When Did This All Happen??

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 That is what one board poster exclaimed.  "I was just there two months ago and none of this was going on!"

Well, it may not have been going on two months ago in the casino you visited, but it has been around a good bit longer than that in Vegas and in other cities around the world.  Here is a post about Hawaii:

http://www.elliott.org/blog/time-to-say-aloha-to-the-resort-fee-capital-of-the-world/


The "when" of the resort fee farce can be any day of any week for any casino. That is why Viva Las Vegas took on the task of updating the list here (click), why some of the more savy discounters are getting the message that this is going to continue to be a frustrating hidden fee and they better get it communicated to their customers, and why I am trying to chase this thing into the ground on a daily basis and see if I can keep up with the rapid changes.

You can help by sending me information, anecdotes, things you have read.


For many, many customers the important "when" is the time in the room booking process when they learn that each of their nights might cost them another $25 and that all their comparison shopping did not mean much because, quite simply, they were quoted one price and will pay another.
Perhaps it is as they check in.
For some it won't be until check out.
And we will have to imagine that for many it won't be noticed  until they pay the Visa a month after they are home.

Perhaps as we communicate and update for each other, we can stop this virus from infecting the pleasure of a Vegas trip, but even here we are always working behind the "when" of the decision.

Unlike casino implosions, the imposition of resort fees will not be televised.

The major purpose of this practice is to get the hotel to look cheaper than the competition looks when someone tries to compare prices.  To compare accurately the consumer needs to do it twice, once with the hotel rate and again with the resort fee.
Of course, the entire business of the casino is to trick the customer into paying more than they intended,  but generally casinos have kept the tricks confined to the slots, extra zeros on roulette, and dealers reminding us to bet the hard ways. They have not tried to trick us in the booking process itself.
But they are hurting for cash. So, like many financially strapped folks, mugging sounded like a good solution.
Hey, if the bankers can do the fine print scam on house mortgages, why not do it on rented casino rooms?

Ask for total prices when you book.
Confirm those total prices when you confirm your room before heading out to Vegas.
Post what information you find so we can spread it around to other Vegas travelers.

And ask often.  Read this resort fee experience from at Green Valley Ranch Jean Scott
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/blogs/jscott/index.cfm/2009/4/25/It-Does-Pay-to-Check



The better "when" is the day we see these fees go away or evolve into something optional.
Or the day when some Vegas casino begins to advertise that they have no resort fees as a way to promote their rooms the way Southwest promotes their airline travel with no baggage fees.
This too can be any day for any casino.
This has already happened at Circus Circus in Reno.  And on some discounter sites I am beginning to see a prominent note that exclaims "No Resort Fees" for some of the advertised hotels.

Harrah's rejects resort fees.

Circus Circus in Reno started advertising against these insidious fees.  Now Harrah's has taken a stand in Vegas:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/05/harrahs-uses-resort-fees-take-swing-competitors/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Here is a blogpost reaction:


http://lasvegasblog.harrahs.com/las-vegas-hotels/more-bang-for-your-bucks-no-resort-fees/ 

***************************************************************************
Negative responses say, "They will just roll the fees into their rates"
Uh...........Yep, I guess they will........this is what we've all been asking that they do.
Here is my response:

No one is suggesting the casino hotels shouldn't charge for the rooms and amenities, only that the price is upfront and not in the fine print. Easy comparison, upfront pricing and no surprises.

Then if the LVA newsletter or other news agency reports how low Vegas hotel rates have dropped, their information will not be skewed by a failure to take in resort fees in the mathematics.

Then if there is a thread, say, the low rates at Hooters, folks won't be debating whether it is a good deal or not for a Dozen posts before it is clear to everyone that the cost of the room is 42% higher due to fine print resort fees and all the time spent discussing the value of the "Sale" was based on the wrong figure.

Then the folks who want to exercise or have internet can see that rolled into the price of some hotels, and decide on a hotel that offers it, or consider the optional charge for the service upfront at others and buy it or not.

