Las Vegas Strip Hotels Raising Resort Fees

Strange, the airlines are always under scrutiny regarding disclosure of all their ancillary fees but somehow the hotel industry has apparently avoided detection by policymakers in DC. According to the LA Times, the Las Vegas Strip hotels are looking to add to their bottom lines by increasing their so-called resort fees.

Yesterday, all of the Caesars Entertainment properties concentrated in the central Strip area began charging $25 a day for resort fees. Some hotels that raised their rates include Bally’s, Flamingo, and even their low end property, Linq (which used to be Quad which used to be Imperial Palace). This matches the price at upscale hotels like Venetian and Wynn.

So what do you get from Caesars for this mandatory $25 a day? Impressive must-have amenities like W-Fi for two devices, local phone calls, and use of their pools and fitness centers. Since most people today travel with two or three wireless devices, this can get pretty expensive to add the cost of additional electronics every day. Uh, impressive? Not!

MGM Resorts, the major player on the south end of the Strip, varies their resort fees depending on the property. Least expensive is Circus Circus at $14.50 per day while their most expensive at $28/day includes Aria, Bellagio, and the new Delano.

Will MGM match the Caesars price increase for their lesser properties? Stay tuned.