I used to only see resort fees in places like Vegas or New York. Now I’m getting hit with them in DC too, and I honestly don’t get what purpose they serve anymore.
This hotel charges a $25 resort fee. Thanks to the new FTC rule it’s disclosed upfront, so the room looked like about $105–110, but with the resort fee it ends up around $130 anyway. Fine, whatever.
But then the front desk tells me the resort fee can be used for food. So I go and buy a $26 burger using the credit. At that point the hotel basically just wiped out their own profit.
So what’s the strategy here? It’s not hidden anymore, it doesn’t feel like added value, and if it turns into food credit, how does that even help the hotel?
Feels like a leftover pricing gimmick that doesn’t really make sense anymore.
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