President Joe Biden Says Administration to Crack Down on Casino Resort Fees

Posted on: October 28, 2022, 02:57h. 

Last updated on: October 28, 2022, 04:16h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

President Joe Biden, ahead of next month’s 2022 midterm elections, is desperate to show voters that his administration and the Democratic Party are on their side. The president believes eradicating so-called “junk fees” is one small way the White House can assist struggling Americans.

Joe Biden resort fees Las Vegas casino resort
President Joe Biden pledges to the American people to implement federal policies that limit a casino hotel’s ability to tack on a resort fee at the end of the booking process. Las Vegas resort fees have been scorned by many visitors. (Image: Getty)

Speaking from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building yesterday, the president initiated new actions to lower the costs of everyday living for American families. One of the initiatives, Biden said, is to eliminate or reduce hidden fees in a variety of industries, with one being gaming.

Resort fees have been commonplace on the Las Vegas Strip for many years. The mandatory add-on costs are typically not included in the advertised booking rate. Instead, they are tacked on at the final step of the confirmation process, or even upon a guest checking in at the property.

Casino resort fees can greatly increase the overall cost of a trip to Las Vegas. For instance, a standard room in mid-November at Paris Las Vegas is advertised online for $139 per night. But when taxes and the mandatory $45 per night resort fee are added, the final cost of the two-night trip comes to $419.40 — or $209.70 a night.

Upfront Pricing

Sneaky resort fees have frustrated countless travelers checking in to their resort hotel rooms in Las Vegas and across the nation for many years. Despite the growing coalition of resort fee antagonists — including a coordinated campaign called “Kill Resort Fees” on Twitter led by global traveler Lauren Wolfe founded in 2016 — Las Vegas casinos continue to only further raise their resort fees.

$45 is the going resort fee rate at most luxury Las Vegas Strip properties, including The Venetian and Palazzo, Wynn and Encore, Caesars Palace, Aria, Bellagio, Cromwell, Mandalay Bay, Resorts World, and Cosmopolitan.

Biden said this week that he plans to crack down on deceptive hotel booking schemes by ordering the Federal Trade Commission to investigate unfair pricing techniques. The president says the federal government will produce policies to reduce undisclosed costs associated with booking a hotel room.

The Federal Trade Commission has started to work on a rule to crack down on unfair and deceptive fees across all industries, fees that were never disclosed,” the president said. “There is no way to avoid the fee, like processing fees for concert tickets or resort fees.”

Along with resort fees, Biden says his junk fee crackdown will consider mandatory add-on charges commonly imposed in the airline, automobile, internet, and shipping industries.

A bipartisan federal piece of legislation called the Hotel Advertising Transparency Act was introduced to Congress in 2019. But the bill stalled in the House of Representatives without receiving floor consideration.

Resort Fees Unique to US

Most hotels and casino resorts outside the US do not charge a resort fee. Or if they do, it’s quite minimal compared to the $45 a night standard in Las Vegas.

Wolfe says she’s traveled to 97 countries, but paid a resort fee in only one — the US.

Resort fees are often collected at the time of check-in, meaning business travelers are often on the hook for the charge when they arrive at their hotel. Budget travelers with little money to spare have also voiced frustration with seeing their spending budgets reduced just by checking in.