El Cortez resort fee coming

[dewey089]

$8.95 even on comped rooms. Starts Feb 1.

[SteveBourieOLD]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

I was informed by our contact at the El Cortez of the following:

The El Cortez will be implementing a new resort fee, “amenities fee”, beginning in the near future. The planned date is February 1, 2014. Any guests booked prior to this date and staying after February 1, 2014 will not incur the fee.

The amenities fee will include complimentary WiFi in all rooms, free local phone calls, free access to the fitness center, free parking, with the purchase of dinner for two in the Flame Steakhouse receive a complimentary bottle of wine (two glasses if a single), free entry into the daily slot tournament and two bottles of water.

The cost of the amenities fee will be $8.95 plus tax on a daily basis.

[dewey089]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

So if using the American Casino Guide coupon, this will increase the cost of the stay by 26%. Too bad. Perhaps next year the coupon could read 2 nights for $25. That would make it a wash

[scrappy]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

So if using the American Casino Guide coupon, this will increase the cost of the stay by 26%. Too bad. Perhaps next year the coupon could read 2 nights for $25. That would make it a wash

It seems resort fees are here to stay, so annoying. If they would just raise their room rate it would be much less confusing with all the different priced fees to figure at each hotel. But I understand why they won't do that. A great coupon for the next A.C.G book at any hotel would be "WAIVED RESORT FEE for your stay"

[dewey089]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

El Cortez Hotel & Casino Special Offer
See this January newsletter for a great deal at El Cortez to balance some of the bad news. As I understand it, if you booked this deal before Feb 1 there would be no resort fee.

[dewey089]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

Folks report that booking now for a stay after March 1 will still incur the resort fee. Perhaps there is a window, Feb 1 to Mar 1, to stay with no fee if booked in the next seven days, but later bookings will still get hit with the fee.
Will it also water down the ACG deal advertised in the newsletter? It is just so frustrating hammering down the details once these fee are a part of the formula.

[keno60]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

Dewey did you read the article about the R. fees in the VP free forum? It seems like that is are only hope.

[dewey089]

Re: El Cortez resort fee coming

I did not see that VP Free article and can't find it. There have been a few articles floating around speculating that hotels are considering dropping the idea of resort fees. Some speculate that the FTC may ban them So far they have only said that the fees "might" be deceptive.
Most of this seems to be focused on the "drip pricing" bait and switch techniques rather than on fully revealed resort fees.
However, I don't see any trend anywhere in Vegas away from fees.
It is just the opposite. The fees must work to the benefit of the casinos because they are a growing trend. Those places that did market away from mandatory fees, then seem to reverse themselves, like Venetian and Palazzo recently dropping optional fees for mandatory fees.
For coupon and frugal deal followers the fees tend to erode any benefit offered, watering down what become pretend discounts.

Resort fees by themselves are generally more than I have been paying for rooms. They add a huge percentage increase to frugal bookings.
And the entire process becomes a maze when booking because each casino does something slightly different. So each booking needs to be meticulously sorted out directly with a casino on the phone and names taken both at the time of booking and at the time of confirmations. I'd also suggest making at least two confirmation calls, one a week after booking and another a couple weeks before arriving.
Double booking isn't a bad idea. Then you can do a last minute cancel on any place that gives you different information than what you expected or changes the deal after you have booked.
In each confirmation, check the amount of the fee being charged and take names.
And book directly whenever possible rather than with a discounter. That has always been a good idea.
The biggest violation in all of this is that casinos are abandoning the old idea that we will be taken care of and substituting the idea that they are out to take advantage of us even in the room deal. This was always true in the gambling area where we knew the slots were out to bleed us, but we did not think we needed used car buying skills when booking a room until now.

For those wishing to avoid the entire confusion:
Super 8 there on Koval near the strip still offers all the amenities and no resort fees. Boyd shuttles leave from just across the street and a short distance away.
Eastside Cannery out Boulder has great rooms, no resort fees, most amenities including wifi and some of the best VP in Vegas. Seniors there can get $10 off rack rates, so many nights rooms can be had for $40 for seniors with just a phone call.
So far 4 Queens has not even rumored they will charge resort fees downtown.
And Laughlin is pretty much resort fee free and cheap.