A lot of websites and social media posts are saying that resort fees, especially in Las Vegas, have been outlawed and are gone. This is not so as a peek at any hotel's site or travel site will show you. There have been new laws prohibiting bookers from hiding them but pretty much everyone was already in compliance with those rules before they went into effect. They can still advertise a room for $30 but before you go to book it, you'd have to look real hard not to notice that there's also a $45.00 resort fee.
Some folks wonder: "Why don't the hotels just admit the room is $75?" And the reason is that if they did it that way, when some travel site booked you into that room and collected its commission, that commission would be calculated based on the $75 price. If they break it down to a $30 room with a $45 resort fee, the travel site collects its commission off the $30, not $75. So the hotel gets to keep more of what you pay.
Resort fees are one of the many reasons I no longer go to Las Vegas. Another is that the bigger picture is that Vegas businesses are now largely ruled by the belief that no matter how much they raise prices, someone will pay them. It's unbelievable how much prices have soared there. I'd really feel like a rube if I went there and paid them…which is a shame.
I used to go to Las Vegas a lot but when I look at current pricing, I see very few places to dine or shows to attend that I think are worth what they're asking. It's also getting harder to win there or play at modest levels…and that doesn't seem to be causing very many people to not gamble; at least not enough to get the casinos to not keep doing everything they can think of to increase their cash intakes.