El Cortez to start Resort Fee

Too bad.....

http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2014/1/20/144138/824/vegas-travel/Downtown%27s+El+Cortez+Adding+A+Resort+Fee

 

WTF?

Well if that doesn't prove that a "Resort Fee" is anything but, I don't know what does! I stayed at ElCo for a week at this time last year. Didn't mind it, since it was a "guy's trip," but it took my lungs a couple of weeks to recover from all the hours spent in the smoky casino. Definitely will be striking it from the list, simply out of principle.

Anyone else notice how much room rates are going up in general in Vegas this year? Seems much harder to find a bargain. Maybe that's a good thing, since I like going and don't want to see places fail. But combining that with the ever-worsening VP pay tables and cr*p like 6:5 Blackjack, the place is starting to lose some it's allure.

 

It was inevitable, the El Cortez was probably losing some of it's online booking to the D and Golden Gate. The struggle to be on that first page of the hotel booking engines forced their hand on this. If it wasn't for that "resort fees and taxes not included" line in the small print they probably could have survived without it. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be waived on comps though. Mind you El Cortez stopped offering me the usual 3 nights with food and free play offers last year so maybe they are tightening up the belt.

Glad I got to play poker, meet Jackie Gaughan, and enjoy keno and a free meal at the coffee shop while I could. Who knows what they'll cut next: 3:2 Single deck BJ, Keno, or the pervasive old lady's purse scent?

 

I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Pretty soon they'll all have one unless some kind of regulatory body steps in and changes the deceptive tactic. I'm not holding my breath. They probably just got removed from my list of possible places to stay for my up coming trip.

 

Looks like MSS, Cal, and Fremont are the lone survivors with no resort fee. If you want to save on that pesky fee you will have to suffer with wooden shades in Vegas after those long nights of drinking. Decisions...decisions...

 

Resort Fee

Four Queens still doesn't have one, but I'll bet they do within a few months. They've cut back on comps (it seems, anyway), and their floor drinks now are hardly worth the bother. I smell a resort fee in their future.

 

I think we all agree if they need more $$$ to run the business, like all other businesses they need to go up on prices from time to time. What infuriates us is that instead of raising room rates the advertise a low rate and then in fine print you see, the hotel collects a resort fee directly from the customer. It's as ridiculous as the energy charge that some places tacked on to hotel bills a couple of years ago.

I am booked for 7 nights in Feb. I wonder if I am grandfathered? Maybe next year I'll have to look off strip or one of the remaining "un-resorts" downtown.

Jimbo338

 

I just booked two nights for Sept., there was no resort fee.

 

As I understand it, you are fine if you book before Feb 1.
Sure will take a bite out of the ACG coupon deal.

 

Actually on Kayak el cortez has generally had low rates over the D and GG (without their resort fee) so not sure why they need to put in a resort fee. I won't boycott the EC because of this, I generally factor in the fees when I make my reservations so as long as they have the lowest total rates including fees I will book and stay there.

I hope that one day the legislators will force the hotels to include ALL their fees and charges when you are checking on room rates. They forced the airlines to do that so I can't see why the vegas legislators don't do it for hotels.

as someone else mentioned, it seems that it is a hard to get good low room rates lately.

guess I better start looking and booking hotels for my June trip before the fees take effect.

:Þ

 

El Cortez and Resort in the same sentence....kind of an oxymoron?

 

Resort fees on a comped room are inexcusable.

TFK

 

Let me be the first to say that i dont care about resort fees.

 

Exactly. If they need to raise room rates, then raise room rates. The resort fees are deceptive and mostly seem to be a way to cheat the hotel search engines. This is shady all the way around.

So far i'm boycotting any place that has a resort fee....I may not have a choice in the near future though.

 

Exactly what I was thinking !!

 

I am with those who believe the hotels should just include the damn fees in the cost of the room. Much like the airlines have been forced to do (include the taxes and fees when looking at pricing on line) the hotel industry should do the same.

If the hotels were required to do this the blow back from consumers would die down immediately. Here's what we charge a night...book it or not.

Equally insulting is the ridiculous "amenities" they provide. Faxing (five pages and black and white only!!), notary, etc...asinine.

Big corporations do what they want consumer be damned.

 

Totally agree that the fees should be included in the price of the room. Resort fees on a higher end property are a bit easier to take...but the DT properties (except for maybe the GN) do not feel like "resorts" and really only mean you get wi-fi, correct? What else can they offer...there is nothing "resortish" about them! lol Loved the Golden Gate remodeled suites, but the regular rooms do not scream "resort" to me....

 

Just a thought, if they don't charge me for the resort fee, and IK can't get anything on wifi, it will cost me $11.99/night for internet. If I have to pay the resort fee it is $8.95/night. It would be cheaper to pay the resort fee if I used the internet all 7 days. You might catch me in the Flame with a glass of wine but never in the fitness room........do people really do that on vacation?

Jimbo338

 

i am surprised that no hotel has chosen to offer $1 rates with a $30 resort fee.

 

Well, the D gets close. Their resort fee is huge.
I used to think that the only advantage to the casino was catching the unaware and newbie travelers in fine print. However, I understand that the casino gets advantages when many folks book rooms at discounter sites:

• Since the discount search engines don't include resort fees in the low to high listings of hotels, the D can pop up much more near the top in such a search
  • 
    Since the discounter site takes a percentage of booked room charges but NOTHING of resort fees, the casino realizes the full amount of a raise in price in the form of resort fees.
    
    Then too many casinos get to easily charge low rollers more than high rollers in an automatic manner so that folks like me can't slip into the frugal cracks of low rates followed by little or no play.