Then when shopping for hotel rates on any number of discount broker sites, the advertised price will be, well, the real price, the low to high ranked price charts on these discount sites will offer some bit of credibility.
Also, the discounter won't have to have a long list of casinos with and without Resort Fees so the consumer can spend more time doing unnecessary mathematical adjustments, trying to determine which Resort Fee is taxed and which is not. Three discounters now report different resort fees for Circus Circus while their own desk clerks say there is none. Who knows what is true?

Then when newbies or the inexperienced or the uninformed book a hotel room, they won't get surprised on check in or check out by fine print trickery.

Then when a room is booked, it is booked; folks won't have to consider whether that casino "grandfather's" in the emergence of new Resort Fees or a raise in fees or whether they just automatically charge a resort fee when it emerges to everyone, regardless of when they booked.

Then a class action lawsuit will not be necessary to get back the Resort Fee that was undisclosed. If there is one price, then it will be the price. No confusion. No unnecessary litigation.

Then when a room is comped, it will be free. No one will have to have their play evaluated by a host to see if the remaining 40% of the room is also comped at that particular place for their particular play. Free post card offers will actually offer free rooms. Seems simple.

Then when it is time to check out, we can actually use the fast check out rather than take our preprinted agreement on charges to the counter and compare it to the actual charges and wait fifteen minutes for a "suit" to waive the resort fee.

So go ahead Vegas casinos. Roll them into the prices. They were a deceptive trick posted in the fine print to catch the unsuspecting. Put the charges for the hotel upfront. I don't see anything bad about about knowing upfront what we have agreed to pay and having that honored even if we are drunk, distracted, forgetful, or in a hurry at check out. Keep the poker playing strategies for the poker tables. We don't need them when booking.

It sure will save a great deal of booking time, comparison shopping, sharing of deals on forums, and checking in and out.

Responses to the news:

http://www.elliott.org/blog/no-resort-fee-its-big-news-in-las-vegas-baby/

Circus Circus Resort Fee Increase not there as of Jan 4

****************************************************************


So much of this resort fee reporting is confusing.  As of January 4, there is no increase at Circus Circus over the dollar phone fee.  Operators booking rooms seem not to know anything that might be coming.
Meanwhile the discounters are reporting that Circus Circus will charge $3.95 or $4.95.

I wrote Vegas.com to see why they show a Resort Fee when Circus Circus says there is none, and here is their reply:
Hello,

Thank your for contacting us. We checked with management at Circus Circus and confirmed that they will be charging a resort fee of $3.95 beginning Dec. 20.


Kind regards,
Vegas.com


In December I wanted to check to see if the fee in Vegas was up and working as predicted on the 20th just to test Vegas.com on accurate information. I also wanted to test a theory from a poster on the LVA board that claimed anyone booking before the fee was in place for a time after the fee was imposed would be "grandfathered" in and would pay no fee.  Wherever this is true, at least when we booked, we could be assured that raises in Resort Fees would not be added later.

I called Circus Circus in December and so the resort fee had not been implemented, but

"That doesn't mean it won't be next week"
said my operator whose name I won't give since I don't want her to be bothered.

Then I asked her about this "grandfather" theory.
She said if I booked yesterday and the fee was in place in January (her guess as to when it might hit the computer) that I would not be grandfathered in when I arrived in April, but I would have to pay the fee.

I asked three times in three different ways and she said definitely, "No!" to the grandfather theory and added that she wished it would work like that because the way it works now she gets plenty of people yelling at her. She did say I could do what the guy in the last post did, call a manager, because he has the discretion to waive it. But that is no guarantee, is it?

Futhermore, she said that when Circus Circus  first imposed the dollar fee for unlimited calls, no one was grandfathered.

So there it is. I do have to trust Vegas.com's connection that they really know about the coming imposition of the fee, but Vegas.com has no reason to make that fee up or do any of the outher discount room brokers. It hurts their business.

