Question of the Day - 20 September 2019

It's never been about the fees themselves; after all, the hotels will charge what they want, whether some of that is expressed as a "resort fee" or an "amenities charge" or a "because we can and it's not like you're going to turn around and go home at this point" fee. What rankles is the surreptitious nature of resort fees. Room rates quoted without the inescapable resort fees are artificially low. The guest often finds out about them only at check-out.

Vegas has continually shown that tourists don't mind getting ripped off. They do, however, mind surprise ripoffs. I think resort fees were slow to be phased in because casino companies were reluctant to perpetrate this low-level fraud. But then, of course, the prospect of greater profits eventually overcome any scruples.

I thought resort fees coincided with online booking services like Hotels.com. Casinos had to pay those services a % of the room rental rate but did NOT have to pay any share of an additional "resort fee" - is there any truth to that? It made sense to me.

Here is the history of the resort fee in Las Vegas they started low then they raised them, then they raised them again, and then they raised them again. My guess and this is only a guess is that next year they will raise them again.

 So called "resort fees" are actually rip-off fees. Since when did a bottle of water and a newspaper pricing equate to an additional fee of up to $45 dollars per DAY? Throw in internet and maybe usage of the gym and the printing of boarding passes.Is that combination worth $45 per day- not even close. The ONLY reason for this faux fee is to pad the bottom line. Artificially low advertised room rates get the visitors in, then these rip off fees are added to the bill. Plus additional room and rip off fee taxes. And so far, this combination has worked. There will come a day when Vegas visitation, en masse, will decline as Vegas prices itself out of business. Until the, as long as people pay these fees, they will continue to escalate - that you can rest assured of.

The resort fees are separated out in accounting.  No CPA would dare to not do so as an IRS audit would send that CPA to prison.  You were lied to about the fees not being separated out.  The reason for the lie is to avoid the resulting law suits if the fees were itemized.  Of course anyone (Like Kevin) could put in a suggestion to the IRS to audit the casinos and reap a huge reward based upon taxes recovered.

When you pay for things you do not want or need it is simple extortion.  This and paid parking is one of the reasons I have drastically cut back on Vegas stays.

Kevin, if, as Jackie suggests, you "reap a huge reward" by alerting the IRS to casino book cooking, will you marry me?  

Oh...wait...I already have a husband.  Never mind.  Plus I like Vegas, so we'd fight all the time.

LOL

Everyone gets so worked up over resort fees. Here's a different take:

(1) If you adjust for inflation, the total price of hotel rooms in LV (even after resort fees) has remained fairly constant for decades. (2) The price of a comparable room in any major U.S. city is almost always more than what you pay in LV (once again, even with resort fees). (3) If a guest books a room in LV and is unaware of the resort fee until check-out, they are not paying attention because it is literally disclosed at every step of the booking and check-in process. (4) Of course hotel operators keep track of resort fees received, but there is no requirement to keep a separate accounting tally of resort fees for tax purposes. I'm sure a review of records would allow reconstruction of resort fees if necessary (say for an IRS audit), but that's not that same as having the total of resort fees collected available to answer a reporter's question.

If the IRS were really interested in going after Vegas casinos' creative accounting, they would have directed enforcement efforts that way long ago, starting from back when big chunky guys named Vinnie drove Cadillacs with trunks filled with cash directly from casino counting rooms to Chicago or New York. But they never have been aggressive toward the casino industry. Individual poor slobs who win (the gall!), yes. But doing something like scrutinizing creative resort fee accounting or "specialized amortization" (more about that if you're interested)? Naah!

I would certainly not speculate that the reason for this laxity is that certain IRS officials find a little something extra in their Christmas stockings every year. That would be besmirching our esteemed public servants who work tirelessly to collect money from us. That would be wrong.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the legal definitions of extortion and fraud are not "voluntarily using a service and then being required to pay a fee that was fully disclosed to you at the time you booked the service."

 So that there is no confusion, include the rip off "resort fees" in the stated room price. Simple, above board, and obvious. Is that too hard to do?

