Resort Fees in Las Vegas: What You'll Actually Pay (And How to Fight Back)

Per-hotel data · 2025 rates

Per-Hotel Resort Fee Table — Las Vegas Strip
Hotel City Fee (pre-tax) Fee (with 13.38% tax) Year Points/Loyalty Waiver
ARIALas Vegas$50.00$56.692025Hilton/Hyatt points: waived; Caesars Diamond: waived
BellagioLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived; Hilton/Hyatt points: waived
Caesars PalaceLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025Caesars Diamond+: waived
Venetian / PalazzoLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025No standard waiver
Wynn / EncoreLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025No standard waiver
CosmopolitanLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025Marriott Bonvoy: NOT waived on award stays
Planet HollywoodLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025Caesars Diamond+: waived
Paris Las VegasLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025Caesars Diamond+: waived
Resorts WorldLas Vegas$50.00$56.692025No standard waiver
MGM GrandLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
Mandalay BayLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
FontainebleauLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025No standard waiver
HorseshoeLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025Caesars Diamond+: waived
FlamingoLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025Caesars Diamond+: waived
Harrah'sLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025Caesars Diamond+: waived
The LINQLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025Caesars Diamond+: waived
The STRATLas Vegas$45.00$51.022025No standard waiver
Park MGMLas Vegas$42.00$47.622025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
New York–New YorkLas Vegas$42.00$47.622025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
LuxorLas Vegas$37.00$41.952025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
ExcaliburLas Vegas$37.00$41.952025MGM Rewards Gold+: waived
Circus CircusLas Vegas$37.00$41.952025No standard waiver

Hotels with $0 resort fee:

Hotel City Resort Fee Year Notes
Best Western Plus Casino RoyaleLas Vegas$02024On-Strip
The Jockey ClubLas Vegas$02024On-Strip
Travelodge by WyndhamLas Vegas$02024Near Strip
Hampton Inn Las Vegas Strip SouthLas Vegas$02026Near South Premium Outlets, free parking
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip SouthLas Vegas$02026Near South Premium Outlets, free parking

The resort fee is not a tax. It is not a government charge. It is a number the hotel picked.

Skip the first price you see. The room rate on the booking page is a decoy. The real cost shows up at checkout, when the resort fee lands on top of the nightly rate.

These fees started in 1997. Since then they have spread to nearly every major hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Practically all 62,000 rooms out there carry one.

Here is the math. Let me tell you the truth.

Fees run $37 to $50 a night before tax. Then Las Vegas adds a 13.38% lodging tax on top of the fee itself. So a $50 resort fee becomes $56.69. A $45 fee becomes $51.02. Three nights, and you are $150 to $170 deeper than the price you thought you agreed to.

Why does this exist?

Hotels cut the advertised room rate so they look cheaper on booking sites. Then they claw the money back through the resort fee. There is a second motive too. OTA commissions are typically 10% to 20% of the base room rate. The resort fee sits outside that base. So the hotel pays no commission on it. That's the catch.

The Real Cost: What Travelers Actually Paid

The table above shows the published rates. Here is what resort fees look like when you are standing at the front desk:

Case 1 — The "cheap" room that tripled: In 2018, a traveler booked a room at Excalibur Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip for an advertised rate of $21.75 per night. The resort fee was nearly equal to the room rate. The real nightly cost came to almost three times the advertised price. Four nights, the resort fee alone ran past $160.

Case 2 — The $504 vs. $300 comparison: In 2026, three nights at a typical Strip hotel with a $100 a night rate, a $45 to $50 nightly resort fee, and $18 a day parking comes to about $504. Three nights at Hampton Inn Las Vegas Strip South, with a $100 rate, $0 resort fee, and free parking, comes to $300. That is $204 for a hotel a few minutes from the Strip.

Case 3 — The hidden incidentals trap: In 2026, a traveler walked into a Las Vegas hotel and found bottled water and snacks on the desk. No price tag. Looked free. A small notice nearby said the items were chargeable, with prices only behind a QR code. The traveler picked up a bottle, looked at it, put it back unopened. The system charged about $30 anyway. Seriously? At checkout, the card got hit with more than $190 beyond the expected room and resort fee. It took 30 minutes and three different staff members before the hotel admitted: "We charged you incorrectly." A local taxi driver explained the economics later. Steal $500 directly and you go to jail. Overcharge $500 on a hotel bill and almost nothing happens. If the guest misses it, the hotel keeps the money. If the guest catches it, the hotel says "mistake" and moves on.

Case 4 — Turning the fee into credit: In 2018, an experienced Las Vegas visitor paid $375 total in room charges and resort fees over a multi-night stay. A resort credit promotion handed back $480 in credit. The fee turned into a net gain.

Case 5 — The $29 room with a $29.95 fee: In 2025, one budget hotel advertised rooms at $29 a night. The resort fee was $29.95. The fee cost more than the room. The hotel had no resort amenities to speak of.

How to Avoid or Reduce Resort Fees

1. Book with hotel points at chains that waive resort fees

This is the most reliable method. Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt waive resort fees on award stays booked entirely with points. Wyndham Rewards says it does too, though implementation is spotty. Marriott Bonvoy does not waive resort fees on award stays. You can pay with points and still owe $50 or more a night.

2. Hold elite status with the right program

3. Stay at a hotel with no resort fee

A small number of Las Vegas hotels charge $0. Best Western Plus Casino Royale and The Jockey Club sit directly on the Strip. Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn, both Las Vegas Strip South locations, are just south of the Strip, charge zero resort fee, and include free parking.

4. Check if the amenities are actually available before you pay

Pool closed for renovation? Gym under maintenance? Wi-Fi down? You have grounds to ask the front desk to waive or refund the fee. No guarantee it works. Costs nothing to ask.

5. Dispute incorrect charges immediately

Keep your screenshots, confirmation emails, and final bills. If checkout charges more than you were quoted, raise it at the desk right away. If the hotel won't fix it, dispute it with your card issuer.

6. Use the resort credit strategy in Las Vegas

Some Las Vegas properties hand back resort credit equal to or above the fee when you book through certain channels or during promos. One traveler paid $375 in room charges and fees, then collected $480 in credit. The fee became a net gain.

7. Look beyond hotels, but read the fine print

Vacation rentals like Airbnb and VRBO generally skip resort fees. Hosts with six or more listings are allowed to charge them, though. Check the total price before you book anything.

The Bottom Line

These fees are not going away. Know what each hotel charges. Know which loyalty programs waive them. Know where the $0 properties are. In Las Vegas, the gap between a hotel with a $50 fee and one with $0 is over $200 across three nights. That is a Cirque ticket. Or dinner. Or money still in your account. We need to save it!