And I don't care just about this one casino.
It is the practice. It seems to be tricking everyone into thinking that it is not a hidden fee likely to rise up and bite them at check in or check out.
The operator said she thought that resort fees don't work with any grandfathered protection in other casinos also, but she was wrong about that:

"Monte Carlo added a resort fee between the time I booked and the time I checked in and I was grandfathered. NYNY and Mirage also grandfathered people with reservations before the fee was instituted." from Viva Las Vegas on his list at http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50749&highlight=resort+fees
I'd like to hear the specifics of folks who have  been surprised with the resort fee and then been automatically grandfathered by the check in clerk as if that were the standard procedure.
Who has had that experience?
Where have you been required to call a manager to get the fee waived?  How long did that take? 
And who has been charged the fee regardless of complaining that it violated the original booking.


Meanwhile
Circus-Circus in Reno is advertising with the slogan NO RESORT FEES.
You go, Reno!!!!!!!!! Hope this is the next trend.
Check out their advertisement:

http://www.circusreno.com/hotel/noresortfees.aspx




Perhaps Vegas casinos are listening.

Priceline and other opague bookings really hide the fee

So at Priceline you may or may not get the best price as once again the Hotel Resort Fee is not included in the original formula for the booking.  Check out this article


http://www.elliott.org/blog/vegas-hotel-opaque-site-resort-fee-t-r-o-u-b-l-e/

LAUGHLIN RESORT FEES

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 So far reports from Laughlin indicate that only Acquarius is trying the Resort Fee trick.  That means that  you can often book two rooms in Laughlin for the same price as the Resort fee at one room in Vegas.
A car makes Laughlin an easy destination.  Going by bus for a few days costs about $110 round trip from Terribles(no resort fees)  or the airport.

details are here:  http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2008/08/snippet-2008-why-laughlin-and-how.html

Atlantic City comparisons

Atlantic City has no actual resort fees.
However, that does not mean that when you get an e-mail come-on for $35 a night, you will pay $35 a night to stay there.
Let's do the numbers:

Standard Tax:  Add 14%

Additional Occupancy tax: Add $5 - $10  in most places per night .  Comped rooms are more: $6 - $13.  Only $1 at the Irish Pub.

When I called around on January 11, only Harrah's properties quoted $10.  Comped players pay $13.

Self Parking:  Generally, a one time $5 fee if you are a guest.  Beyond that you can come and go for free if you have a pass that you are a hotel guest.  Charged the $5 each new day, but if you leave the car and just walk the boardwalk, you pay only the one time fee of $5.
At Trump Plaza you pay $5 and get a one time complimentary in and out by being a hotel guest.  After that you pay unless you just leave your car sit and walk.
The Irish Pub has no parking at all available, but a nearby parking garage charges $7 per day.

Parking fees change during busy times.  It could be as much as $20 to park during busy times.  Caesars has been known to charge that.  If you have a card, then it is only $5.
Valet parking prices are extra.

So when booking, ask all these questions again.  Especially ask what the parking fee is likely to be when you arrive and how to minimize it.  It seems that this is the fee most like the resort fees, able to be manipulated by the casino hotel depending on what they think the market will bear.  Also, parking is higher at many places if you don't sign up for a player's card and show it, and much less or nothing if you play enough on your card to gain status and a new level or color or card name.

I am still working on getting more detail; however, in most cases, I hear from well bankrolled players who may or may not have the same experience as low rollers/live poker players who pay cash for rooms.
Here is an interesting thread on the topic:
http://forum.americancasinoguide.com/general-discussion-forum/2425-more-resort-fees.html

My good friend Bigfus writes:

All the hotels in AC have a "tax" and "fee" charge.  This ranges from $6 to $13 a night.  There's no way around it.  I know that all the Harrah's properties are between $11-$13 and I think Resorts/Hilton, Borgata and the Trump Properties are $6-$9 a night.  Supposedly part of it is based upon the "Cost" of the room. (I'm so used to paying these fees that I don't usually note them.)  Obviously the whole $ amount is not a "tax" or they'd all be the same.  The Borgata will let you pay the tax/fee with your comp points if you'd like.   I haven't stayed at the Tropicana in years  so I don't know what their fee is.

Harrah's fees are probably the highest in AC but they give out the most comp rooms too. 

