If you are traveling to any gambling destination, such as Atlantic City or Vegas, the last thing you need is to spend money imprudently. However, casino resort fees make it hard not to. If you have been to a casino lately, you may have noticed a massive increase in your final bill. Resort fees typically tend to creep up on you.
If you do not prepare adequately for them, you may find yourself struggling to pay the bill during check out. There is a little math needed to make sense of everything, which can make it even harder to budget a trip, let alone set money aside to enjoy a little gambling. So, to demystify it all for you, here us how casino resort fees work:
But first, what exactly are casino resort fees?
Almost every casino resort nowadays charges resort fees; it has become the norm rather than the exception. Just about every hotel and casino operator in Vegas, for example, charges this obligatory nightly fee and it is not included in the initial advertised price of your hotel room.
This means that during check out, casino resort guests are expected to pay a higher price than advertised, and the charges can add as much as 30% to the final bill. These resort fees typically cover everything from gym access and internet to discounts from the gift shop.
For years, resort fees have been the topic of contentious debates all over the world. In many ways, these resort fees are usually hidden charges. When booking your stay at a casino resort, only the base room fees will be advertised in email offers and hotel websites. The resort fees are never prominently displayed.
If you are lucky, you might find them listed in a smaller font alongside the base price. And because vacationers rarely get a chance to budget for these extra charges, it can make the process of checking out hectic and even embarrassing for some. In some bizarre cases, the resort fee ends up being higher than the rate for the room itself.
To make matters even worse, some resorts still go ahead and charge these fees even when there are little to no amenities to enjoy. Patrons and punters that end up receiving free stays are quickly learning more and more that there is no such thing as a free room. Why? Due to these mounting resort fees.
Kate Huber, chief editor at NJGamblingFun has this to say regarding casino resort fees.’’ Casino resort fees have undoubtedly caused friction between customers and the resorts. It’s like people do not want to spend more money arriving at these fancy resorts and checking into their rooms only for them to discover that they do not actually have the budget to head out to the casino and have a good time, which is why they made the trip out in the first place’’.
How did casino resort fees come to be?
Casino resort fees have been around since the 90s. At the time of their introduction, these fees applied to the extensive facilities and amenities of actual resorts, that is the pools, beach clubs, tennis courts, spas and so on. Although not all guests utilized these services, casino resorts could still dispute that maintaining these amenities merited an extra charge.
Resorts used to be more lenient back then and they would even go as far as waiving the fees whenever they did not apply to certain guests. Today, however, the situation has changed completely, with resorts charging their customers for handling services that are as simple as newspaper delivery or nightly turndown services.
Who charges these resort fees?
Resort fees today have gotten so out of hand that they have caused a drop in tourism, especially in well known gambling destinations such as Vegas, Hawaii, the Caribbean, as well as Florida. In such destinations, you will be hard pressed to find a resort that does not charge these seemingly ridiculous fees.
Why aren’t these fees advertised in the final room rate?
Casino resorts advertise their low room rates hoping to attract as many guests as possible. This is the reason why online websites do not mention these resort fees directly. Some hotels will only notify you about the fees when you are ready to make your booking, and even then, sometimes they do not even include the fee in the reservation total.
Customers usually find themselves handing over money during check in or when checking out. Over the past 2 or 3 years however, customers have launched various complaints regarding these fees and hotels are now a bit more upfront with these deceptive rates.
How can you tell whether you have been charged resort fees?
Before you make any bookings, do your due diligence and read the fine print. For instance, if you are searching for a resort from a third party website, you might be tempted by a good deal. However, it is not until you are directed to the booking page that you will discover the listed resort fee, which will most likely be bundled up with the taxes.
If you are not sure whether your resort charges the fees, the best thing that you can do is call to find out. Be sure to ask the resort before booking about the exact amount that you are expected to pay and what the fees cover so that you are well informed.
Do you have to pay the resort fees?
Unfortunately, in most cases, you do have to pay for the resort fees. If you do not intend to utilize any of the extra services, there is no harm in attempting to get your fees waived particularly if you advise the management that you have no intention of utilizing these extra services.
Final word
Casino resort fees are charged in most casinos across the world. The higher end your hotel; the higher the casino fees, it’s just how things are today. Just about every casino resort charges this mandatory fee, and it keeps rising with each passing year.
Often times, you hear or read about impressive deals for casino resorts only to be hit by a bill that you had not planned for. As such, before you head out to your gambling vacation, it is essential that you educate yourself about how resort fees work to avoid getting caught unawares.
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