Is anyone else fed up with resort fee cash grab?

Question

I used to love going to Las Vegas at least four times a year. Now it's been almost three years since my last visit. I miss it a lot, but I decided that out of principle I won't go back until the casinos (or at least some of them) drop this ridiculous money grab they call a resort fee. What a joke. Even the dumps with no spas or pools that are a million miles from being a resort are charging this dumb ass fee.

They may think they are fooling the public and that people will go back anyway, but that's far from the truth. Sure, some will, but I have many friends and co-workers who have given up on Las Vegas for this very same reason. So If I used to spend about $3000 every visit and I've missed 12 visits because of this, I can't see how they come out ahead. That's $36,000 that's stayed in my pocket or gone to local casinos. That's money the greedy Vegas casinos would've had if they did not insist on resort fees.

For several years, I went strictly to the Golden Nugget as they were one of the last few  casinos that seemed to resist the resort fee. I was quite impressed by that and held the Nugget in high esteem. The day they caved in is the day I stopped going to Vegas. I was very disappointed in them.

If I win this $300 contest I will use the money to cover resort fees and finally get back to Vegas. If not, I'll just keep going to a local casino.

It wouldn't surprise me that during the days of $19 rooms and 99 cent breakfast buffets on the strip that casinos made more money than the casinos of today. They had it figured out. Just get people to Vegas any way you could. Almost free rooms and cheap food and people would visit more often and leave all their money behind several times a year. I wonder what ever happened to that sound logic?

They are not just hurting themselves. How about the airlines, taxis, casino workers, and local restaurants and businesses? Every one is suffering because of their greed. I just laugh when I get emailed all their deals. Sure, here's a great deal on a room for you. Oh yeah! Don't forget the $45 per night resort fee! Some deal that is.

Go sit on the pointy end of a roulette wheel you losers.

Comments

I  TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU " . THEIR SPENDING WAAAAY OUT OF PORTION ON THESE HUGE CASINOS " , SPENDING " MILLIONS " , COME BACK TO EARTH PEOPLE ! WAS SO MUCH FUN ALSO WITH THE OLD MACHINES HEARING THAT MONEY CLANG INTO THE TRAY ", GOT EVE RYONE EXCITED " , RESORT FEES , PARKING FEES " ,  YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE FREE DRINKS  ANYMORE , WAITRESS ALWAYS GOT TIPPED  !  THEY HAVE TAKEN ALL THE " FUN " OUT OF  VEGAS  . USE TO BE YOU COULD ALSO " WIN " A  LITTLE AND GO HOME WITH THAT MONEY AND AGAIN RETURN SOON , NOT ANYMORE , " OOOH " A  FEW GET A LITTLE JUST TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD . BUT , IF YOU " WON " , YOU SPENT MORE ALSO . EVERY CASINO IS TRYING TO OUT DEW THE OTHER , BIGGER AND BIGGER , MILLIONS SPENT  AND YOUR TRYING RECOUP , COME ON , GET BACK TO REALITY  !  THEY JUST HAD A LARGE CONVENTION THERE , WHAT DID THEY DO , BUT " JACK " THE PRICES OF ROOMS SKY HIGH !!   COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH , STOP THE RESORT FEES , PARKING FEES , LET PEOPLE WIN SOME BUCKS , AND YOU'LL HAVE A  " HAPPY VEGAS AGAIN " !

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It's now about four years now since I've been to Vegas and I miss my three trips a year, but every time I went it seemed like they were finding more ways to take the fun out of it. I just don't get it. I used to leave just as much money there(and often more) when there were .99 cent breakfast buffets and no resort fees, and some rooms on the strip were $19. But back then I didn't mind going home broke, because it was a great time and I lost money because I chose to gamble and not because of exorbitant cost of meals, rooms, and those ridiculous resort fees. I can almost guarantee that if they went back to the old ways of dropping room and meal costs and doing away with resort fees they would make more money than they are now. The last few times I did go and had to pay resort fees I had to make a point of spending less on gambling so I could pay the fees when I checked out. They would've gotten my money anyway but all they succeeded in doing is pissing me off convince me not to return, so how are resort fees helping them on the bottom line? Often, I used to tip a cocktail waitress $5 because I knew how hard they worked, but I even had to stop doing that to reduce my expenses. Nobody is winning in this situation and I think the state, city or gaming commission should step in and put an end to this Resort Fee lunacy. It's gotten way out of hand. Even the casinos with no pool, no spa, no wifi, no newspapers, and no coffee in the rooms are collecting these fees just because they can. They are a million miles away from being a resort. On top of everything, they never take into consideration that those of us who visit from Canada are already paying a 33% premium because of the difference in the dollar. It's just gotten ridiculously expensive. A $35 resort fee is actually about $46 for us. A $100 room is actually $133 room. It's pure lunacy. I'd love to see their numbers. I'd love to see how many Canadians have stopped making the trip.

Answer 1

The resort fees do seem to be getting out of control and are often more than 50% of the total stay! There are many reasons for them, but a lot has to do with keeping more profit when a hotel is booked since they don't share the resort fees with other sites or agencies that promote them. Just too much greed in my opinion.