Parking is usually $5 a night (even when you are a hotel guest) but some of the props on the boardwalk raise and lower this amount based upon the time of year.  Saturdays in the summer at Caesar's can be $20 a day to park -- ridiculous. 

You get free parking if you have a premium card from the casino.  At certain times of the year parking is free at the various casinos.  They change it all the time. 

If you park at a casino and pay for it, you can get a receipt that is good for you to give to the next casino you park in within 24 hours for free. 

We "The ECLVA" try to park at the Claridge (which is a Harrah's prop) because you show your Diamond card on the way in, and they don't run it (which means you are not tripped).  The Claridge is in the middle of the boardwalk. 


***********************************************************
This poker site lists a few casinos that give fee parking with a card.  I don't know how current the information is.
http://www.acpokerguide.com/new_pokerrooms.htm

I'll keep collecting information.  In the meantime if you are going to Atlantic City ask all the questions you can at the front desk.  It surely is a good bit easier to settle these issues for a particular booking at a particular time than try some generalized approach based on whatever I gather here.

For the most frugal traveler it is possible to get $27 (plus tax) rooms at the Irish Pub, drop off the luggage there, and park at a casino nearby for just $5 for the length of the stay as long as the car remains in the parking garage.  Each time the car is taken out and used, it is another $5 fee.

What can coupon providers do to help?

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They can make certain that resort fees are listed on every coupon advertising a hotel rate in their book.
They can make sure that when they report on hotel rates, they include the Resort Fees in what they write and in the conclusions they draw.

The funniest Resort Fee has to be the Gold Spike. This casino has the worst reputation and new owners were determined to change it so they renovated the entire casino. Well, they did not renovate the rooms yet.  That is still in the works.
But they have a $2 Resort Fee and nothing to put in the amenities section because all you get for the Resort Fee is an renovated  room in a place that is the farthest thing from a resort that you can imagine.
They just charge; they have absolutely nothing to list as a benefit.
The Gold Spike offers a $7.77 promotional coupon for a single weekday night in the 2010 American Casino Guide. Nothing on the coupon says anything about the $2 resort fee which adds 26% to that night's stay. They kept that information back from the American Casino Guide and you just know it is going to be something that will make people annoyed.
This kind of promotion works to unfairly reduce the credibility of well respected, frugal traveling tools like the American Casino Guide. It is a small amount, but it sets folks to wonder.
Editor Steve Bourie has made it clear that he thinks these fees are a "gimmick" to get more money out of the customer,  and that it is sad they have felt they needed to add these fees to the room charges.
Still promotional coupons to really work need to be redeemed smoothly so that the users are amazed they can get such a deal, and then are then drawn to return to buy that coupon book and also to return to the promoted casino.  The Gold Spike had a great idea with this $7.77 room coupon.  They should just charge that advertised amount.
It is a good bit of work to keep up with redeeming coupons.  If folks take the time to do the couponing work and then detect a catch, all the joy of the savings is replaced by a feeling of being caught again, even in this small way, by the disingenuous casinos.  And it is not like the feeling of going on a coupon to a casino and losing fifty bucks after staying to play beyond the one coupon bet or having the free buffet.
Gamblers joke all the time about how much a $5 coupon  or a free buffet may have "cost" them, but they take the blame for their decision to stay and play, usually making a joke of it.  That fifty lost in gaming is not begrudged the casino as much as that $2 they lost as a hidden in fine print resort fee.

SOME FEES ARE NOT RESORT FEES

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 So far Harrah's has not decided to charge  Resort Fees.

