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$28 resort fee?

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by wigwam_salesman, Apr 27, 2012.

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  1. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    I think it's mental.. I think if the rooms were $30 more a night, people would be more skeptical. I know for me it's ALL about the bargain in Vegas. Nothing is better to me than when I get the best deal ever on hotel. I know if I saw rooms $30 higher I'd be less likely to book, even though I know I have to pay that later.
     
  2. wernerw

    wernerw Low-Roller

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    Not to forget:
    - free elevators
    - free hot water in the room
    - free cushions
    - and even free access to the lobby!
     
  3. ILoveDonuts

    ILoveDonuts Newbie

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    Be careful there. Your list of still "free" items may get the attentions of the suits.
     
  4. Username

    Username VIP Whale

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    Resort Fee

    or

    Bait and Switch

    in the car dealership game it's called LOW BALLING.........
     
  5. technolight

    technolight Low-Roller

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    Do not know if any other hotels do this but in Sept 2010 when we were staying at the Stratosphere , I had 3 rooms for 10 nights and was expecting to pay $225 in resort fees .
    We had paid upfront with Expedia , but it stated that resort fees had to be paid at the hotel.
    At check in I was not asked to pay it , and neither at check out , so just kept my mouth shut.
    Curiosity got the better of me when I got home and checked further in to it .

    Surprise , surprise , any booking for 6 nights or more at the Stratosphere and the resort fee is waived , but it took a lot of searching to find this out. Why hide it ?
     
  6. vegas_or_bust

    vegas_or_bust High-Roller

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    Where is the bait and switch?? You are clearly informed when booking on the internet, or over the phone, that you have to pay a daily resort fee?
     
  7. vegas_or_bust

    vegas_or_bust High-Roller

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    During our stay in Aria in December, the resort fee included (1) daily internet access (2) daily access to the gym/cardio room (which is awesome btw (3) newspaper (4) 2 free drinks at one of the lobby bars and (5) ability to print boarding pass for free.

    To answer your question above, all MGM/Mirage properties include internet access in their resort fee.
     
  8. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    So in your world view, items that are freely disclosed, even as add-ons, are scams? I thought a scam involved a fraud.

    Where are you with profits? Are there legit profits in the market and "friggin scam" profits? What's the difference?

    To those hammerin' on a guy whose first language might not be English: Should we fine-tooth-comb all of your posts for allegiance to unwaveringly proper grammar, spelling and the like?

    Gawd, I love this place. Let's rename it DustUp-R-Us.com. :thumbsup:
     
  9. Jimmyredcab

    Jimmyredcab Tourist

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    Resort fees are a legal scam, how anybody can defend them is totally beyond me, why don't they just tell you the full price of the room instead of this very dubious practice. :grrr:
     
  10. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    They are freely dislosed, but the hotels rely on a lot of people either not noticing. Especially those booking through a third party.

    I can't put my finger on why I think like this, but I'd be happy with a 25% price increase at MGM with the new rooms, but trying to sneak $28 a night past me puts me off.
     
  11. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    This is a very good point. People seemed happy to complain about airlines doing this enough for them to be regulated, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for Vegas hotels. I suspect people are being defensive of the place they love, which is natural.
     
  12. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    If the red-faced crowd would pause, they'd see I've never said I support the fees -- unless I was a hotel owner. I would think calling them "chicken shit" would make my stance rather self-evident. Would I like it if they went away? Sure, if the ultimate bottom-line wasn't impacted. I also think it would be cool if TicketMaster didn't incrementally jack the price of my concert ticket and airlines had some across-the-board standard on mundane things like baggage fees and inflight costs.

    None render me into a fetal ball oozing piteous indignation, however.

    I call it a non-starter, from my point of view of course, because:

    1. In my experiences -- and I book stuff all the time -- they are rather openly exposed.

    2. I can count. And sometimes price+fee beats another joint that is bravely waving the flag and a higher all-in-one cost.

    3. They are part/parcel of travel and have been for years. Years. What I think we are seeing is that in Vegas they are of somewhat more recent vintage, we might have folks who don't travel beyond Vegas, and Vegas has a reputation for some of being about nothing but a LCD baseline of cheap for cheap's sake.

    4. I think caveat emptor is something all consumers should naturally embrace.

    P.S. For the summertime golf getaway I picked the resort that waived the resort fee in the package deal.
     
  13. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    A few quick observations:

    The hotels save money from reseller booked rooms (hotels.com, priceline, etc.) due to the fact they settle based on room cost, not room cost + resort fee.