Online hotel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. as well as travel agents, collect a percentage of the booking (the room rate). They do not get a percentage of a resort fee. The hotels can impose this fee and collect 100% of it. If the resort fee was rolled into the room rate, each hotel would lose a small percentage of it to Expedia, travel agents, and so on. For this reason, don't ever expect the resort rate to be added into the advertised room rate.

From the answer:

"Station Casinos is generally credited ... with being among the first to launch the initial salvo in the early 2000s. ... guests paid a mandatory fee for phone service, regardless of whether or not they'd placed any from their hotel rooms."

In the late 1980s (and possibly earlier, but that was before my time), the Stardust had a mandatory charge for "unlimited local calls" regardless of whether or not one made any calls, however it was a miniscule charge. IIRC, it was only $1. "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow."

You're right, it would be great if we could easily know the total room price when searching for hotels, but resort fees are just a part of the equation. When you go to any booking site (direct or third-party) for any city you are given an "average nightly rate." In reality, you are probably paying different rates for different nights, and you definitely aren't seeing the tax. To get the total picture (including the resort fee, if there is one), you have to click through once or twice. 

It's annoying, but if we are honest, it takes just a few seconds, and it's still much faster than the old-fashioned way.

If someone offered a site that presented heads up, all-in price comparisons on one page and included suggestions for alternative bookings on different nights to save money, I would use it all the time. But I'm not sure that is even feasible right now.

Why not raise the rates?
Resort fees for services that many people don't use just pisses people off.
Price increases for rooms, people can understand.
charging for phantom services, not so much.

They may say what ever to justify aditional hiden fees, but it still Is not a fair practice. AND when ate they going yo stop?, When They see their ocupancy go down, when They start to see gamblers not spending as much, parking fees are going to have yo go to, hotel casinos are going to have yo re- reinvent thrmsrlves again, themed casinos and family friendly casinos are going to make a comeback!!

IMO, resort fees are a textbook example of Bait and Switch.  I receive an email offering a "comped" or low-cost room.  Great!  But when I "arrive" to book it (online), "Oh, that rate doesn't include the 'resort fee' ", which often *doubles* (or more) the cost of the offer.  
This kind of tactic in retail was made illegal many years ago.  Why should it be different for hotels?  
I hope the states that are suing Marriott, et al, succeed in stopping this deceptive practice.  

While your article is fine for the history of fees in Las Vegas, the original question asked about the history, period.  Most nice resorts around the country have charged resort fees for a long time.  I can't ever remember staying at a Ritz Carlton, e.g., without paying one, and that goes back into the 90s (an organization of which I'm a member had a deal to hold our annual meetings at Ritz Carltons for many years).  The real question is probably why Las Vegas resorts took so long to adopt something that has been pretty standard at most resorts around the country.
I do have to grin at all the complaining about resort fees on this site.  I have to wonder if people who can't afford a $20-$40 fee can really afford to be taking gambling vacations.  Plus, it's kind of like luggage fees with airlines.  If they weren't being charged, they'd just raise the base price.  In Las Vegas, at least, they're very easy to avoid.  At TI they ask if I want it, and when I say "no" they waive it.

The resort fees are not hidden. With any amount of intelligence, that info is available and can be found when booking the room. For example, Travelocity shows the price AND it shows: "Excludes $xx daily resort fee". Same with Expedia when you select the room. Same for Hotels.com when you select the room.  If you're "unaware", it's YOUR fault. (Whether or not the fee is justified at all is another argument.)

Maybe 5 to 10 years ago when the fees were new many people were blindsided, but anyone who is not prepared for resort fees in Vegas just has their eyes closed. If booking on line, the total cost is always disclosed by the time you click on the ok for the reservation. AND you can cancel the reservation if you figure it out later but before you go. My question to all is...did you ever buy something from an infomercial or TV commercial? Wait! call now and get a second one free. And in small print or a low voice (just pay separate P&H, or a separate fee or the like) And then they blast you with get 2 items for the incredible value of $19.99!!! (and you end up paying $7 for P&H and a separate $ for the second item, almost doubling your cost anyway).