What Is a Resort Fee?
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A resort fee is a mandatory daily charge that some hotels add on top of the advertised room rate, supposedly to cover amenities like Wi-Fi, the pool, the gym, and local calls. It is charged whether or not you use those amenities, and it often is not included in the price you first see.
Resort fees are one of the most disliked surprises in travel, quietly adding to your bill on top of the room rate you thought you were paying. Here is what a resort fee is, what it supposedly covers, why hotels charge it, and whether you can avoid it.
What is a resort fee?
A resort fee is a mandatory daily fee that certain hotels, especially in the United States and tourist destinations like Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Florida, add to your bill separately from the room rate. Despite the name, it is charged at many hotels that are not traditional resorts, and it is compulsory, applied to every night of your stay regardless of whether you use the amenities it claims to cover. The frustrating part for travelers is that resort fees are frequently excluded from the headline price shown when you search and book, only appearing later in the booking process or at check-out, which makes a room look cheaper than the true total you will pay.
What does a resort fee cover?
Hotels justify the resort fee by bundling a list of amenities into it, though these are often things travelers expect to be free. Commonly cited inclusions are in-room Wi-Fi, access to the pool and fitness center, local and toll-free phone calls, use of business-center facilities, bottled water, newspapers, and sometimes beach or resort access, printing, or shuttle service. The catch is that you pay the fee whether or not you use any of these, and many are amenities that non-resort-fee hotels simply provide for free. Because the value of what is covered rarely matches the fee's cost for most guests, resort fees are widely seen as a way to charge more while advertising a lower nightly rate.
Why do hotels charge resort fees?
The main reason is pricing strategy and revenue. By separating a resort fee from the room rate, a hotel can advertise a lower nightly price in search results, appearing more competitive, while still collecting the full amount from guests through the mandatory fee added later. This practice, sometimes called drip pricing, has drawn criticism and regulatory scrutiny for being misleading, and there have been efforts to require hotels to show the all-in price upfront. Resort fees also generate revenue that, unlike the room rate, is not always shared with booking sites or subject to the same commissions. For the hotel, it is a way to boost income while keeping the displayed rate attractive, which is why the practice has spread.
Can you avoid resort fees?
Avoiding them is difficult, but there are some strategies. Because the fee is mandatory, you generally cannot simply decline it, but you can factor it into the true total when comparing hotels, since a property with a lower rate plus a high resort fee may cost more than one with a slightly higher rate and no fee. Booking an award stay with hotel loyalty points sometimes waives the resort fee, depending on the chain, and elite loyalty status occasionally helps. You can also politely ask the hotel to waive it, particularly if amenities you were charged for were unavailable or you did not use them, though success varies. Checking resort-fee databases before booking helps you know the real cost in advance.
A resort fee is a mandatory daily charge some hotels add on top of the room rate, supposedly covering amenities like Wi-Fi, the pool, and the gym, whether you use them or not, and often hidden from the advertised price. It is hard to avoid, so factor it into the true total when comparing hotels, and try award bookings or a polite request to have it waived.
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