Question of the Day - 22 August 2020

Which is the greater crime, the CNF fee or $8 for a Bud Light?

There are also several places that are charging a Covid fee, but they’ve been very open about it with disclaimers right on the receipt saying exactly what it’s for and that it is completely optional.

Whether or not those go away after maximum occupancy levels change remains to be seen.

One of the many reasons that I rarely travel to Las Vegas any more!

$8.00 for a nasty azz bud light?  Really?  That for sure is the greater crime, then add insult to injury by tacking on a 2.35 cnf fee?  This is why we have not been to the strip in years.

If anything good can come out of the Covid stuff, maybe it would be to eliminate some of the nickel and diming that is happening and bring back some value to Vegas.

We were there in June and Cabo was open despite Planet Hollywood being closed. We asked about the CNF and the waiter said there was nothing he could do about it. Is this fee being implemented by the restaurants to offset the cost of leasing space in the hotel?

The sales tax rate there is 8.25% but googling LV sales tax it says 8.375%.  In my suburb of Chicago it's 10.25% But wait! A few years ago it added a 2% food and beverage tax so if you go to a restaurant or bar or fast food place the sales tax is 12.25%, which is pretty obscene.  However there wasn't much of a stir when they announced it, so we still have it. I haven't been to a restaurant since late February and have done little ordering out since then. I believe some places are adding a Covid-19 compliance fee but truthfully that doesn't bother me as long as it helps them comply since they've been hurt so much this year already. The 2% bothers me more but we pay it and move on with our lives. I don't drink beer and that seems rather steep but I'm sure you can find that price here too depending on where you buy it. 

Or someone actually voluntarily drinking a Bud Light when beer is almost certainly available!

I concur with the head-shaking about an $8 beer (Bud, no less). That's usually my complaint about the cost of food on the Strip, too. And I guess itemizing the "cnf" charge is better than hiding it somewhere. It probably should be mentioned on the menu, then you could more easily choose to patronize them or not.

Sahara has a concert scheduled in October?   I thought they were closing in September?   Is that not happening now?

Just one more nail in the coffin.

The CNF was being charged long before the covid crisis, I saw it back in 2016 and VitalVegas reported about in 2014 when it first appeared. It's at several restaurants and bars on the Strip. According to the LA Times many places will remove the charge if you ask your server or the manager, some servers believe it's mandatory, it isn't. The CNF is usually about 3 to 5 percent. It's just another form of a resort fee taking advantage of naive tourists that visit the Strip. I don't know of any off-strip places with a CNF, that wouldn't go over very well with their local customers. It's in the same family of gouging as hotel resort fees and all the extra rental car fees that get added. It has nothing to do with extra costs because of covid, if that was true you'd see it at places everywhere. It's just a way to make more profit from unsuspecting visitors to the Strip area. The idea seems to be that since people willingly play 6-5 blackjack, they won't have a problem with the CNF.

Some of you are confusing the Covid fee and CNF fee. 

Personally, I don’t mind the Covid fee, particularly since it’s got full disclosure and is optional. 

I refuse to pay CNF fees if not listed on the menu. And when they are listed, I eat elsewhere. Just raise the damn price instead!

Note: here’s a VitalVegas article about the Covid fee...

https://vitalvegas.com/joes-steakhouse-at-forum-shops-institutes-optional-covid-19-crisis-fee/

Dave got me to thinking about CNF.  I wonder if there is a tax incentive or loophole to collecting CNF instead of "just raising the prices?"  Is CNF non-taxable?

Well at least the CNF was not subject to the tax.

when restaurants, bars and servers make like this is a required fee what I have done is say:  ok, and tell them i am deducting the fee from the tip

I think the loophole Alan was talking about was corporate income tax. No luck there. Although it would be a different line item on financial reports, and may affect rent and/or franchise fees, it still hits the bottom line the same way as far as Uncle Sam cares. 

And sales tax? That may vary from state to state. 

Good plan, screw the server who has absolutely nothing to do with the fee.  Good for you.

I wasn't mixing up the Covid fee and the CNF fee. I was talking about my suburb in Illinois and of course the only fee we may have is the Covid fee so I thought I'd mention it :)

Michael if you think the waiters are not aware they can remove the fee then you're kidding yourself. If I told my waiter I was deducting the fee from his tip you sure as hell now he would remove it!