Resorts World Waives Resort Fees All Summer
Posted on: June 20, 2025, 06:21h.
Last updated on: June 20, 2025, 07:19h.
- Resorts World Las Vegas has announced it is waiving all resort fees this summer
- This follows the resort’s temporary elimination of parking fees last month
- Most Las Vegas resorts are offering discounts to offset decreases in tourism
Resorts World Las Vegas announced on Friday that it’s waiving all resort fees on room bookings through Sept. 11. Resort fees had varied at the property between $50 and $55 per night on top of its rooms’ base prices.
“To show our appreciation, Resorts World is waiving resort fees through September 11 — because your summer getaway should feel like one from start to finish,” the resort posted on its social media accounts.
The move now makes Resorts World the only major Las Vegas casino hotel without resort fees. (Of course, without knowing exactly what Resorts World’s room rates were before it waived resort fees — and we don’t — it’s impossible to ascertain whether the company raised base room rates any to compensate for the discount.)
This discount comes after the free parking all summer that the property announced last month.
Most Las Vegas casino resorts are currently discounting room prices as Las Vegas enters not only its regularly slow summer season, but also a tourism downtown caused by a combination punch of fewer foreign visitors and tighter domestic purse strings due to inflation.
The Venetian and participating MGM Resorts properties are offering 25% off their regular room rates, for example, while Resorts World is also offering up to 40% off at the Conrad or Crockfords — plus a $75 nightly credit for dining, bars, pool daybeds, or cabanas though Aug. 28.
Resort Fee World
Resorts fees, which now average $50 a night with a range of $7 or $8 on either side, are mandatory charges that resorts once claimed cover amenities such as Wi-Fi, gym and pool access and local phone calls. Many laughingly referred to them on their websites as a “convenience fee” that was “requested by our guests.”
The real purpose of resort fees was to fool online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Travelocity and Booking.com into listing a resort’s properties first when customers searched for “lowest price” or “best value,” which is how most online travelers shop for hotel reservations.
Station Casinos was the first Las Vegas resort company to add resort fees to hotel bills in 2004. These fees went unnoticed at first because they were less than $10 per night.
But competitors noticed. In 2008, MGM Resorts joined the bandwagon, followed by Caesars Entertainment in 2013 — after a 2010 ad campaign during which they boasted of “no resort fees” and even had Holly Madison posing in a “No Resort Fees Zone” T-shirt.
In May, he Federal Trade Commission finally put an end to this chicanery. Its “junk fees’ rule now requires hotels and other lodging operators to display a total price — including tax and resort fees — before the “Book Now” button is shown, thus screwing up their OTA rankings.
Why Resort Fees Aren’t Going Away
Even though resorts can no longer hide them, resort fees are sticking around for three primary reasons:
Lower OTA Commissions: Resorts pay commissions to OTAs (typically 10-25%) based only on room rates, not separate fees.
Revenue Stream Stability: Resort fees provide a consistent revenue stream that isn’t subject to the same fluctuations as room rates, which can vary with demand or OTA discounts. This stability allows hotels to offset tax liabilities more predictably.
Consumer Psychology: A room that costs $75 a night plus a $50 resort fee still feels cheaper than a room offered for $125. Also, as much as people hate resort fees, after 25 years of being forced to pay them, they’re used to it.
Last Comments ( 1 )
I looked at weekday prices for the month of August and for the Hilton rooms, I don't believe Resorts World jacked up the rate.