Question of the Day - 23 February 2025

[Editor's Note: This answer is written by David McKee.]

Well, it's not so new anymore, having been put in place by the previous administration in our nation's capital. We've been waiting on this answer to see what might happen to it, but so far, it remains as is. 

Even if it isn't rescinded, our take is that there's likely to be little, if any, impact on Las Vegas.

The onerous and much-hated resort fees and convenience fees and other noxious imposts are currently disclosed up front in the booking process. That’s all that the FTC requires. Basically, you can pile fee on top of upcharge atop surcharge and, so long as it’s all made clear as part of the procedure when you’re reserving a restaurant table or a hotel room, it’s business as usual.

What the FTC rule would crack down on is joints like Beer Park and Hammered Harry’s (which itself got hammered in a recent LVA newsletter), which have been socking it to customers with service fees and convenience fees hidden in the final receipt. They’re audacious enough for customers to protest, but so picayune that most people probably pay rather than argue over 36 cents extra for a beer.

The downside is that watering holes like the ones mentioned above fly so low on the federal radar that they might continue getting away with clipping you. But at least you can cite federal rules if they try to sock it to you that way.

We should add, however, that the 36 extra cents for a Michelob may be just the beginning. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli recently reported that MGM Resorts International is toying with “tiered seating” at its restaurants. That means if you don’t want to be seated by the bathrooms, you’ll be dunned for the privilege. Hell, they’ll probably put you near the commodes anyway and sock you with an access fee.

Some Las Vegas restaurants already charge for special tables, like Table 56, which has the best view from the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, or Martha’s Private Table at her Paris-Las Vegas eatery the Bedford. But it seems to us that Wall Street is giving the MGMs of the world cover to take that approach restaurant-wide.

Speaking of MGM, we asked for clarification of its policies and didn't hear back. Boyd Gaming stiffly stated that it complies with all federal rules and regulations, while Station Casinos took refuge behind some Nevada Resort Association boilerplate. If these fees are so standard and innocuous, why are the hoteliers so afraid to discuss them frankly?

We pause, in faint hope of an answer.