Current state of Resort Fees in Vegas
Right. Resort fees are only being treated as optional for the Diamond & Seven Starts tiers, not for Platinum. My recollection is that it has been that way for over a year or two. I think they did also let Platinum skip the sleazy gotcha fee during the first year when they started them, if I remember correctly.Quote: SanchoPanzaThat is not accurate, based on a two-night comped stay at Bally's last month for my birthday. And I'm a steady Platinum.
https://www.totalrewards.com/content/cet-tr/en/overview.htmlQuote: CaesarsResort Fees are not automatically assessed for Diamond or Seven Stars members, but such packages may be purchased upon request...
Also:
https://totalrewards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2221/kw/resort%20feeQuote: CaesarsWe appreciate your interest in staying with us! There is a per night resort fee package which includes access for two each day to the Fitness Center at the property, in-room daily Internet access for two devices, and all local phone calls. The resort fee is incurred by all guests visiting our property whether the amenities are used or not. Additionally, if your room reservation has been comped, you will still be required to pay the resort fee. Reward Credits can be redeemed upon check-out for these charges.
[Highlighting added.]
My thoughts on resort fees - I don't generally pay them.
On the Mississippi coast, Harrah's tries to charge a resort fee - but an active gaming day can get those comped easily. The problem I have is I shouldn't have to have a fee like that comped - it should never be charged. After all - if you're there to gamble, then you're the one with the odds against you. In fact, I'm the one that's enticed/lured/asked to be there by way of all the free play and "free" nights (except for the 10.95 resort fee).
This is part of the reason I stay at The Palace Casino Resort - no resort fees. (which is fair - the internet is slowed down so you can't stream video, there are no shows or other entertainment unless you count karaoke as entertaining. ) I would, however, be willing to pay for true high speed internet just to break away from gaming all day. After a time, I get bored with gambling - especially if I'm ahead or very behind.
In Vegas now, I am pretty certain you have to be Diamond and above to have the resort fees waived. My memory can't be fully trusted anymore, and I am too busy doing nothing, to be bothered to research it, but I believe I was charged a resort fee at Paris in 2014, even though I was Platinum at the time. I was able to provide sufficient argument to get the fees waived in the end (I was on junket travel and no one informed me, or knew, I would have to cover the resort fee. So Paris agreed to not charge me, and I have agreed to never put them through the hassle again, as I will NEVER pay a resort fee. Not much chance of any more Vegas in my future....
https://www.totalrewards.com/content/cet-tr/en/overview.html
...so some people "opt in" for the resort fee's?Quote: ams288I just booked a trip at Treasure Island for March. Resort fees are still optional when booking through VIP services.
Quote: Romes...so some people "opt in" for the resort fee's?
Apparently.
I made sure to ask the VIP reservation woman how it worked. She said that at check in they will ask me if I want to pay the resort fee. I laughed.
Quote: teddysNYNY went up to $30+tax per night now. CET won't charge a resort fee on a comped room, and not on any room if you are Platinum or higher.
Not true. They charge the resort fee on my 'free' room and I am Platinum. They changed that a year ago. I was notified in advance.
Quote: SOOPOONot true. They charge the resort fee on my 'free' room and I am Platinum. They changed that a year ago. I was notified in advance.
Yeah, it did change. That's the trouble with old threads, right? In 2014, CET was Platinum and up. In 2015, it was Diamond and up don't get charged a resort fee.
Do you think that by paying the resort fee, the casino actually breaks even? Maid, clean sheets etc?
Quote: SanchoPanzaThat is not accurate, based on a two-night comped stay at Bally's last month for my birthday. And I'm a steady Platinum.
Yeah you have to be a Diamond status or higher now for no resort fees, and even then you would still have to pay for the wifi until you hit Seven Star.
Casinos don't really want the savvy player. They want the vacation taker who knows little to nothing about how casinos make their money. This way, they charge their fees, the random vacationer assumes it is standard, pays it, and never thinks again about it.
You would think in a business where they have the advantage - even against a savvy player - they wouldn't need to resort to such fees. (Yes, I know what I did there! Pun intended!)
