Resort Fees: Is the Hotel Still Worth It?

Short answer: A resort fee only makes a hotel a bad deal if you pay for amenities you never touch, or if a rival with an all-in price comes out cheaper. Since May 2025, US hotels have to show you the full price before you book. Always compare the total, never the headline rate. Do that, and the hotel is often still worth it.

You book a room in Las Vegas. 89 USD a night, a great deal. Then you reach the front desk, and the clerk slides a slip across the counter: a 45 USD resort fee per night. For the pool, the gym and the WiFi. You never planned to swim. You do not care about the gym. And you assumed WiFi was included anyway.

Your 89 USD just became 134 USD. Per night. Welcome to the world of resort fees.

What is a resort fee and what does it cost?

A resort fee, sometimes called a destination fee or facility fee, is a mandatory daily charge the hotel adds on top of the room rate. You cannot opt out, even if you use none of the listed services.

The fee usually runs from 20 to over 50 USD a night. It is meant to cover so-called amenities: WiFi, pool access, the fitness center, sometimes a shuttle. Sounds like value. In practice you often pay for things that used to be baked into the room price.

Resort fees are especially common in the United States. Las Vegas, Hawaii and Orlando are hotspots, and some resorts elsewhere tack one on too. In Europe these hidden mandatory charges are far rarer and more tightly regulated. The topic matters most on trips to the US and for certain resort bookings.

What changed legally in 2025?

Here is the most important update. Since May 2025, the US enforces the FTC measure with the clunky name “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees”. It flips the game.

Hotels and booking platforms now have to show the all-in total price including the resort fee right from the start. No nasty surprise at check-in anymore. The first price you see must already include the mandatory fee. Important: the fee itself is not banned. It just has to sit transparently inside the total. Violations carry penalties of over 51,744 USD per case. The official details live in the FTC FAQ on the rule.

For you, that means you now see the real cost of a room before you click. In the EU, consumer law also demands price transparency, and so-called drip pricing is under scrutiny. Still, look closely on US bookings. The fee has not gone away. It has only become more visible.

Is the hotel still worth it with the fee?

The honest answer: it depends on what you compare and what you use.

A resort fee is not automatically a ripoff. If you genuinely use the pool, hit the gym every morning, need the WiFi and maybe take the shuttle downtown, there is real value inside. In that case you pay for something you wanted anyway.

The problem starts when you touch none of it. You are out all day and only sleep at the hotel. Then 45 USD a night is pure cost with no benefit. This is where comparing pays off. Thanks to the new transparency rule, you can stack hotels fairly on the full price. A “cheap” room plus a fee can cost more than a supposedly pricier room with no fee at all. For more on this, see our piece on booking online versus direct.

How do I avoid or reduce the resort fee?

You can rarely make the fee vanish, but you have more leverage than you think.

Book directly with the hotel and ask politely for a waiver. Sometimes it works, especially during slower booking periods. If you hold elite or loyalty status with a chain, the resort fee is often waived entirely. That is one of the underrated perks we cover in our article on whether a hotel loyalty program is worth it.

Book an award night with points and the fee disappears under some programs too. When you cannot use an offered amenity at all, say the pool is closed, challenge the fee at the desk. And the simplest route: pick a hotel with no resort fee at all. If you know your hotel categories, you spot faster which properties typically charge a fee.

The decision grid

So you do not have to puzzle it out every time, here is the clear line.

Worth it when:

You actually use the pool, gym, WiFi or shuttle.
The all-in price still beats every alternative.
You hold loyalty status and the fee gets waived.
The location is so good you knowingly pay the premium.

Not worth it when:

You touch none of the paid amenities.
A no-fee hotel is cheaper on the total price.
You are only there to sleep and out all day.
The fee covers services that are standard everywhere anyway.

A worked example that makes it clear

Take two hotels for five nights.

Hotel A looks cheap: 89 USD a night. Add a 45 USD resort fee per night. That makes 134 USD a night, 670 USD for five nights.

Hotel B looks pricier at first glance: 120 USD a night, but no resort fee. That makes 600 USD for five nights.

Hotel B, the “more expensive” room, ends up costing you 70 USD less. That is exactly what the new transparency rule reveals. Book on the headline rate alone and you pick the wrong hotel.

Keep every travel cost in view

Resort fees are just one of many hidden line items on a trip. Transfers, breakfast, surcharges: a lot of it only adds up once you are on the road. With the Zercy Logbook you keep your bookings and costs in one place and see what a trip really costs. That way the next 45 USD slip at the front desk no longer catches you off guard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does a resort fee cover?

Usually WiFi, pool access, the gym and sometimes local calls or a shuttle. The exact list sits in your booking confirmation or on the hotel page. Read it before you book, because you often pay for things you do not actually need.

Why is the fee now visible before booking since 2025?

Because the FTC rule, in force since May 2025, requires US hotels and booking platforms to show the total price including mandatory fees upfront. Violations can cost over 51,744 USD per case. The fee is not banned, only made transparent.

How can I get rid of the resort fee?

Book direct and ask politely for a waiver, use loyalty status, book with points, or pick a hotel with no fee at all. You can challenge charges for amenities you cannot use at the front desk. Nothing is guaranteed, but asking costs nothing.

When is a hotel with a resort fee still worth it?

When you genuinely use the included amenities and the total price beats every alternative. Always compare the all-in price. A cheap room plus a fee is often more expensive than a higher-priced room with no fee.