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Change in D resort fees on mailed offers

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by Dewey090, May 31, 2015.

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  1. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Well, what I always thought was a way to relax the resort fee charges for gamblers on 2 for 1 offers has been modified. We now must pay the resort fee on the nights for which we pay cash. Too bad. That was a great deal now gone. $20 resort fee ($22.60 really) puts the cost up there with other casinos. It almost doubles the cost of the stay.
    Too bad.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2015
  2. captainron62

    captainron62 VIP Whale

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    Et tu, Brute? Sure seems once the big dogs raise the fee, the others soon follow.
     
  3. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Well, there is no resort fee at Fremont and an American Casino Guide buy 2 get one free that brings the per night charge down to less than than the D. I just booked it. I had planned 4 nights at the D in November and they just lost me. I expect I can cover the one hanging night by adding it to the Four Queens offer and with no pressure to gamble at the D, I'll have the bankroll to cover the extra night at the Four Queens. Atually, with their comp dollar program I can probably cover the cost of that night unless I lose my bankroll too early.
    This was perhaps a foolish move on the part of the D. They are pushing out the low level gamblers who qualify for 2 for 1 but not for total free. However, they may be happy to lose me at the level I play and the advantaged games I play.
    I'll stay 2 nights in September because it is convenient, and those 23-24 nights are tough nights as they are so close to the Life is <s>expensive and Crowded and Loud, oops </s>....Beautiful Festival, but next year I'll probably be pumping bankroll into some comping casino.
     
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  4. MrBBonz

    MrBBonz Low-Roller

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    Any chance you could ask to have those fees waived? Or refunded on the back end?

    I despise resort fees as much as the next person, especially at a place like The D, where there are no real resort things to do, but I understand why they do it.
     
  5. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    I never like the pressure of back end refunds, and generally they don't work for me. I want the deal upfront. I don't want to gamble thinking I am chasing a comp that may just be bait and switch anyway. Generally, when I've gone to hosts for backend comps, I"ve heard that if I just went back and gambled a bit more .........

    I lose some of the enjoyment of playing when I can't feel like I know how much it takes for what is coming in comps and so what the stay will cost me.

    In fact, I do just the opposite. I figure my gambling bankroll by computing the difference in expenses in a Vegas vacation from those in some other locality where the pleasures are not gambling. That way, even a losing trip costs me no more than a vacation somewhere else. I have just traded the utility pleasure of a sunset for a VP experience.
    And just as there are nongambling pleasures in other places than Vegas, there are such joys in Vegas as well. When My gambling is not earning me a meal or a room or a drink and so keeping the EV high, I might as well be listening to Claudine sing Latin at the Eastside Cannery or the Toast of the Town at Sam's Town or walking through the Bellagio Conservatory.


    I understand why the resort fee is a good deal for the casino. They are big on discounter lists and this puts them on top of searches. They get to advertise a lower price than they ultimately charge. However, I thought they had a way to do that and keep a steady low level gambler coming back.

    The idea presented by the D in the beginning for creating such a huge resort fee for these two properties was that it would let them keep their rates competitive. I thought they were drawing in small gamblers like me who might qualify for a 2 for 1 by waiving the resort fee. In a sense it was like getting the rooms comped to 25% of the rack rate. Now it is comped just to 50% and gambling is expected even to continue that deal. It really depends on whether they want me to slip in and gamble a bit, or they only want the resort fee comps to apply to the higher rollers.

    For me, that plays into the formula because I stretch the value of airfare (the only real cost of a trip) by going for 20 plus days. I then only seriously gamble where there are comps added to the EV. Then I fill in with come on deals (MyVegas) or flat cheap rooms (perhaps Arizona Charlie's) or ACG coupon deals.

    Resort fees are tougher on frugal visitors like me because they represent a higher percentage of the room rate. Folks who pay $250 a night for a room pay exactly the same resort fee as those who pay $30. Their charge goes up a few percent; my charge nearly doubles.
    During good times, the casino logically wants to discourage those of us low level gamblers working the Jean Scott model. For them to win against us, we have to get sloppy. That is what is happening now.

