The price a hotel advertises is often not the price you end up paying. Between the offer and the bill sit mandatory charges that only show up at the last step or even at the front desk. This guide covers the main ones and what they cost.
The resort fee
A resort fee is a flat charge per room and night that a hotel adds on top of the room rate. It usually covers Wi-Fi, pool, gym and other things that belong to the property anyway. You mostly find it in the US, especially in Las Vegas, Hawaii and Florida.
In Las Vegas it is around 45 to 55 USD per room and night at the big Strip hotels and about 25 to 35 USD off the Strip (Vegas Food and Fun). The 13.38 percent lodging tax is added on top. Three nights with a 50 USD fee then cost about 170 USD extra. Since 12 May 2025 a federal rule from the FTC requires US hotels to include mandatory fees in the advertised price. Government charges are excluded. In practice it is still worth checking the total on the last booking step.
The Dubai Tourism Dirham
Dubai charges a flat 7 to 20 AED per room and night depending on hotel category, 20 AED in a five-star hotel, which is about 5 EUR. On top come a 7 percent municipality fee and 5 percent VAT (taxadvisors.ae). The city tax that many European cities charge is covered in our guide to city tax in Europe.
Other items missing from the price
- City tax: depending on the city 1 to 16 EUR per person and night or a percentage of the price. Often payable on site.
- Parking: in Las Vegas about 20 to 25 USD per day at MGM and Caesars, and an extra charge per night in many big cities.
- Breakfast: in the room rate or extra, then charged per person and day.
- Service charge: customary in some countries such as Dubai, shown on the bill as a percentage.
- Cleaning fee: mainly for holiday flats, once per stay.
- Early check-in, late check-out: cost extra at many properties.
Worked example: Las Vegas, four nights
The hotel advertises 99 USD a night. The bill looks like this: room 396 USD, resort fee 4 times 50 USD makes 200 USD, lodging tax of 13.38 percent on 596 USD makes about 80 USD. Together about 676 USD or about 169 USD a night, 70 percent more than advertised. Parking at 4 times 20 USD adds 80 USD if you have a car.
How to find the real price
- Go to the last step of the booking before you pay. The total is shown there.
- Look in the hotel information for "mandatory fees", "resort fee" or "fees payable at the property".
- Always compare hotels by total price per night, not by the list price.
- Ask the hotel by email what the fee covers.
- Note the items due on site so you have enough cash or card limit.
A quick look at holiday flats
Holiday flats and apartments bring different items: a one-off cleaning fee, a deposit, charges for bed linen and sometimes electricity or water by use. Many platforms show the cleaning fee only at the last step. On short stays it weighs heavily, and for one night it can nearly double the room price. Always compare flats by the price per night including all fees, and divide the cleaning fee by the number of nights.
TripPrice shows on its destination pages what comes on top of the offer price, and sets voucher and cashback against it.
How booking sites show the fees
Sites differ in how they handle mandatory fees. Some show the total price in the list already, others give it only on the payment-details page, and others merely write "taxes and fees payable at the hotel". Sorting can mislead as well: if the list is sorted by room price, a hotel with a high resort fee sits near the top although it costs more with the fee than a property further down. Switch on a "total price" display if there is one.
What to watch for as a family
The resort fee is per room and night, not per person. For a family it is therefore less noticeable than a city tax that applies to each person. With city tax the child exemptions matter, which depend on the place and are 10, 13 or 16 years. If you need parking, count with daily flat rates.
More on this: Booking Hotels: When to Book and How Cashback Works on Stays on daily cashback.