You found a $99 hotel room. Great deal, right?
Maybe not.
The advertised room rate is often only the beginning of what you will actually pay.
Many hotels in major tourist destinations add mandatory resort fees, destination fees, amenity fees, or similar charges on top of the advertised room rate.
And here’s the part that catches many travelers by surprise:
These fees generally aren’t optional.
You don’t get to decide whether you want the resort’s pool, fitness center, Wi-Fi, beach access, business center, or other amenities that the fee supposedly covers. If the charge is mandatory, you pay it whether you use the amenities or not.
Las Vegas is famous for resort fees
Las Vegas is probably the best-known example.
A hotel may advertise an attractive nightly room rate, only for the final cost to be substantially higher once the mandatory resort fee and applicable taxes are added.
But don’t assume this is just a Las Vegas thing.
Similar fees can be found in major tourist destinations throughout the United States, including parts of Hawaii, Florida, New York, California, and other popular travel markets.
The amount can vary considerably from one property to another.
That’s why saying a hotel costs “$99 a night” doesn’t necessarily tell you what staying there will actually cost.
Why do hotels charge them?
Hotels describe these fees in different ways and may say they cover a collection of amenities and services.
From a traveler’s perspective, however, the important issue isn’t really what the fee is called or what it supposedly covers.
The important question is whether you have to pay it.
If the answer is yes, then it is part of the real cost of your hotel stay.
This is particularly important when comparing hotels.
A $99 room with a $50 mandatory fee isn’t really competing on price with a $125 room that has no comparable mandatory fee. The advertised room rates may make the first hotel appear less expensive, while the final prices tell a different story.
Look beyond the headline price
Before booking a hotel, don’t stop at the big number displayed in the search results.
Look for the total price, including mandatory fees and taxes.
Booking sites generally provide a breakdown somewhere in the reservation process. Read it.
You may see:
Room rate
- Resort/destination/amenity fee
- Hotel and local taxes
= Actual amount you pay
The terminology can vary, but the principle doesn’t:
The final total is the number that matters.
Don’t forget the hotel taxes
This is also where our other article on hotel taxes comes into the picture.
Hotel taxes and resort fees are two different things, but they can both increase the amount you ultimately pay for a room.
If you haven’t read it yet, see [Hotel Taxes: The Extra Cost Travelers Often Don’t See Coming] for more about the various taxes that can be added to lodging.
Together, the two issues can make a surprisingly large difference between an advertised room rate and your actual bill.
A $99 room may still be a good deal
There is nothing inherently wrong with a hotel charging a resort or destination fee, and a hotel with additional mandatory charges can still be reasonably priced compared with other accommodations.
The problem for travelers is simply assuming the advertised room rate is the final price.
It isn’t always.
So the next time you see a hotel advertised for $99 a night, don’t immediately celebrate the bargain.
Click through. Check the fees. Check the taxes. Check the final total.
Then you’ll know what the room actually costs.
Know before you go.
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