Hotel Resort Fees — Paying Extra for Towels and Wi-Fi

You open a booking page and see a rate that feels like a small victory. Then the meter starts running. A “destination charge” appears, followed by a “resort fee,” followed by taxes on the fee. The number in your head—what you thought the night would cost—drifts out of reach while the page insists you’re still getting a deal. If you’ve ever wondered why a towel, a spotty gym, or Wi-Fi you didn’t ask for can cost as much as dinner, you’ve touched the logic of resort fees. They’re not a clerical quirk. They’re a carefully engineered revenue stream, a way to reframe price, and—until very recently—a competitive weapon in a game where the first price you see wins. Understanding the machinery behind that little line item is how you stop paying twice: once in money, again in indignation.

The quiet invention of a second price

Resort fees began as a beach problem. Oceanfront properties bundled kayaks and cabanas and decided that the bundle should be mandatory because “everybody uses the amenities.” The logic migrated inland and upstream: if a bundle is required, then the base room rate can look cleaner and cheaper in search results, and the hotel can keep more revenue away from third-party commissions that usually apply only to the rate, not to add-ons collected at check-in. That second incentive is not conspiracy theory; the Federal Trade Commission’s own economic paper notes hotels’ claim that resort fees reduce commissions paid to online travel agencies, and the District of Columbia’s complaint against Marriott explicitly framed the practice as “drip pricing” that hides a portion of the true room rate from consumers and frustrates apples-to-apples comparison. The legal record is blunt: calling it a “fee” does not change the economic reality that many guests experience it as part of the room’s price. (Federal Trade Commission) For years, the system tolerated this split personality because disclosure rules were soft and because competitive pressure rewarded the flash of a low initial number. What looked like a $129 night could become $189 by checkout without breaking the interface. The backlash built in courts and attorney general offices. Pennsylvania extracted a settlement from Marriott in 2021 that required the company to include mandatory fees in the upfront price; a year and a half later the AG fined Marriott $225,000 for dragging its feet before the chain finally implemented transparent displays in May 2023. Nebraska in 2024 announced a series of settlements with major brands—including Hilton, Omni, and Choice—aimed at ending hidden mandatory fees. The arc bent toward one idea: if a charge is unavoidable, it belongs in the headline price. (Attorney General) That arc is now federal. In December 2024, the FTC finalized a “junk fees” rule that makes it unlawful to advertise a room without the mandatory fees the hotel knows it will charge, and the agency’s May 2025 guidance set an effective date of May 12, 2025. The rule doesn’t ban resort fees—it bans hiding them. Hotels and booking platforms must show a total price that includes non-government, mandatory charges at the first meaningful moment a price is displayed. In plain terms: the number you click should be the number you pay, apart from taxes unless the business chooses to include them too. For an industry that trained itself on partitioned pricing, this is a cultural change as much as a legal one. (Federal Trade Commission)

Why fees feel so sticky even when the rules change

Transparency rules do not dissolve the economic reasons resort fees exist. When a hotel collects $45 per night as a “destination fee,” it often keeps that revenue off the channel where commissions are calculated, and it keeps it steady when room rates are discounted. That steadiness is attractive to owners and asset managers because it smooths cash flow. In markets like Las Vegas and Hawaii, the numbers are now part of the landscape: multiple independent tallies put the average Vegas resort fee in 2025 at roughly forty dollars before tax, with many properties charging between the mid-thirties and mid-fifties. Hawaii’s major resorts commonly sit in the same band, with upscale Waikiki and Wailea properties posting figures in the high forties and low fifties. The amounts change by season and property; the point is that the fee has evolved from an occasional “resort” add-on into a standing component of the nightly bill in destination markets, now shown upfront but very much still there. (Las Vegas Jaunt) Even when presented honestly, a mandatory amenity bundle grates because it replaces choice with ritual. The bundle also behaves strangely at the extremes of revenue management. When rates fall in soft periods, the fixed fee can become a large share of what you pay—more than half of the pretax room revenue on some nights, as industry analysts now acknowledge—turning what was sold as “access to amenities” into a blunt instrument that distorts comparison shopping. And the fee itself is often taxed like the room rate; in Las Vegas, for example, resorts list the fee and then add local lodging tax to it, which pushes the all-in number higher than guests expect because they are paying tax on the fee as well. The mechanics are no longer hidden, but the math can still surprise. (mirai.com)

