The Era of Hotel Junk Fees

Booking a hotel room used to be a straightforward process. You saw a price, you booked your dates, and you paid that exact amount. Today, the travel industry is crowded with hidden charges. What started as a sneaky pricing tactic at massive beach properties has now invaded major cities. Resort fees are spreading to urban hotels, but you can learn how to spot and dispute these frustrating hidden charges.

What Are Hotel Junk Fees?

A junk fee is any mandatory charge added to your hotel bill that is not included in the advertised base room rate. Historically, the travel industry called these “resort fees.” You would pay an extra $30 to $50 per night at a property in Hawaii or Las Vegas. The hotel would claim this fee covered amenities like beach chairs, pool towels, and local phone calls.

Major Las Vegas properties like the Bellagio and MGM Grand routinely charge resort fees of around $45 to $50 per night. Because these fees are mandatory, consumer advocates argue they should simply be rolled into the nightly room rate. By keeping the base rate artificially low, hotels appear higher in search results on booking websites like Expedia and Booking.com.

The Spread to Urban Hotels

The most frustrating trend for modern travelers is the spread of these fees to standard city hotels. Because a business hotel in downtown Chicago cannot reasonably charge a “resort fee,” they have rebranded the charge. You will now see these listed as “destination fees,” “urban fees,” or “amenity fees.”

A property like the New York Hilton Midtown charges a daily destination fee of around $35. What do you get for this mandatory urban charge? Usually, the hotel bundles together services you likely do not need or already expect for free. A typical destination fee might include:

• Premium high-speed Wi-Fi (standard Wi-Fi is often free for loyalty members anyway).
• Two bottles of water per day.
• A $15 daily food and beverage credit that does not roll over.
• Access to the hotel fitness center.
• Local and toll-free phone calls.

A $199 room in Manhattan or San Francisco can quickly jump to over $250 a night once a $40 destination fee and local city taxes are applied.

How to Spot Hidden Charges Before You Book

The best defense against junk fees is catching them before you enter your credit card information. When searching on third-party travel portals, the initial price you see is almost never the final price. You must click all the way through to the final payment screen to see the true cost.

Look for a line item labeled “Taxes and Fees” on the checkout page. Click the drop-down menu or information icon next to this line. This is where hotels hide the destination charge.

Some hotel chains are becoming more transparent due to legal pressure. In 2021, Marriott reached a settlement with the state of Pennsylvania regarding deceptive pricing. As a result, Marriott now shows the total price of the room, including all mandatory fees, upfront on the first page of its website and app. Hilton and Hyatt have also made steps to show total pricing earlier in the booking process, but you still need to read the fine print carefully when using sites like Priceline or Kayak.

Strategies to Avoid and Dispute Junk Fees

If you find yourself booked at a hotel with a mandatory destination fee, you do not always have to accept it. There are several proven methods to avoid paying these extra charges.

Leverage Your Hotel Elite Status

Hotel loyalty programs offer the easiest way to bypass resort and destination fees. Hyatt is famous among frequent travelers for its generous fee policies. The World of Hyatt program waives all resort and destination fees on free night award stays for every member. If you hold their top-tier Globalist status, Hyatt waives these fees on all eligible paid stays as well.

Hilton Honors also completely waives resort fees when you book a room using only your points. Marriott Bonvoy is less generous. Marriott will still charge you the daily resort or destination fee even if you pay for the room entirely with reward points.

Negotiate at the Front Desk

If you do not have elite status, you can still fight the fee at the property. The best time to dispute a charge is right before you check out. Be polite, stay calm, and speak directly to the front desk manager.

State clearly that you did not use the amenities included in the destination fee. If the fee covers a daily $20 food credit and you ate all your meals outside the hotel, point that out. If the fee covers gym access and the gym was closed for maintenance, use that as leverage. You can simply say, “I noticed a $35 daily amenity fee on my bill. I did not use the gym, the Wi-Fi was spotty, and I did not drink the bottled water. Can you please remove this from my final folio?” Many managers are authorized to waive the fee to ensure a positive guest review.

Dispute the Charge with Your Credit Card

If the hotel refuses to remove the fee and you feel you were intentionally misled, you have one final option. You can file a chargeback dispute with your credit card issuer.

This works best if the hotel truly hid the fee during the booking process. Always take screenshots of your booking confirmation pages. If the confirmation email shows a total price of $400, but the hotel charges your Chase Sapphire Preferred or American Express card $480 at checkout, you have a strong case. Submit your screenshots to your bank and explain that you were charged an unauthorized, undisclosed mandatory fee.

The Future of Hotel Pricing

Relief may be coming for travelers. In October 2023, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would strictly ban businesses from hiding mandatory fees. If finalized, this rule would force all hotels, short-term rentals, and ticketing platforms to show the full, exact price upfront.

Additionally, the Biden administration has pushed for the Junk Fee Prevention Act to federally target deceptive hotel pricing. Until these government regulations take full effect, the burden remains on you. Read the final checkout screen closely, use your loyalty points strategically, and never be afraid to ask for a refund at the front desk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are resort fees and destination fees legal? Currently, they are legal as long as they are disclosed at some point before the final purchase is completed. However, consumer protection agencies are actively working to pass laws that would make hiding these fees illegal.

Do I have to pay a resort fee if I don’t use the pool or gym? Hotels will tell you the fee is mandatory regardless of whether you use the amenities. However, you can often successfully dispute the fee at checkout by politely explaining to the manager that you did not use any of the included services.

Which hotel brands do not charge resort fees? Almost all major brands charge them at certain properties. However, you can avoid them entirely by booking free night award stays with Hyatt and Hilton, as both programs waive mandatory fees on points bookings.

Can I refuse to pay a destination fee at check-in? You can ask to have the fee waived at check-in, but hotels usually require you to sign a registration card agreeing to the total daily rate. Your best chance for removal is usually at checkout after you can prove you did not use the specific amenities the fee supposedly covers.