There was some excitement making headlines recently, claiming that Las Vegas resort fees had been banned by the Federal Trade Commission. It was an eye catcher for sure, but was it true? Well, not really. Various news outlets latched on the segments of the FTC story, including a quote from their own press release stating their actions had essentially banned Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees, but let’s take a closer look.
While it is true that the FTC introduced a new rule aimed at addressing nuisance fees like Vegas resort fees, it did not really ban them. Instead, it focused on ensuring that companies are transparent about so called “junk fees.” In an interesting twist, some visitors to Las Vegas have been trying to convince hotels to waive the fees. Good luck with that.
In reality, this rule doesn’t drastically change much for the Las Vegas hotels. They already provide relatively clear information about these fees alongside room rates and ticket prices. We hate these fees as well and would prefer they just advertised them in their rates. But for whatever corporate rule (you can call it bullshit if you want) they flat refuse to do so. Maybe this way is more fun.
So, while Sin City certainly has its share of deceptive and hidden fees (see our video on Las Vegas Hidden Fees by following the link) it’s unclear if the FTC rule covers Las Vegas resort fees specifically. And even if they ban these fees, the price of the room will simply jump to make up the difference… maybe even more after taxes.