Flamingo for April 2010 charged me a processing fee of $10 for my phone reservation. I am there five nights, so it is not much for the use of the pool and for my first stay on the strip, so I paid it. I have since found out that this is only charged if I use the phone to book and it is not a resort fee.
When I booked another week in April at Imperial Palace, I could not manage it on the computer which kept saying I already had a reservation.
So I called to book. The girl told me that the computer reads bookings per month so that if we try to book two Harrah's properties in the same month, we will get rejected by the computer. So I called.
They booked me over the phone and when I asked, "So is this going to cost me the $10 processing fee..because the computer can't separate dates in the same month?"
"No," she said, "Since it was clearly a problem with the computer, we waive that fee."
If you call and simply indicate you are unable to book on line, perhaps they will waive the fee?
At any rate the processing fee, which may look like a Resort Fee, is just there to give an incentive to use the Harrah's online booking rather than bother them with phone calls.
Resort Fees are charged for every night of your stay;  these fees are not.
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Most hotels also charge anywhere from $15 - $30 per person per night over 2 if you admit you have more than two people staying in the room. The fees for four people (two couples or a family of four) declared at check in would exceed the actual room cost at over half of Vegas properties on weekdays. from Viva Las Vegas

******************HOW TO COMPLAIN****************************

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 HOW TO COMPLAIN

What methods are there of protest?
Complain at the front desk. (While this is the weakest form of protest, this seems to still be working for people who find this added to their comped rooms or were not told when they booked.)
Complain in writing to someone who must answer.
Complain on public discussion boards and encourage others to complain as well.
Whenever you cancel a reservation, say it was because of the resort fee and say that in writing.
Put the entire hotel bill into dispute with your credit card company and let them wait for their money.
If you are trying to get it dropped, tell the casino you will dispute the entire bill with your credit card. It is more bother for them to go through that process than to waive the fee.

If you feel that the casino did not do all they could to inform you of this fee in enough time for you to change your reservation for a cheaper hotel, then this might be a good thing to say, and of course to put in writing:
"Fine, I'll pay this tricky resort fee that I feel has trapped me, but I'll not wager a dime in this casino. I'll go next door or down the street. While  I'm here, I'll enjoy the amenities that I have paid for by paying this fee.  I'll go on the internet in my room or to the fitness center. I'll enjoy the pool, and use up my points on free food, but I won't gamble here this trip. That will more than save me the resort fee and begin to establish me in some other casino as a good customer and one who expects fair play. If you want me to treat you as a resort rather than a casino, I can do that."



Mirage is apparently discussing the practice.  Here is a request for information in response to a recent letter of complaint:


My email address is dsteinbach@mirage.com. We are monitoring our guest comments about the resort fee and I appreciate you sharing your feedback. I will ensure they get to the right areas. 

And here is an interesting tactic. A poster on this discussion board had paid the fee and arrived back home before questioning it.  The poster copied and mailed the discussion thread to the hotel asking for a rebate and got it.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/1026670-free-nights-do-i-have-pay-resort-fee.html

 

DISCUSSION BOARDS: RESORT FEE THREADS

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you may skip my long introduction and just scroll  to the lists of threads from an assortment of Vegas boards that cover this issue at he end of this post

 Vegas discussion boards are a fine place to collect information about any topic related to Vegas; however, along with helpful, knowledgeable posters will be scattered folks who may only know a bit about something, may work for casinos and have a different agenda than a tourist, may like to take an opposite position just for the fun of it, or may have some other axe to grind.  Reading many threads on a assortment of boards is very helpful in getting a rounded idea of what is happening.
On this issue only very current posts are useful as the details of the fees change often. If you call and find a certain casino now has a higher rate than you see on posted lists, let the list poster know.  Let me know too.  I'll pass it on.

It may be hard to imagine folks who would actually defend the hotels' decision to trick us in this way, but they will be on every thread.  Many think that no one should ever complain about how a casino manages things and that the basic rule is "buyer beware"regardless of how insidious and ridiculous the trick.  Or they claim this is a lot of smoke over nothing.
 The points made by folks who don't think resort fees are any problem seem to fall in these categories:

1. "Who cares about a little $8 resort fee. It's only money."
2. "Don't worry, the casino will take care of you if you just ask them at the desk and get a full statement of charges."
3. "You can get easily get rid of these charges if you gamble more."

If you think about these arguments for a moment you will see that these are classic casino positions. The casino always wants us to devalue the value of money, so they can collect it from us with the least possible resistance.
They always want to give the impression they are our friends and will take very good care of us, when in reality they are trying to relieve us of our money.
And casinos try all sorts of schemes to try to get us to play more.  We are fine about most of them.  This one is just a bit over the line.