    I always think the whole thing is much like sitting at the poker table with the casino. Each of us is playing a hand. There too, I sometimes get up and leave a table when I don't feel I can win. So, in November, I'm leaving the D table and looking at the Fremont " table. "

    Here are some of the tradeoffs:
    At the Fremont I can play pick em poker ( a new game for me, but I've printed the strategy sheets and plugged it into the poker tutor) and that has a higher EV than the Vue Bar Bonus poker or at least a more steady EV, because it is a steady payout. At the D bar it depends on the state of the progressives. I can still play at times when the progressive is high at the D without worrying about my daily average if I don't care about seeding and protecting 2 for 1 mailings. I'm also freer to go in and play nickels in the Loose Deuces anytime I'm downtown without worrying about my daily average.

    I doubt the Fremont will take me as early in the morning for check in as the
    D did. However, I am thinking the rooms might be quieter, the elevators more dependable. I doubt I'll get the coupons that seem to come with a D room for breakfast, but then at the Fremont I can use all the Boyd points from any of the other places I visit (Sam's town, Orleans)
    It is located near the Four Queens for easy luggage roll when I book those back to back.

    The Fremont deal comes with a come on coupon from the American Casino Guide. In a sense, I've turned the tables on the backend comp. I can use the coupon and not gamble at all without losing anything. I can use it next year again. And the same deal can be had at Main Street and California. For those going to Vegas a few times a year, these deals would be quickly exhausted. I go once or twice. My coupons hold up. these are the last coupon room deals. The El Cortez is not offering their good room deal in the American Casino Guide.
    So, the Fremont frees me up to use my bankroll at the Nugget's poker room. To get the full value of the rake and the better table selection there I need to play between 2 AM and quit as more regulars shuffle in in the morning, using my $10 for the breakfast buffet. So, I need to be sleeping downtown, so I can nap until midnight, roll out and play, have breakfast, nap again.

    It also frees me up for the newest in low, low level gambling, the poker tournaments at the Plaza where I can play poker, listen to good music, get comped drinks and have hours of pleasure for less than the resort fee at the D.

    I lose the D pool. In November that is not a great loss as it is not heated and very cold. My son and I went in last year, but it was like practicing for the polar bear club.

    Well, that is some of my thinking just now.
     
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  6. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    Just one correction - a 10% "flat tax" would mean that the $30 a night room paid a $3 resort fee and the $250 a night room paid $25.
    What I think you meant to say was it resembles a "regressive tax", charging the same fee, regardless of the room rate...and I agree that this is ridiculous.
    If a property must have a "resort fee", then tie it to things that are of equal value to every guest... such as "complimentary" transportation to & from the airport...or $25 in meal-credits per night... or $25 in 'free play' put on the player's card for every night...
    Stuff like that would be fair, regardless of room-rate.
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  7. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Right, thanks for that correction. I'll edit.
    The resort fee has nothing to do with its own name. I see post after post trying to make the naming of the fee somehow fit rationally with the fee itself or assuming it should. In most cases (with the exception of wifi) casinos routinely give away whatever they list as resort fee amenities to everyone. But attaching the fee in some way to something makes it a more legal upcharge that is only reported in fine print. And there are a few customers who love it because they were paying more for the amenities before they were subsidized by the other guests. So the casino can claim that it is to the customer's benefit.
    The D was very upfront about the fee having nothing to do with amenities, but simply with marketing, given the way prices appear to customers who are comparison shopping.
    However, for a long while they gave the moderate gambler who had earned a 2 for 1 the benefit of a waived resort fee.
     
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  8. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Also I should correct the amount of the resort fee. Add the tax and it is $22.60 added to the bill. (downtown hotels charge 13% tax)
     
  9. sura83

    sura83 Low-Roller

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    Dewey - just wondering if you have received a mailer for August/September from the D? Still looking to fill in four nights for September but haven't received anything from them yet.
     