The law catches up: federal rules and state firebreaks

The FTC’s rule is the biggest line in the sand because it applies beyond any one company. It requires hotels, brands, and marketplaces to display the total price, including any mandatory fees they can reasonably calculate, from the start of the shopping journey. That total must be as or more prominent than any partial price, and any later breakdown must not “re-partition” the headline cost to trick the eye. The FTC’s press office was unusually plain: this is a ban on bait-and-switch price displays, not a ban on the fees themselves. The federal standard arrives on top of robust state moves. California’s AB 537 took effect on July 1, 2024 and requires short-term lodging providers to present a transparent total price with civil penalties on the table for violations, and a wave of settlements from states like Nebraska have forced large chains to alter their displays for residents and—practically speaking—everyone else. Even where new statutes are still percolating, the legal message is consistent: unavoidable charges belong in the number that starts your decision, not the number that ends it. (Federal Trade Commission) Transparency also jumped borders. In the EU and the UK, consumer law already requires that unavoidable charges be included in the headline price shown to consumers; drip pricing and partitioned pricing are treated as misleading commercial practices. That’s why European hotel search results have long felt more “all in” than many U.S. results did before 2025. For travelers who cross markets, the new U.S. rule simply harmonizes the display with what you may have already experienced abroad, even if the fee culture itself remains more American than European. (European Union)

Loyalty, award nights, and the uneasy question of who pays what

The resort-fee debate gets especially emotional on award stays, where guests feel they already “paid” with points. Chains handle this differently. World of Hyatt waives resort and destination fees on free night awards; Globalist elites also see resort fees waived on eligible paid stays, which makes Hyatt the friendliest major program on this issue. Hilton Honors waives resort fees on standard reward nights booked with all points and includes the fee when you redeem a credit-card free night certificate. Marriott Bonvoy historically does not waive resort or destination fees on most award stays, a policy that can turn a “free” night into a cash co-pay that rivals a budget room’s price—though at all-inclusive brands Marriott’s award terms do cover the inclusive package and resort fee for two people. If your travel style leans toward awards, that policy divergence is not trivia; it’s the difference between a no-cash getaway and a surprise at checkout. (Hyatt) The logic behind the scenes is predictable. When a chain compensates a hotel for an award stay at a set rate, covering a separate, fixed, per-night fee either requires extra reimbursement or pushes the cost back onto the guest. Hyatt and Hilton have decided that the member’s experience is stronger if the fee disappears on awards; Marriott’s program, outside all-inclusive exceptions, largely leaves it in place. The new federal transparency rule does not touch this question because it is not about whether a fee exists, only how it is presented. The result is a cultural split that will likely persist until competitive pressure forces convergence. (The Points Guy)

What the fee actually buys—and why the value narrative is slippery

Hotels frame resort fees as a discount bundle: gym access, pool towels, in-room coffee, local calls, bottled water, bike rentals, yoga classes, beach chairs, destination “experiences,” and—famously—Wi-Fi. On their face, bundles can be efficient. The problem is compulsory value. Guests who never touch the amenities still pay, and guests who do use them often suspect they are paying twice, first in the fee, again in the rate that would have existed if the bundle were optional. The FTC’s 2017 paper on resort fees summarized the academic view clearly: partitioned or “dripped” pricing can lead consumers to underestimate total cost and make sub-optimal choices, even if the later disclosures are technically accurate. In the real world that translates to the feeling you have when a $40 amenity bundle claims to cover yoga mats and local discounts you neither asked for nor used. The bundle rebrands a surcharge as “access,” but for many travelers it functions like a toll. (Federal Trade Commission) The commissions story complicates the value narrative further. Industry insiders have admitted for years that carving out a mandatory fee can move money out of commissionable channels and into the hotel’s pocket. Consumer advocates make the same point in harsher terms: if part of what you pay avoided the OTA or metasearch commission, that was revenue engineering more than amenity logic. The DC Attorney General’s filings and press statements said the quiet part aloud: drip pricing “reaped hundreds of millions of dollars” by hiding the true room price; advocacy letters to the FTC argued it was already illegal under state law because it deceived consumers about the basic price of lodging. Even as platforms change their displays in response to law and pressure, that older incentive lingers in owners’ spreadsheets. (DC Attorney General)