A second group of casino defenders are folks who enjoy their position in an elite group of savy travelers. They seem to say over and over, " We smart people can add the resort fee to the advertised fee, do the math, and come up with our cost.  If you can't do that, then you deserve to pay the extra fee."  They simply ignore post after post of confused and irritated people who were tricked as well as some of the more subtle complications of the resort fee payment structure.  Smart people should just do what they do.

And finally, there is a shrinking group of fatalists who simply say that there is nothing to do about these fees, when, of course, there is plenty to do and even a small bit done against this concept can reverse the trend as it did at M casino and in the minds of Harrah's marketers.

It is of absolutely no use to argue with these folks, but they do need to be challenged to rethink the issue, not because they will actually change their simplistic rhetoric, but because there are lukers on these boards, reading, but saying nothing.

Every gambling writer faces these issues in the writing and those who try to protect the players,
responsible writers (like Jean Scott, Mark Pilarski, Dan Paymar, John Grochowski, Linda Boyd, John Blowers and many others,) tell us that money always matters even if it is disguised as chips, devalued by alcohol, or hidden in fees.
They tell us that we should enjoy the friendliness of the casino, but to remember that casinos are like the con man and only friendly until they get all we got.
And finally they often warn us never to get trapped into playing for comps.

The first poster I ever read about who was surprised by the resort fee was a fellow who had arranged to take his wife to Red Rock for their 25th wedding anniversary. From what he wrote I took it that he really could not afford the trip, but he splurged.
So they get there and find that the deal they booked and thought was so good had not mentioned that they were going to pay $28 dollars a night extra to the casino as a resort fee.


This couple generally did not have money for hotels, and had not gone to many, so what do you think they did when they saw the interesting stuff on display in the room? You got it. I forgot what it cost him to "look" at the sex package toys offered due to the time sensitive trick the vender and casino like to play.
He put them back, but they ended up on his bill.
He laughed about it and at himself for not paying more attention to detail and for not taking seriously that this was Vegas where every time you turn around someone was trying to trick you out of your money.
Well, he had been tricked successfully.
Naturally, the added expense took the celebratory edge off the anniversary trip, but he did not whine.  I guess he thought it was a "buyer beware" world too and the tone of the post was a humorous chuckle.

I didn't laugh with him.
I was very sad that he and his wife had wanted a special celebration and what they got was trickery and fine print.

I go to Vegas all the time on a frugal budget. I celebrated my 60th there for an entire frugal month and invited everyone I know to join me and offered to help book for them a frugal trip. No friend or family member  paid over $25 a night for a room, and I had visitors every day of the month.  I know it can be done.

Maybe some of the information here will help the next couple new to traveling to Vegas.
I know it is helpful to me.  This is the most confusing bit of idiocy I have even encountered in all my years of booking frugal trips.

HERE ARE SOME DISCUSSIONS THAT MIGHT HELP:
Noted in November:
http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50179

Noted in December:
There is plenty of resort fee discussion right after the list at Vegas message board.  Viva Las Vegas is a fine source of current information on this issue.

http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50749&highlight=resort+fees


This is by far the funniest thread of December.
 http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=17&threadid=300075

I post the Circus Circus information and get responses reflecting those three classic casino arguments.  Posters also assume this is handled the same everywhere.
I toss back the facts over and over and it is just like beating my head against a brick wall.
I get so frustrated I take a wild guess that posters have casino stock or are employees.
And I'm right.
The major apologist for the casinos, the person who calls any casino guest "ignorant" if they don't get the full details of what they booked in writing sent to them at their homes, works for one of the largest Resort Fee hotels, the Aliante Station Casino.
So I've been fighting "hidden fees" and "hidden conflicts of interest" as well.
It is good sense to get a written agreement on cost before you check in, but casinos should not be trying so hard to trick and confuse their customers that we need to assemble piles of proof in order to simply rent a room.
No one should feel diminished because they are confused by this Resort Fee practice.
No one should take the blame for being fooled by fine print.
I'm confused, and I have been booking rooms for many years.

