Resort fees are one of travelers’ biggest pet peeves – and one of the hotel industry’s most reliable revenue tools. They allow operators to keep headline room rates competitive while capturing additional income tied to amenities, often quietly adding $25 to more than $50 a night to the final hotel bill.
To be sure, it’s a meaningful layer of revenue, but how those charges appear in the booking process is changing.
A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule that took effect nationwide in May 2025 now requires hotels and booking platforms to display the full price of a stay - including mandatory fees - earlier in the booking process.
The implications are clear. For hotels, this shift raises new questions about pricing strategy and how properties stack up against competitors. For guests, it may make it easier to compare properties while eliminating some of the sticker shock that hits right when they’re ready to click “Reserve.”
For the industry as a whole, it introduces a new variable into the booking decision: whether greater transparency changes how travelers perceive value - or where they ultimately choose to stay.
Resort fees as a core revenue engine
Having to clearly display a nightly resort fee upfront may not be ideal for hotel operators, but it won’t make them rethink the fee entirely, notes Mike Mixer, Chairman of Colliers in Las Vegas.
“Resort fees aren’t going anywhere,” he says.
That’s because operators have come to rely on them as part of the overall economics of a stay. These fees brought in about $2 billion in 2015, which was 35 percent higher than the previous year, according to the FTC. By 2018, they amounted to $2.9 billion, making them a meaningful contributor to room-related revenue.
Some hotels may need to rely more on contributors like this, notes Vickie Callahan, president of hospitality management at Peachtree Group, if traditional revenue growth becomes harder to achieve.
“As occupancy levels reach their max potential, hotels continue to find ways through these fees to increase their profit,” she says. “Owners and investors understand the strategy behind these fees, so they will likely remain in place and continue to be added in stronger leisure markets.”
Another reason resort fees will remain intact is that hotel investors typically evaluate performance based on total revenue per occupied room, not just the base rate advertised online.
Mixer notes that in markets like Las Vegas, resort and destination fees have long been embedded in the overall economics of the stay, particularly at full-service and convention-oriented properties.
The result of this new rule, then, is not to reconsider the fee. It’s to restate its value.
“Transparency refines the model,” Mixer says. “It doesn’t weaken it.”
Shifting toward total-stay pricing
With fees remaining in place, Mixer sees hotel revenue strategies moving toward cleaner pricing, stronger value articulation, and more deliberate monetization of premium room categories and experiential offerings.
“Public operators have emphasized rate discipline and total customer value over short-term reactions,” he explains. “That philosophy aligns naturally with transparency.”
Wynn Resorts, for example, has noted that premium positioning supports pricing power even in normalization periods, reinforcing durable room economics as pricing structures evolve, Mixer adds.
Callahan has also witnessed hotels invest more to define what the fees cover, and to highlight the value of these amenities.
At the same time, operators are rethinking how fees fit into the broader pricing structure.
“Hotels are looking more at overall pricing and bundling fees into the overall pricing to ensure revenue goals are still attained while remaining competitive in the markets they are in,” Callahan explains. “The direct booking strategy has also been a priority to reduce the overall margin and capture some of the reduced fees.”
Naturally, by steering guests toward brand websites rather than third-party platforms, hotels can preserve more of the total value of a stay and offset any margin pressure created by pricing transparency.
Operators are also exploring additional ways to support revenue growth. They’re increasing base rates in markets where destination or resort fees are less common. Where those fees are more widely accepted, operators are focusing on enhancing the value tied to those charges.
“They’re becoming more creative in the value adds they offer within these fees,” Callahan says. “Anticipate hotels will also begin partnering with vendors who wish to get their products out to a larger reach of customers.”
The shift toward greater price transparency may have come with some operational adjustments, but Mixer doesn’t necessarily see this as a bad thing. It all depends on optics and positioning.
“In the long-term, transparency strengthens brand trust, reduces friction in the booking process for customers and reinforces asset durability,” he notes. “All to say, resort fees are here to stay and, in a transparent environment, they become clearer and more defensible.”