Case study: Las Vegas—and why the desert made fees famous

If resort fees had a capital, it would be the Strip. Independent trackers and trade press have tallied 2025 resort fees across dozens of Vegas properties and found an average just above forty dollars per night before tax, with many hotels increasing their fees year over year. These are not marginal add-ons; for a three-night stay, the fee plus tax can easily cross $140–$180 depending on property. Local reporting has begun to connect the dots between rising add-ons, higher all-in prices, and softer visitation metrics, a reminder that guests will tolerate a lot of theater in Vegas—but not feeling tricked. The FTC’s rule will not force casinos to lower fees, but by moving the full price into the first click it reduces the camouflage that kept the base rate looking seductive while the fee did the heavy lifting at checkout. (Las Vegas Jaunt) Hawaii tells a similar story at island scale. Resort charges in popular Waikiki and Wailea resorts sit in the high forties and low fifties and are now listed plainly on hotel sites. Some properties have eliminated the fee altogether to compete on trust. Others defend the charge as funding real daily programming, from reef talks to paddleboard lessons. For visitors paying $400–$900 night after tax and fee, the idea that Wi-Fi and a beach towel should be unbundled feels like a tax on sunshine. The new disclosure world won’t change that psychology; it will only bring the total to the surface sooner. (Beat of Hawaii)

The post-2025 booking dance: what changes and what doesn’t

On the consumer side, the biggest change is upstream clarity. Major chains that had already shifted to total-price displays under settlements or state laws now do so everywhere and more consistently. Booking platforms and metasearch engines have followed suit to avoid regulatory risk and consumer backlash. Industry analysts note that Google Hotel Ads and the biggest OTAs now surface prices that include mandatory non-government fees earlier in the flow, neutralizing much of the old advantage of partitioning a fixed per-night charge. The battle for the first click tilts toward truth-in-headline. But the fee culture survives because it was never just about hiding; it was about a second revenue stream the owner can count on. Whether that second stream still makes sense when it no longer hides is the strategic question hotel groups are asking themselves in 2025, with more than a few concluding that retiring the fee simplifies operations, improves guest satisfaction, and restores pricing flexibility. (mirai.com) One more structural shift matters: state and federal enforcement has moved the conversation from “should” to “must.” California’s law set a steep penalty backdrop for noncompliance, and multi-state AG actions have put household brands on the record promising transparent displays. In August 2025, even an online giant like Booking agreed in a Texas settlement to disclose all mandatory hotel fees upfront, underscoring that marketplaces can’t outsource compliance to the hotel feed. The market is converging on a norm: whatever you can’t avoid should be in the price you first see. (Hotel Law Blog)

How to protect your wallet without playing travel lawyer

If the rule of 2024 was “read the fine print,” the rule of 2025 is simpler: read the first number, because it has to include the fee. That doesn’t mean every property now prices fairly; it means you can finally compare fairly. When two hotels both show all-in nightly totals before taxes, you can weigh facilities, location, and brand without being tricked by a lowball base rate with a heavy fee hidden two clicks later. If you book with points, remember the program differences: Hyatt and Hilton generally waive resort fees on awards, while most Marriott redemptions will still show a separate destination or resort charge except at all-inclusive brands. If your budget is tight and your destination is fee-heavy, consider whether a points booking or an all-in property quietly beats a cheap-looking cash rate that becomes expensive the moment you add the nightly charge. These are not hacks; they are simply choices made visible sooner. (Hyatt) The only “strategy” that still takes a call is taxes. Some jurisdictions tax resort fees at the same rate as the room, and some hotels add local sales or occupancy levies to the fee; Las Vegas properties spell this out and apply the Strip’s lodging tax to the nightly charge. You don’t need an accountant; you just need to notice whether the all-in price shown before payment includes the tax on the fee—which it now should—or whether the booking path still adds it at the end in a way that changes the decision. In 2025, the platforms that get this right earn loyalty not by hiding less, but by surprising less. (Las Vegas Direct)

The ethics question hotels can’t dodge anymore

Defenders of resort fees argue that a bundled amenity charge is honest if shown upfront and fair if it funds real benefits. Critics respond that separating a mandatory bundle from the room rate—especially when it includes basics like Wi-Fi—was always about manipulating perception and commission economics, and that even transparent bundling removes choice from guests who never use the items it purports to cover. The FTC’s 2017 analysis cut through the rhetoric by focusing on behavior: partitioned prices bias consumers toward underestimating cost. The 2025 rule accepts that diagnosis and prescribes a remedy without legislating hotel menus. That leaves hotels with the moral arithmetic of hospitality. If you want to rebuild trust, you don’t just show the total—you make the total feel coherent. Some will keep the fee in a world where it no longer hides; others will fold it back into the rate and let the room carry the whole truth. The market will reward whichever path matches how people actually use a hotel: as a place to sleep with extras they choose, not as a place to rent a towel. (Federal Trade Commission)