(The big reason, if anybody didn't know it, is that at checkout, if you have your play evaluated, and they can comp the room, that's the first comp they'll offer because you didn't really consume anything they weren't already paying for. The host's/front desk option for room comping goes out the window if you book through a 3rd party.)
When I book, my first look is at my comp mailers. My next look is at the 3rd party retailers for comparative pricing. Then I call the property directly, because that's where the pricing came from, and I've never had them offer me worse than (at least) the best rate shown by the 3rd party bookers. All FWIW.
Quote: The Points GuyCaesars Palace (and Nobu Hotel), The Cromwell, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino will charge $39.68 (including taxes) per night. Bally’s, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, the LINQ Hotel & Casino and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will charge $34.01 (including taxes) per night.
To be fair, those are bargains compared to the $95 resort fee charged by the Dorado Beach Ritz-Carlton in Puerto Rico.
Plus you have the best avatar on here.
Quote: GWAEDoes anyone know if any of the MGM cards waive resort fees. I was looking at their benefits and it doesnt appear that they do. Seems weird to me so I think I am missing something.
Well, if you have enough reward points it will be "waived," as in, you use reward points to pay for it so you're not out of pocket. I don't think any of them explicitly remove resort fees from the invoice though. Maybe if you're Noir, though. At that level you're probably getting perks they don't even list.
Quote: TigerWuWell, if you have enough reward points it will be "waived," as in, you use reward points to pay for it so you're not out of pocket. I don't think any of them explicitly remove resort fees from the invoice though. Maybe if you're Noir, though. At that level you're probably getting perks they don't even list.
I have gold from a tier match. There is a deal right now where you can get a $30 room at park mgm and if you book 2 nights you get $150 resort credit. However with resort fees it makes the 2 nights $160. Inam trying to figure out if I can get them waived. I don't think you can use the resort credit for them but maybe you can.
But I was also thinking myvegas. CN get free rooms but resort fees are high. I can also just stay with Harrah's and 60 a night with waived fees.
Quote: GWAEI have gold from a tier match. There is a deal right now where you can get a $30 room at park mgm and if you book 2 nights you get $150 resort credit. However with resort fees it makes the 2 nights $160. Inam trying to figure out if I can get them waived. I don't think you can use the resort credit for them but maybe you can.
But I was also thinking myvegas. CN get free rooms but resort fees are high. I can also just stay with Harrah's and 60 a night with waived fees.
They never let you use resort credit to cover resort fees at MGM properties.
Quote: ams288They never let you use resort credit to cover resort fees at MGM properties.
Thank you, that's kinda what I figured.
Now I gotta decide if I want to pay 160 out of pocket but get a room and 150 in food or do I want to stay at cet and use $200 in rewards credits for room and food.
Sh## site but the Review Journal now requires a subscription.
We may have reached a point where the Big 2 may realize F****ing customers isn’t a good long term strategy as others try to steal their customers.
Or they find a way to buy out the competition and keep cultivating sheep.
Quote: Boz
Sh## site but the Review Journal now requires a subscription.
You can get around the RJ subscription by hitting the cancel button in your browser as soon as the text of the article comes up. It will stop loading the code before the subscription code loads.
Quote: GialmereThe parking fee situation is interesting. I never thought of it from a local's point of view. Were I an LV resident there's no way I'd pay to park just to eat at a resort restaurant.
I live in Pittsburgh. If I want to eat at any of the options in the city I have to pay to park. There are no free options at all.
Quote: GWAEI live in Pittsburgh. If I want to eat at any of the options in the city I have to pay to park. There are no free options at all.
People seem to forget that it is normal to pay to park in most big cities. I paid $50 recently to park in Atlanta for dinner.
Quote: DRichYou can get around the RJ subscription by hitting the cancel button in your browser as soon as the text of the article comes up. It will stop loading the code before the subscription code loads.
Where do I find the cancel button?
Like yeah, obviously! Haha. The language is so detached from the people who actually are visiting it's disappointing but not surprising. All about the numbers.