  10. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    This was another strange bit. I called to try to see if I was going to get a mailer. In the first part of the conversation, the clerk said that mailers covering September were not yet out, but I asked her to look and see if I had gotten a recent mailer because sometimes I don't seem to get them. So she looked me up. (Sometimes I will book a place at casino rate in anticipation of the mailers as backup in case everything else dries up.) That was when she said that she could, in fact, book me for the two nights in September on a 2 for 1.
    I'm not sure why.
    Do they have a list of folks who they will book with a 2 for 1 without a mailer?
    I suggest you call the main reservations number, tell them you are having trouble getting the mailers and ask if they would check your latest offers. Then ask them if there are any offers for September. I would have followed up and booked my November nights, but with the new higher prices I wanted to check and see about other places, and so I called and booked the American Casino Guide coupon for Fremont. I did ask her if when the mailers came, it might mean a 2 for 1 without resort fee, but she said it would not.
    I'd certainly be interested to see what happens when the mailers come out. If your dates come into that Life is Beautiful festival, all the downtown prices are inflated. This 2 for 1 at the D covered the 23rd and 24th. Many rates for the 24th were inflated due to the festival and the weekend was so high that I thought I would not stay downtown, but the Four Queens (host Linae) booked me for casino rate and when the mailers come out, can perhaps apply them to the 28th. Mailers at the Four Queens for September will not apply to that last weekend in September. I only get a 2for 1 at the Four Queens now with the new tightening of comps, but I have $40 in comp dollars that will go away at the end of October, so that covers some of the room expense.
    I really wanted to be downtown because I fly out on the 29th and wanted to be near the WAX although I am looking in general to drift away from downtown because the recovery has raised prices there.
    I have really been thinking of scaling back on the gambling for rooms and just paying as cheaply as I can and not having to play to keep offers alive.

    It never hurts to call. In fact, I thought that getting this talked about here might have others calling. I suppose there is an outside chance that she was mistaken, or that another clerk might book without resort fee. I will certainly call after I get the mailer, or closer to the time when I confirm, and ask about the resort fee again.
    In the past the D has been able to book my 2 for 1 nights right at reservations and perhaps taking my playing history into account. I don't really know how all that works there. Let us know how your booking turns out. Good Luck.
     
  11. SpinyNorma

    SpinyNorma Low-Roller

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    The Fremont has always been good about letting me check in early. I've checked in as early as 9 AM but that was several years ago. The elevators are MUCH less frustrating than the ones at the D. After staying at the D for 2 days last November, I nearly wept with joy and relief at how easy it was to get an elevator at the Fremont.

    The rooms are admittedly nicer at the D and WIFI does come with the resort fee. You have to pay for WIFI at the Fremont but the daily fee (about $10) is less than the resort fee. Since WIFI is the only thing I actually use that comes with a resort fee, that's a win for me.

    I like the D and I've enjoyed staying there for a couple of days but between the resort fees and the elevators, I think I'm going to pass this next trip. I didn't have trouble with the elevators every time but when I did, it was really bad with some ridiculously long and aggravating waits. In fairness, I hear they're putting in two more elevators which will hopefully help the situation but I'm still leaning toward just going with the Fremont for the whole downtown part.
     
  12. sura83

    sura83 Low-Roller

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    Thanks for the info and your insight Dewey. I went ahead and booked the flight today with Southwest from ROC. Not my first choice as they have no direct flight but the times worked for us. I'll probably just be patient a while longer and wait for the mailer. DH and I both have offers for two free nights each from the Fremont so I know we'll have somewhere to lay our heads. It would take some convincing to get him to agree though as he didn't care for their rooms. I on the other hand thought they were perfectly adequate, and I love to gamble there. We actually planned the hotels with the thought of being out of DT before the festival starts. Starting at ST the first four, next four still undecided, and the last four at the Orleans. Twelve days this year which adds one day to our previous longest trip. Sad part is I know I still won't be ready to go home! :cry:
     
  13. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Welcome to the Pick 'Em (Pick-A-Pair) club, dewey! :evillaugh

    May your future hold many of these...

    [​IMG]
     
  14. ngrund

    ngrund High-Roller

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    I received an e-mail today with offers for August and September
     
  15. sura83

    sura83 Low-Roller

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    Thanks for the heads up - I'll be watching my in-box.
     
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