    MGM instituted the fees around the time they rolled out City Center (to help defray cost overruns / lost revenue due to lack of demand for condos).

    I have given up bidding on rooms via priceline as the past few "wins" were resort fee hotels. My upcoming TI stay includes $230 in resort fees + tax for two rooms/four nights. We will not use any of these amenities.

    I rather have items charged ala carte or included in the room rate.

    I have shifted my play from MGM Properties (besides occasional BJ play) to independent strip/near strip operators (Cosmopolitan, M Resort, South Point, LVH) as well as downtown and when comped Boyd & Harrahs Properties.
     
  14. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    I'm not doubting you, but I can't remember anywhere else in the world that I have had to pay a resort fee. From London to Eastern Europe to the USA, the only place I have paid one is Las Vegas. Maybe I just haven't noticed them before.
     
  15. steveorama

    steveorama Low-Roller

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    For those that use the internet on their notebook/laptop a lot - get the Clear usb modem.
    This works great in Vegas and its around $35/month.
     
  16. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Amen and spot on. Capitalism!

    But in the grand scheme doesn't it seem more economically and socially responsible to rail on behalf of, say, the poor schlubs who daily get taken buying a new car, when thousands of dollars are on the line each and every time?

    That's kinda where my ennui comes from, the jaw-dropping things in the market that folks don't bat an eye over.
     
  17. Reefer

    Reefer Low-Roller

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    We just returned from Encore. It's funny, but we can often travel with flight, rooms and resort fees to Vegas cheaper than we could staying anywhere in Wisconsin for that caliber hotel ~ and I'm not sure if they have a hotel of that caliber in Wisconsin to stay at with warm weather in April :)
    For us at this point in our married life (empty nesters, mid 50's, just celebrated our 30th) we tend to want to enjoy the nicer places and feel we deserve it. So, we don't let the fees take away from our stay. So far, this was the nicest trip we have had to Vegas. I suppose at seven trips we are still concidered Vegas Virgins, but from now on we will tend to stay at the finer places like Encore, Wynn or Bellagio. Oh well...just my thoughts.
     
  18. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

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    Id say no to both
    you have luggage you pay , no luggage you dont pay = no scam

    You want a window seat or more space you pay, any seat will do = dont pay

    Hotel fees are a scam

    You want gym, internet you pay, dont want them you still have to pay
     
  19. vegas_or_bust

    vegas_or_bust High-Roller

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    When I travel for business, virtually every hotel I stay at allows you to use the gym for free. Las Vegas is the only place in the world that I have traveled to where you have to pay to use the gym. They don't tell you when you book online that the gym costs money to use? Is that a scam too??

    In our last trip to Vegas in December, my wife and I originally booked our stay at Planet Hollywood because we got a rate of around $60 per night, with no resort fees. After doing a lot of research, we learned that it costs $25 per day, per person to use the gym ($50 for both of us to work out), and approx $13 per day to use the internet. I have to use the internet every day for my job, and we like to use the gym for a short workout most days. Accordingly, it would have cost us more per day in fees to use the gym and the internet each day ($63) than it would have cost for the room ($60). Is this a scam??

    After doing some additional research, we found rates at the Aria for $109 per night plus $20 resort fee. So Aria $129 per night (all-in) vs. Planet Hollywood $123 per night (after all fees). Aria vs. Planet Hollywood at virtually the same price?? That is no-brainer (IMHO).

    I wasn't outraged at Planet Hollywood for charging these fees, as other Vegas hotels do the same thing. There cost model is different than the Aria. It is my job as a consumer to read the fine print and determine what my total cost will be. I took the time to calculate these costs and figure out what offered the best value (according to my preferences).

    People who make blanket statements that they will "never stay at a hotel with resort fees" are close-minded and only hurting themselves (again, IMHO). Read the fine print, perform a cost-comparison, and then decide where you would like to stay. If a 5 star hotel is the same price as a 3 star hotel after figuring in ALL the costs YOU will incur, I think you are silly to choose the 3 star hotel just because the 5 star charged a resort fee. That is just being petty (IMO).
     
  20. Jimmyredcab

    Jimmyredcab Tourist

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    You are spot on, I have travelled all over the world from Europe to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Manilla --- ---- never paid a resort fee, as I said, they are a legal scam. In Reno I paid $3 a night resort fee, that is acceptable because they provided a shuttle from the airport.
     
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