More discussions are here:
One as early as this spring:
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97782

http://blonde4ever.yuku.com/topic/12968
and here
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=17&threadid=299964&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=
and here
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=299287&STARTPAGE=1&CFID=28914273&CFTOKEN=16527034
and here
http://www.vegastripping.com/board/topic.php?topic=750
and in this discussion Steve Bourie of the American Casino Guide speaks against these fees:
http://forum.americancasinoguide.com/general-discussion-forum/2354-resort-fees-vegas-hotels.html#post3852
and here.
This is a rather short discussion, but whenever we get a chance to read author Linda Boyd's perspectives, we should.
http://www.midwestgamingandtravel.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=382&sid=6e3f5c390f96da5994741a1c22f522d4

This discussion covers hotels other than Vegas and is interesting because one poster got the fee refunded after he had paid it and gone home.  He sent in the complaining thread.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/1026670-free-nights-do-i-have-pay-resort-fee.html

Noted in January 2010

http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?p=377751#post377751

http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=17&threadid=300444

bibliography of Resort Fee articles

These are more general articles on added fees:
http://hotels.about.com/od/hotelsecrets/a/avoid_charges.htm
http://www.dealbase.com/blog/?p=491 

http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/watch-out-for-these-hotel-fees.html?id=3439912

An interesting collage of resort fee reactions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1GGGL_en___US354&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=hidden+resort+fees+vegas&fb=1&gl=us&hq=hidden+resort+fees&hnear=vegas&view=text&ei=-ZgpS5mSOIvDlAfVxZyiBw&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=4&ved=0CC8QtQMwAw
http://www.casinoguide.com/blogs/economy/vegas-resort-fees-and-their-effect-on-tourism/comment-page-1/

This post is dated because M discontinued their fee, but it is very well written and gets at the heard of issue with "something is horribly wrong"
http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=2729

Decent discussion but the referenced list is outdated:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Las-Vegas-Resort-Fees-Explained&id=2917656


Lawsuits:

http://www.lawcash.com/class-actions/marriott-international-lawsuit/2538

http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services-miscellaneous-business/4226112-1.html 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/170606-yipee-starwood-sued-hidden-misrepresented-poorly-disclosed-resort-fee.html

Collected Letters of Protest/Thanks

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WRITTEN COMPLAINTS and THANK YOU LETTERS:

I am starting to slowly write some protest letters and letters of thanks.
If you write letter in protest of thanks, paste it in the comment section of this post or send it to me. 
Each one models what to say. 

1.   In this letter, I am starting by seeing if another Vegas reporting regular will add this information to their fine and funny casino reviews.
http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php

12/13/09
open e-mail to cheapo las vegas
casinoboy@cheapovegas.com:

I have always loved your site since way back in the days of the old Gold Spike and your celebration of the little guy gambler.
Now a new ugly thing raises its head. Resort Fees. Consider adding that information to your casino reviews. It does require some updating, but there seem to be some folks doing that. I tried to collect them here:

http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2009/12/all-i-know-about-insidious-resort-fees.html
note:  this was before I turned this post into an entire blog

Even your old favorite Gold Spike has a "resort fee". No resort amenities, just a hidden fee. Not like the old days of syrofoam plated egg breakfasts.Also, I'll link you in the favorites on my site if you like. Mine is just a blog. I sell nothing and no one advertises there nor will that happen.Have a good one. Watch out for hidden fees.

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Letter to Gold Spike:

Open letter concerning Resort Fees‏

From:	dewey hill (deweyfhill@hotmail.com)
Sent:	Sun 12/13/09 8:43 AM
To:	generalmanager@goldspike.com

Well, I have been hearing such great reports on all the new renovations at your resort and had decided to give it a try when I come up in April.

Now I am rethinking my decision.

Why have you gone on the resort fee bandwagon?
It is not really the $2, but the idea that it is such a tricky tactic.
While the new renovation attracts, this resort fee repels.