Quote: vegasWhere do I find the cancel button?
On Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge it is the "X" button that replaces the refresh button when loading a web page.
Quote: GWAEI live in Pittsburgh. If I want to eat at any of the options in the city I have to pay to park. There are no free options at all.
Quote: DRichPeople seem to forget that it is normal to pay to park in most big cities. I paid $50 recently to park in Atlanta for dinner.
You guys make a good point. Most cities do charge for parking. (The prices to park in San Francisco are practically crimes against humanity.) But there's the rub; Vegas isn't most cities, nor is it the city that's doing the charging. As one of the locals in the story says, he can afford to pay but won't out of principle.
I suppose it's really a matter of perspective. If you grow up in a town that's been charging for parking since the invention of the automobile you tend to see it as a simple fact of life. If, on the other hand, you grow up in a place with free parking, no resort fees, inexpensive meals and so on, only to see the corporate suits suddenly show up and start raising prices with one hand while lowering pay tables with the other, you tend to be resentful. Native Hawaiians, for example, are pretty resentful about what happened to their islands.
Would you pay $50 dollars for parking to eat at a restaurant you know is overpriced and serves crappy food? How about at a casino that offers 6/5 blackjack, 7/5 job vp and 000 roulette? A tourist might, but a local?
Quote: GialmereYou guys make a good point. Most cities do charge for parking. (The prices to park in San Francisco are practically crimes against humanity.) But there's the rub; Vegas isn't most cities, nor is it the city that's doing the charging. As one of the locals in the story says, he can afford to pay but won't out of principle.
I suppose it's really a matter of perspective. If you grow up in a town that's been charging for parking since the invention of the automobile you tend to see it as a simple fact of life. If, on the other hand, you grow up in a place with free parking, no resort fees, inexpensive meals and so on, only to see the corporate suits suddenly show up and start raising prices with one hand while lowering pay tables with the other, you tend to be resentful. Native Hawaiians, for example, are pretty resentful about what happened to their islands.
Would you pay $50 dollars for parking to eat at a restaurant you know is overpriced and serves crappy food? How about at a casino that offers 6/5 blackjack, 7/5 job vp and 000 roulette? A tourist might, but a local?
Dont get me wrong I hate paying to park. Recently stayed at a hotel that I booked on hotels.com. i got there and had to pay $40 to valet. It was either that or park at a meter and feed it every 4 hours. Would have only cost $20 for 24 hours but would have had to keep going out.
And yes parking fees locally do prevent me from going to the downtown restaurants. For xmas I was going to take my employees to a place in the city but elected to go somewhere else because I wasnt going to pay $80 for everyone to park.
Btw, parking fee or not why would you want to go for overpriced food and bad gambling parking fee or not?
Quote: DRichPeople seem to forget that it is normal to pay to park in most big cities. I paid $50 recently to park in Atlanta for dinner.
50 I would never do. Whenever we go to a pirate or steeler game I park across town and take the subway in. $5 to park and $3 for the subway instead of $60 for close parking
These sites hate resort fees. They believe its a way for hotels to shortchange them on the commission
Booking.com is informing hotels they will now include resort fees in calculating their commission.
Some states, resort fees are illegal. That's the way it should be. Its false advertising regarding the cost of a room.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/ota-charging-commission-resort-fee/
I realize there are revenue issues as well as revenue sharing issues, prompt disclosure versus immediate disclosure, first page versus totally unlocatable, etc.I understand that some accounants realize taxes apply to room rental rates but not necessarily resort fee revenue. Some hotels feel forced by competitive pressures and some make a pont of resisting dishonest or misleading quotes.
I find its hard enough to find a hotel website amidst all the firms advertising discount rooms at that hotel.
It is high time we had standardized quotation rules.
So someday it's gonna be a law, at least I hope and pray that it will, but today it is still, just a bill.
Full story at TPG
Quote: GialmereA new bipartisan bill called the "Hotel Advertising Transparency Act of 2019" has been introduced in the House that will once again take on resort fees. Will it succeed where the 2016 legislation failed? There's certainly greater anger (and lawsuits) over the matter nowadays.