Glossary

Resort fee / destination fee / facility fee. A mandatory, per-night charge collected in addition to the base room rate. Historically disclosed late in the booking path, these fees must now be included in the first total price displayed under the FTC’s 2025 rule. The fee typically claims to cover a bundle of amenities; in many destinations it functions as a fixed revenue add-on. (Federal Trade Commission)
Drip pricing / partitioned pricing. A presentation in which the headline price excludes mandatory charges that only appear later. The FTC’s 2017 paper linked this to consumer underestimation of true cost; the 2025 rule effectively bans the practice for short-term lodging price displays. (Federal Trade Commission)
All-in price / total price. The number that includes the base room rate plus any mandatory, non-government fees the hotel knows it will charge. Under federal rules, this total must be displayed from the start and as prominently as any partial price. (Federal Trade Commission)
Award stay fee policy. How a loyalty program treats resort or destination fees when you redeem points. World of Hyatt waives such fees on free night awards; Hilton waives them on standard rewards and credit-card free nights; Marriott generally does not waive them on most redemptions, with all-inclusive brands a notable exception. These rules materially affect the “real” cost of an award. (Hyatt)
Transparency laws (state and international). California’s AB 537 mandates all-in display for short-term lodging statewide; EU and UK consumer law already require that unavoidable charges appear in the headline price. State AG settlements, from Pennsylvania’s action against Marriott to Nebraska’s sequence with multiple brands, have accelerated the shift. (Hotel Law Blog)

Sources

Federal Trade Commission. “FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees to Take Effect on May 12, 2025.” Agency press release and FAQs outlining the final rule’s coverage and effective date for short-term lodging and ticketing, with total-price display requirements. (Federal Trade Commission)
Federal Trade Commission. “Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket & Hotel Fees.” Final rule announcement summarizing rationale and scope. (Federal Trade Commission)
California AB 537. Legal analysis from JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group explaining the statute’s July 1, 2024 effective date and penalties for noncompliance in short-term lodging price displays. (Hotel Law Blog)
Pennsylvania v. Marriott (Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, Nov. 2021) and subsequent fine (April 2023). Settlement document and coverage confirming Marriott’s obligation to display total price and the enforcement that followed before full implementation in May 2023. (Attorney General)
Nebraska Attorney General. 2024 announcement and consent judgment series with Hilton and others to end hidden fees in hotel pricing. (Nebraska Attorney General)
FTC Bureau of Economics. “Economic Analysis of Hotel Resort Fees.” Foundational paper on how resort fees interact with partitioned pricing and consumer behavior, and the industry claim that fees reduce OTA commissions. (Federal Trade Commission)
District of Columbia v. Marriott International, Inc. Complaint and AG statements describing resort fees as deceptive “drip pricing” designed to hide a portion of the daily room rate and impede comparison shopping. (DC Attorney General)
American Hotel & Lodging Association. Public issue pages and statements citing data that roughly six percent of U.S. hotels charge mandatory resort/destination/amenity fees, with an average around $26 in their cited studies; used as the industry’s counterpoint to claims of ubiquity. (AHLA)
Las Vegas fee tallies and trade reporting indicating 2025 Strip-area resort fees averaging just above $40 per night before tax, with increases year over year. (Las Vegas Jaunt)
World of Hyatt and Hilton Honors official pages confirming fee waivers on award stays; Marriott Bonvoy terms noting exceptions at all-inclusive brands but not a general waiver elsewhere. (Hyatt)
EU and UK consumer-protection resources confirming that unavoidable charges must be included in the headline price, providing international context for all-in displays. (European Union)

Closing

The old game was to make a price feel small and then grow it. The new law doesn’t make hotels noble; it makes them legible. That is enough to change how you shop and, over time, how brands behave. You will still see “resort,” “destination,” and “facility” charges on many bills, especially in beach and gaming markets. The difference is that you won’t meet them at the last click. You’ll meet them at the first one—where they belong—and decide, with a clear head, whether a towel and a lobby latte are worth a nightly toll.