in-room safe, parking, minibar (but not its contents), bath products, and a plasma TV.

That something as standard issue as the the TV or safe in your room is considered an "extra" may seem baffling (we haven't yet come across anyone charging a surcharge for the bed or the toilet, but it's probably only a matter of time), the twice-daily maid service (is that really necessary?) and up to 10 pages of photocopies or faxes at Green Valley Ranch (and the Fiestas) seems downright gratuitous. Charging guests for parking seems pretty inhospitable, too, as does a fee for a daily newspaper that you didn't ask for and can pick up for face value in the gift store, should you want one.

We just called Planet Hollywood and were told that their $4.99/night fee covers two bottles of water, a coupon book for the Miracle Mile Shops, and "free" local phone calls. Irony duly noted. The additional $15/night charge at the Mirage gets you two passes to the "Secret Garden" attraction, access to the fitness center, a daily paper, unlimited local and toll-free calls, two bottles of water per day, bath robes in the rooms, and notary services in the business center. How useful.

We can speak only for ourselves when we say that these "stealth" fees seem akin to the airlines' move to charge passengers for what were previously considered basic integral in-flight amenities, starting with booze and baggage and then upping the ante to include things like meals and even pillows and blankets. In the case of the airlines, however, there is a case to be made for doing whatever it takes to keep escalating fares down and at least you have the option of bringing your own snack, and perhaps even a blanket, although you run the risk of being charged for the privilege of bringing the latter on board, of course.

For hotels to presume to charge guests for amenities that they have no intention of availing themselves of, but cannot avoid, seems a very counter-productive measure that can only generate ill-will. If a property can't afford to provide bottled water or a newspaper for the rate they're offering, then either don't provide these things or else tack a couple extra dollars onto the nightly rate and pretend that they're complimentary. To charge for "free" phone calls is not a good approach psychologically, in our humble opinion.

OK, back to the facts. As stated out the outset, it would be just too time-consuming for us to research every single policy in town, especially as these vary even between properties within the same group, but here are a few pointers:

• Harrah's properties do not charge resort fees but you will be required to put down a refundable deposit against incidentals when your book you room. The same applies to Venetian and Palazzo.
• Wynn and Encore don't charge any resort fee and don't require a deposit but do charge your first night's stay to your card when you book. This is non-refundable if you cancel less than 48 hours before checking in.
• Station Casinos properties all charge fees, so check before you book a room at any Station or Fiesta. The details should be available on each property's website (often in pretty small print), or call the toll-free number to find out (you can find them all in our hotel listings.
• MGM Mirage: Some properties in the group charge a fee, including Luxor, Excalibur, the Mirage, and Signature at MGM Grand, while others, including MGM Grand itself and Mandalay Bay, don't. Interestingly, Luxor recently did some market research among followers of their Twitter, canvassing us for our thoughts on resort fees, which were apparently passed on to casino marketing. Properties within this group are actually obliged to compete with each other and the Luxor's pretty proactive about finding ways to out-market its sister properties, so it will be interesting to see if this hotel decides to drop its resort fees to try to lure guests from its rivals. We can't believe too many people responded that they simply adore resort fees and would like to see more of them, especially if they could be even higher, so perhaps there's a change brewing ... Time will tell.
• Boyd properties downtown don't charge resort fees but Coast Casinos hotels (now owned by Boyd) do, and the nightly charge varies from property to property.

That's a taster covering the main casino groups and big players, just to give you an idea. Our best advice is to always check the website and/or call reservations before you book a room or accept a comped invitation, so you don't get hit with a nasty surprise at checkout.

While Treasure Island did not charge a resort fee when this QoD was penned, they since introduced one on Oct. 1, 2009. It's $20/night, which is up there with the higher fees in town, but we'll grant that you do get more bang for your twenty bucks here. Still, as usual, it's unavoidable and you might now want these perks, which include: a daily newspaper; full Internet access; free local and long-distance calls; access twice daily for two people to the fitness center; fax/copier/notary/printing services in the business center; two tickets and line passes to Christian Audigier nightclub, and a private viewing area for the Sirens of TI show. 09/10/2009 Reader feedback: "The new M Resort recently dropped its daily resort fee of about $25. Of course, they increased their room rates by about $25 at the same time, but still, that's much better than being smacked with an extra fee at check-in. Kudos to M Resort for simply being up-front about their rate and not hiding it behind a resort fee." [Ed: Yes, you're correct on both counts and we tend to agree with you.] "Boyd does charge: 'An additional $4.50 hotel services fee will be applied daily.' (Cut from Sam's Town Web site) What services? I got stuck with the fee on a comped room and will never stay at Sam's Town again." [Ed: Hmm. They told us no, but we'll investigate further. Sounds like a similarly confusing scenario to MGM Mirage, where some in a group do and some don't.]