Do any other of you Las Vegas fans get irritated when a LV hotel advertises a room rate of $90 per day and then adds on a daily $25 RESORT FEE?

I recently ran into that situation while staying two nights at the M Resort.

I was irritated enough to complain to the night manager and he explained that that $25 FEE entitled me to the following:

A ride from the airport to the hotel.

I explained that I had no need for such a ride as I had my own car and resided less than five miles down the road and didn't even want to see or go anywhere near the airport.

Telephone service . I had no need of that either as I always carry my cell phone in my pocket and I never even use it.

A nightly bed blanket turn-down. I merely laughed at that one! I'm pretty good at doing that by myself and seldom need any help.

A towel at the pool. POOL!!!? Heck it was still winter and they should be providing ice skates.

I argued.

I lost.

But I ain't going back!

Will, I don't mind a resort fee if I'm told up front prior to booking.
Then it's my choice to figure the value of that choice of hotel.
I do beleive it's a sneaky way to charge more.

That being said, what about being charged for parking in places like NYNY. You have to park somewhere, and in manhatten is costs to park anywhere. I know I am not quoted a parking fee when i make my reservations!

The airlines seem to getting by with it by charging for bags. I think car rental agencies were the originators of add on fees. What if they started charging for a tire usage fee?

I've never liked the fees. Put it all in the advertised room rate if I must pay it anyway. Give me the option for optional usage fees.

And it really bothers me to pay additional fees and then find a sign on my bed saying they are trying to conserve water and ask me to continue using the same sheets so they don't have to have them washed.

WynnDot and Encore just added a $20 resort fee. It doesn't cover anything in particular. It's just an added fee.

I wonder how these fees are applied in the bookkeeping world. I'd guess there's a way they can use it to their advantage differently than just room rate income.

JMT< I am not positive about this but I have heard from a reliable source that that $20 'resort fee' is for the 'use' of the new Encore Beach Club Pool area only.

I have been told that there is still no 'resort fee' for the original Encore pool.

My next visit, I'll ask at the front desk as I have friends who will be staying there soon.

Those same friends who only play the slots with minimum coin have received a letter offering a room for approximately $330 for three nights which includes admission to La Rive and some additional offers that they had no interest in. (Internet service? Candy on their pillow?)

The LVA is reporting that the WynnDot/Encore fee includes phone calls, wifi, fitness club, and printing boarding passes.

I guess it also covers use of air conditioner, towel service in the room, wake up calls, ice machine usage, elevator rides, maid service, and toilet paper.

No word of Beach Club access at this time.

JMT, I also think that there is some tax or bookkeeping 'advantage' by charging a resort fee rather than 'upping' the daily room rate.

It does appear that these resort fees (usually only mentioned in very small type) irritate a lot of people when it comes time to check out; so there must be some financial advantage for the hotel/casino that 'overcomes' that customer 'hostility'.

This would be worth looking into if I had some bookkeeping/tax knowledge, which I ain't got.

I still believe that 'No business should do anything that would irritate a customer unless they prefer to not have that same customer return.'

Three things I recommend for Las Vegas visitors:

1. Before reserving a LV hotel room ... ask if there is a 'resort fee' and how much that resort fee costs each day. You should expect that a 'resort fee' will be hidden in small print some place in the paperwork.

2. Never ever play blackjack in any casino that pays 6-5 when you get a 21 on your first two cards; no matter what other 'advantage' they claim to be offering you at that table. In fact, I highly recommend that you call the Pit Boss over and make your objection loud and clear and leave that casino immediately. Play someplace else where they don't consider you to be a dumb gambler.

3. Don't try to sue a casino for your own responsibilities. There is a case in court right now where a high roller is claiming that he doesn't owe Harrah's many millions of dollars because they are responsible for keeping him intoxicated while gambling.

If that high-roller wins there are two eventual possibilities:

1. Casinos will stop providing alcoholic beverages to its players.

2. I'll take my life savings and place it all on number "34" while drinking a couple of Martinis. But first I'll need his lawyer's phone number.

How come we all seem to be blaming others for our own actions these days?

It seems to be the norm these days, we are flooded with blaming others 24/7 on the gazillion choices of cable channels these days. Almost nobody admits to their own mistakes anymore, we have become a nation of irresponsible living and blaming others for it. I guess that's how you win lawsuits, and get millions for spilling hot coffee from the drive thru in your lap.

BTW: We just stayed at Green Valley Ranch on Monday night, took them up on their offer of 40% off on a room. It was our 25th anniversary so we played tourist for a couple days to celebrate. And yes we got hit with the $24.99 resort fee too, plus they tax that resort fee too. I practically live across the street from GVR, so there was no need for the airport shuttle. Maybe we should have taken a ride to the airport anyway and rode back just to get the use of the shuttle we paid for. LOL!!! Telephone calls, who wants telephone calls when you are celebrating 25 years together, I turned my cell phone off and did not tell anyone what room we were in. I did use the fitness center, we read the newspaper and I used the internet just to get some value out of my $24.99 plus tax resort fee.

I also made it up on their crap table, Monday night I won $150, and Friday before we stayed there I stopped in after work and won $580. So I got my resort fee back from them many times over. Oh and Mrs. Cajun hit a four of a kind on double double bonus for $200, with $60 in the machine, she made $140 there. So I hope they are happy with their resort fee while I took it back, plus some on their crap table. LOL!!!

Great to heart that you won, Cajun!

But even with those winnings Resort Fees are a con-job!

And I hope there's a class action lawsuit one of these days.

The South Point, LV Hilton, and Harrah's are making specific notices on the ads that they DO NOT have resort fees.

Great question. We have our choices to stay at five different hotels on the strip that are FEELESS. I WILL NOT pay those forced on fees especially when they could easily amout to well over a hundred dollars extra by the end of your stay. Your right when you say that you may receive an offer say from the Cosmopolitan that you can save an additional $20.00 a night if you stay three or more nights. Sounds great until you find out how much the additional fees will be at the end of your stay .
For short you save ZILCH . We love the Paris and Planet Hollywood because of their rooms and especially their location.
The Bellagio fountains are right across the street and both hotels are FEE FREE. Always remember it is your money nNOT THEIRS so spend it the way you wish as long as you enjoy your LAS VEGAS NIGHTS !!!!!!!!!

vegas talker

Great question. We have our choices to stay at five different hotels on the strip that are FEELESS. I WILL NOT pay those forced on fees especially when they could easily amout to well over a hundred dollars extra by the end of your stay. Your right when you say that you may receive an offer say from the Cosmopolitan that you can save an additional $20.00 a night if you stay three or more nights. Sounds great until you find out how much the additional fees will be at the end of your stay .
For short you save ZILCH . We love the Paris and Planet Hollywood because of their rooms and especially their location.
The Bellagio fountains are right across the street and both hotels are FEE FREE. Always remember it is your money nNOT THEIRS so spend it the way you wish as long as you enjoy your LAS VEGAS NIGHTS !!!!!!!!!

vegas talker

oh by the way SOUTHWEST DOES NOT CHARGE FOR THE FIRST TWO PIECES OF LUGGAGE'