And what exactly resort like do we get for the hidden $2? Pool? internet? laundry? business office use? gym?
I read that we get.........well...........nothing.
Guess I'll keep my El Cortez reservations. A bit more money perhaps, but I can count on few surprises except perhaps Jackie's unpredictable play at the poker table.

Sincerely
Dewey Hill 

NOTE: NO ANSWER RECEIVED

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FEEDBACK FOR KAYAK SEARCH SITE

I used to recommend you all the time, but you are failing to figure in RESORT FEES when quoting in fine print the price with taxes and fees. It makes a huge difference and completely makes the list by price function of your site useless and deceiving.

From:	Gayle Evans, Kayak QA Engineer (225622.ee0@feedback.kayak.com)
Sent:	Fri 12/18/09 4:32 PM
To:	deweyfhill@hotmail.com

Hello, Thanks for taking the time to send us feedback about resort fees. 

We are aware of this issue and are working with our providers 

to get this information.  I hope you will still use Kayak. 

We not only read and respond to every feedback, 

but use this feedback to improve our products.

Thanks again, 

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TO   gcm@tuscanylv.com 

 
January 7, 2010

I've spent a good bit of time telling my friends who are visiting Vegas that yours is a fine experience, easy enough on the bus without a car, large fine rooms, pleasant casino, rare access to laundry and a wonderful pool with internet.
However, it is hard to build much of an interest when the resort fees aim to trick them.  It is a hard, perhaps illogical, kind of resistance, but folks like very simple deals that they can understand up front.
With now almost the entire Flamingo/Blvd location shouting NO RESORT FEES think about going back to where you once were with the cost of the rooms upfront, clean, and simple so comparison shopping was not a mathematical puzzle and no one need worry that booked rooms will have a new price when checking in.
I stayed with you just a few months ago.  The $10 fee then was once per reservation, not every night.  Even that did not set well in that emotional part of myself that wants to feel taken care of and have a place to relax away from the daily grind and all the games played there.

Countrywide these resort fees have punched  the consumer in the gut just as they are recovering from a recession fueled by similar fine print trickery in the housing industry.
Folks who can still afford the trip to Vegas come to be taken good care of.  Treat us in the booking just as you would in the restaurant where we don't pay an extra fee for amenities like table cloths and napkins.

I'd like to be able to recommend your place again without having to tell folks to be sure, in comparison shopping, to factor in Resort Fee charges for things free at other places.

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Thanks to Booking Advisor.com

I just discovered you site and like it very much.
I especially like the RESORT FEE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE TEXT DESCRIBING THE HOTELS.
I only wish it were possible to include that mathematics in the initial search and comparison so that accurate ranking by price could be accurate.
I work advising people of trips to Las Vegas.
Thanks,
Dewey

Treasure Island offer with waived fees and my letter in response

http://blonde4ever.yuku.com/topic/13916/master/1/?page=1

Resort Fees and the Essential 1 offer‏

From:	dewey
Sent:	2/11/10
To:	ti-general@treasureisland.com; ti-casino-marketing@treasureisland.com

This is a tempting offer to see how we liked the TI with friends going and inviting us to join them with these nice rates.
We appreciate that resort fees would be waived too.  A nice touch.  It would have been considerate to save me a phone call and put that information in the offer.  Makes a good bit of difference on what we actually pay, so booking is now much more of a hassle while we make the call to see really what it costs to stay with you.

Also we have heard too many stories of the fees popping up again through paperwork snafus, and we  just don't feel comfortable having to ask again at check out if they pop up on the bill, and perhaps  call for a manager or host before we can leave for the airport.

Why not just always put them in the bill in the first place?  Then when we book, we get only one amount and there is no need to recheck anything?

Harrah's does that.  One billing.  They are close enough that we can stay there and still meet up with friends or have them come over and play where we stay. So we'll wait for the simplified billing approach to try a new place.

At least include "no resort fees"   in the marketing offer language, so we don't have that first call to make, just to start the conversation with one another about whether we want to go or not.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Dewey, Elizabeth, Ron and Laura