Las Vegas Fees

Las Vegas used to be a relatively inexpensive city to visit as casinos made their money via gambling and used cheap rooms/meals as a way to attract tourists. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case, particularly, on the strip. Everything is substantially more expensive. Even free parking has pretty much gone the way of the mechanical slot machine.

As expensive as Vegas may be, you generally know how much something will cost beforehand. However, businesses are now including hidden fees in your bill:

• Most hotels add a "Resort Fee" of ~$25-40/night when you checkout (in hotels off the strip where things are cheaper, the resort fee can be more than the room rate). The insidious part of this is you are usually not told about the resort fee when you make your reservation.
• The latest trend is the "Concession & Franchise Fee" of 4.7% at some restaurants. What do you get for this fee? Nothing, it's just a way to pad the bill. Adding to the outrage is the fact it’s added to your bill before the sales tax is calculated so you’re paying tax on a tax.

In the long run, the free market will sort this out. In the interim, "caveat emptor".