How To Avoid Las Vegas Resort Fees

Hotels and resorts are facing increasing public scrutiny for junk fees, with major brands — including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham, and more — involved in lawsuits and investigations over their (often confusing and sometimes sneaky) pricing practices. These additional charges are added to a room’s base price and are typically levied daily to access a hotel’s amenities.

Las Vegas is notorious for these sky-high fees on its resorts, which can easily add $40 or more a night to your bill. Here are some ways to avoid Las Vegas resort fees, including choosing hotels wisely, booking with rewards, using the right credit cards, and more.

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Why Las Vegas resort fees are charged

With enormous competition from other hotels and non-traditional accommodations like Airbnb, many Las Vegas resorts use resort fees to generate additional income and improve margins. According to a report by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, only 6% of hotels charge resort fees, but nearly all Las Vegas hotels do.

Hotels claim that resort fees help cover amenities such as pools, spas, gyms, and Wi-Fi. Exact amenities vary, but the idea is you pay for everything available to you whether you use it all or not. These fees can be deceptive, especially if you don’t know how to look for them.

How to find Las Vegas resort fees

Many Las Vegas resorts and hotels aren’t transparent about their fee structures. In fact, you might not know about any fees until you’re nearly ready to check out. Most likely, you’ll have to compare rates between rooms or see a booking almost all the way through before getting a full rate breakdown that shows resort fees. Still, you should be on the lookout for these at every stage.

Examples

Let’s say you’re booking a room at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Booking.com, a popular hotel booking site. The nightly rate you see when comparing different accommodation options is $256 for two adults.

When you compare available rooms for your dates, you see an additional $45 resort fee per night, along with a 13.38% tax. It’s not reflected in the “Today’s Price,” and if you’re staying for more than one night, keeping track of how much your total will be starts to get tricky.

If you stay for three nights, resort fees add $135 to your bill. If you’re planning a week-long stay (six nights), expect to pay $270 in fees — that’s essentially an extra night just to use the general resort amenities.

Unfortunately, by the time most people are ready to book, they may just throw up their hands and pay. And it’s not like you can opt out of it if you’re not planning on using hotel amenities.

Another example is Circus Circus. While it isn’t the most luxurious hotel on the Strip, you can get great deals — I found a room for just $21.55/night.

If budget travel is your preference, you can’t go wrong with that price. That is, until you click on the sneaky “rate breakdown” icon hidden under the price per night. Then you’re met with this.

The resort fee is more expensive than the room’s nightly rate, and a booking that should only cost $21.55 + tax will now cost $66.38 — a whopping 208% increase in price.

I find it annoying that figuring out how much your stay will cost takes time. That should be clear from the beginning so you can make an educated decision as a consumer. While these fees can be insanely high, and the business practice is questionable, there are ways to beat them.

How to avoid Las Vegas resort fees

1. Stay at a hotel that doesn’t charge resort fees

It’s simple enough, but avoiding hotels that charge resort fees can be a financial and moral victory against the large casino resorts. Unfortunately, the “iconic” hotels on the Las Vegas Strip do charge added fees, but it’s possible to find some that don’t. Here are a few locations to consider:

• Wyndham Desert Blue
• Marriott Grand Chateau
• Desert Rose Resort

Review sites like Tripadvisor can be helpful in tracking down resort fees without going through a booking for every hotel (people are generally pretty outspoken about things that make them angry, like hidden fees, on review platforms).

2. Use points to book your room

Using points can be even more valuable in Las Vegas than other destinations. You can have resort fees waived completely with many properties, including Hilton and Hyatt brands, if you book your entire stay using points. You just need to pick the best hotel credit card for your travel style.

3. Use your elite hotel status

You could be eligible for waived resort fees if you reach elite status with a hotel loyalty program.

For instance, joining the Caesars Rewards program could earn you great rewards if you are an avid Vegas visitor — including avoiding resort fees. Your resort fees will be waived if you are in one of the Diamond tiers or the Seven Stars tier.

You can reach these tiers by gambling or spending on property, but you’ll have to spend a lot to do so.

A much simpler way to achieve Diamond status is to apply for a status match from Wyndham. A status match is simply one reward program applying a competitor's equivalent status. You can use your elite Wyndham status to apply for a status match with Caesar’s Rewards.

4. See if you can get resort fees comped

If you enjoy gambling, casinos will do nearly anything to keep you spending money. If you spend enough, they will often offer rooms and other amenities free of charge. This is also known as “getting comped” — short for complimentary.

Even if you don’t gamble enough to get a free suite, you may be eligible for waived resort fees. If you plan to spend moderately on the tables, consider asking the casino hosts if you might be eligible for waived fees or other perks.

5. Ask the desk clerk or manager to waive the fee

One mantra holds true when it comes to nearly anything in life: You don’t get what you don’t ask for. Adding a kind tone and a smile can work wonders when talking to a customer service employee.

As you’re checking out, simply ask for the fee to be waived. You might have a greater chance of success if you give a reason why you shouldn’t have to pay the fee; perhaps the pool was closed during your stay, the Wi-Fi was really slow, or there was something wrong with your room. While this tactic won’t always work, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

6. Dispute the charge with your credit card

If you think you’ve been unfairly charged added fees and you paid for your room with a credit card, you may be able to have the charges reversed by filing a dispute with your credit card issuer.

You’ll usually need to explain why you shouldn’t pay the fees — simply not wanting to cover the added costs probably won’t be enough. For example, maybe the fees weren’t properly disclosed before your card was charged. Or perhaps a hotel advertised “free” amenities and then charged a resort fee to cover them.

You can dispute a charge and provide the required documentation to your credit card company, and they will contact the hotel on your behalf if they feel your reasoning is valid. If the credit card company decides the case in your favor, you could be refunded for the fees.

Using this strategy, I have successfully disputed a few resort fees. Your credit card company is your advocate, and you have a decent chance of getting reimbursed for fees if you can make a compelling case.

How much you can expect to pay in Las Vegas resort fees

Here’s what you can expect to pay at some of the most popular resorts in Sin City.

Bottom line

Is spending an extra $40 or more in resort fees per night that big of a deal? For some people, no. For many others, it can make or break a travel budget. Sometimes, you can compare and find the best travel credit card to help you offset these fees.

Mandatory resort fees make little sense. They could be easily worked into the overall cost per night so consumers get an accurate idea of how much it will cost to stay at a particular resort right away. Many take issue with the ethics of resort fees, including us. We encourage you to use the tactics above to try to fight unfair fees.

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