So someday it's gonna be a law, at least I hope and pray that it will, but today it is still, just a bill.
Full story at TPG
Without being too political I am certain that this bill will pass with the signature of the president.
After all, he has no vested interest in gouging fees collected by hotels. He doesnt own any!!!!!
(There is some sarcasm there if you havent noticed)
Quote: FleaStiff
It is high time we had standardized quotation rules.
Absolutely. We did it for airlines, why shouldn't hotels be next?
I don't have a huge problem with them as long as they are clearly stated up front and reasonable (10-15 dollars a night is reasonable if there are actually amenities that do not require additional charges). I do agree that hotels where the fee is higher than the room and they are clearly used to artificially lower the sticker price on booking sites is problematic (those examples where the room is only 30USD, but the fees are 30-50 USD a night).
I honestly think Booking sites will probably do more to fight fees than the goverment, because as they get cheated out of commission by major brands, they will more vigorously push back... Of course customers can push back to by writing letters to managers and their host to make their views heard, and by ultimately mot staying places with unreasonably disproportionate fees.
Quote: terapinedHotel booking sites on the internet such as booking.com do a lot of business booking Vegas hotels
These sites hate resort fees. They believe its a way for hotels to shortchange them on the commission
Booking.com is informing hotels they will now include resort fees in calculating their commission.
Some states, resort fees are illegal. That's the way it should be. Its false advertising regarding the cost of a room.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/ota-charging-commission-resort-fee/
I just a test on booking.com. I picked Bally's for Oct 15-16. The first page said $45. The second page said $45 and at the bottom in small print was "resort fee $35". On the third page, after having to give it a fake name and e-mail, the total charge was listed, $45 room rate, 13.35% tax, and $35 resort fee, for a total of $90 and change. Apparently the tax does apply to the resort fee. But why would this be advertised as $45 when it's really $70 plus tax? It makes no sense.
As Eldorado recently acquired Caesars, could this be a test of the response to waiving of resort fees? Could this eventually become a promotion in Vegas resorts—or remain a regional offer?
Also, Tony Danza ("one of the world's most beloved and iconic entertainers for over 40 years") performs live October 12.
We are not interested in being intentionally deceived.
Or invent some other way to automatically charge people $40 a night extra.
Quote: TigerWuIf resort fees are ever made illegal they'll just jack up the price of the room by the exact same amount.
That's all I'm asking them to do. At least consumers will know the real price of the room when shopping around.
On a side note, is there a legal definition for the word "resort"? It can't be a place with a swimming pool; many crappy motels have swimming pools. It can't be a golf course; most Strip resorts don't have a golf course. It can't be fun stuff to do; the Hoover Dam Lodge has skeet shooting, helicopter rides and boating trips but few would call it a resort. Circus Circus has an indoor amusement park. Is it a resort? The Silverton has fake waterfalls and mermaids. Sam's Town also has a fake waterfall complete with animatronic forest creatures and a laser light show... but it's not a resort... and yet it charges a resort fee.
I suppose "resort" is just one of those "cow manure" sales words that mean nothing: like "friendliest staff" or "best prices" or "voted #1 buffet".
Quote: WizardWhen I was in NYC in February I stayed at the Belevedere. They hit me with a surprise resort fee, or whatever they called it. It was a decent hotel, but I can't think of anything that would qualify it as a resort. Other than a meager continental breakfast, I can't think of one benefit other than the room I received.
From https://www.belvederehotelnyc.com/faq/
Quote:
The hotel charges a facilities fee of $34.45 inclusive of tax per room, per night, in addition to the room rate. The fee provides the following services: Wi-Fi connection, 24/7 fitness center access, concierge services, local telephone calls, full business center services, which includes, internet access, printing, and fax services, complimentary package receiving, a nightly wine hour (5PM-6PM), 50% off our Continental breakfast buffet, 15% food credit for Churrascaria Plataforma, and 20% off on all CitySightseeing bus tours and packages.
