Hotels Are Charging for Everything Now. Here's What to Know.

Hotels are charging for things they used to include. Not just the resort fees you've been paying for years. Early check-in is a fee. Late checkout is a fee. Daily housekeeping is a fee at some properties. The industry calls it "unbundling." Your bill calls it something else.

This is worth understanding because it's accelerating. And because there's a right way to navigate it that most travelers don't know yet.

What's Actually Happening

The hotel industry spent the last decade bundling amenities into room rates to make properties look comparable. A $200 room with "complimentary" Wi-Fi, gym access, and pool access looks similar to a $200 room that charges separately for all three. Add those fees and the second room costs $240.

Operating costs climbed sharply after 2021 and haven't come back down. Hotels are now under real pressure to either raise rack rates or find other ways to capture revenue. Most are choosing a hybrid: keep the headline rate competitive so they show up well in search results, then add fees that bring the actual total up.

The average mandatory resort fee is now $33 per day at US properties that charge them. That's on top of your room rate. On a 7-night stay, that's $231 in fees you may not have known you were agreeing to when you clicked "book."

The FTC Rule That Changed (and Didn't Change) Everything

In May 2025, the FTC's Junk Fees Rule went into effect. The rule requires hotels to show the real total price upfront rather than revealing fees late in the checkout process. This is a genuine win for transparency. You'll now see what you're actually paying before you enter your credit card.

What the rule doesn't do is eliminate the fees. Hotels can still charge resort fees, amenity fees, destination fees, and an expanding list of discretionary charges. They just have to be honest about it earlier. So the total is more visible. The total itself hasn't changed.

What this means practically: when you see a hotel advertised at a certain rate and wonder why the checkout total is significantly higher, now you'll see the breakdown before you commit rather than after. That's something. It makes comparison shopping more accurate.

The New Fees That Are Spreading

Beyond the traditional resort fee, a new generation of itemized charges is spreading across the industry.

Daily Refresh Fee: Some properties now charge $5-15 per day for daily housekeeping rather than including it. Want your bed made and towels replaced? That's a fee at some hotels. This reverses something travelers have long taken as baseline.

Enhanced Sanitation Fee: Grew out of COVID-era protocols and stuck at some properties. Typically $5-10 per night. Not universal but more common than you'd expect.

Early Check-In and Late Checkout: Becoming standard line items rather than negotiable exceptions. Expect $25-75 each depending on the property tier.

Parking: Prices have risen significantly. Urban properties are charging $40-75 per night at many locations. Always check this before booking if you're driving.

Premium Wi-Fi: "Basic" Wi-Fi is included. Actually functional Wi-Fi costs extra at some hotel brands.

How to Navigate This Without Overpaying

The most reliable countermeasure is to read the full fee breakdown before booking. The FTC rule now requires this to be visible. Use it. If a hotel shows a low headline rate but a $40/night mandatory amenity fee, the rate isn't what you think it is.

Loyalty program members can often waive resort fees. Several major US chains waive mandatory fees for elite members. If you stay with the same brand enough to have status, check your benefits specifically. The fee waiver language is usually buried in the fine print of member terms.

If you've paid for amenities you couldn't use — the pool was closed for renovation, the gym wasn't accessible — you have grounds to request a fee waiver at checkout. Document what was unavailable. Ask the front desk manager, not the check-in agent. This works more often than people expect.

On international trips, resort fees are far less common. European hotels largely don't charge them. The fee problem is most acute in the US, particularly in Las Vegas, Miami, Hawaii, and resort destinations generally.

How Cashback Changes the Math

Here's something worth knowing: cashback applies to the full amount you pay, including fees. When you book through Best, the 10% cashback calculates against the total hotel bill, not just the base room rate. If you're paying $200/night plus a $33 resort fee, the cashback is based on $233. Over a week, that's $16.31 in additional cashback compared to calculating on the base rate alone.

It doesn't make the fees disappear. But it does make them slightly less painful, and on trips where the fee totals are meaningful, the cashback adds up in ways that traditional booking approaches don't capture.

What's Coming Next

The trend is toward more granular itemization, not less. Once the total price is visible upfront (as required by the FTC rule), there's less consumer backlash to charging for individual items. Travelers can at least see what they're paying for.

For now, the best approach is to read the full breakdown, know your loyalty benefits, and book through platforms that calculate cashback on the real total.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average hotel resort fee in 2026?

Among US hotels that charge resort fees, the average mandatory fee is $33 per day. These fees can range from $15 to $50+ per night depending on the property and location. Las Vegas and Hawaii properties tend to charge the highest resort fees in the country.

Are resort fees required by law to be shown upfront?

Yes, as of May 2025, the FTC's Junk Fees Rule requires hotels to disclose mandatory fees in the total price displayed during booking. You should see the full cost before entering your payment information.

Can you negotiate hotel resort fees?

In some cases, yes. Loyalty program members with elite status can often waive fees as a benefit. If specific amenities covered by the resort fee were unavailable during your stay, you can request a waiver at checkout. Hotel front desk managers have more authority to remove fees than check-in agents typically do.

Do European hotels charge resort fees?

Resort fees are far less common in Europe than in the US. Most European hotels price rooms all-in, without mandatory add-ons. City taxes are common and legitimate, but these are typically small (1-5 euros per person per night) and disclosed at booking.

Images: Hotel lobby by Pixabay. Hotel room interior by Taryn Elliott. Both via Pexels, used under license.