These 7 U.S. Cities Are Now Charging “Resort” Fees: Here’s How To Spot Them

It’s one of the most frustrating moments in modern travel. You’re on the final booking screen for your hotel, and there it is: a mandatory, non-negotiable “$40 per night destination fee” that suddenly inflates the total price. You’re a savvy traveler, you know it’s coming, but the feeling of being played is always fresh.

For years, this was a frustrating trick you mostly had to worry about in places like Las Vegas. But the resort fee plague has spread. Based on a deep dive into what real travelers are saying on the ground in 2025, the resort fee plague has officially escaped Las Vegas and is now invading major U.S. cities, turning a ‘resort’ problem into a nationwide traveler headache.

Why Hotels Invented The “Destination Fee”

Let’s be crystal clear: this fee is not a tax. Every traveler knows to expect legitimate government charges on their bill. A “resort fee,” however, is a mandatory fee invented by the hotel itself, and 100% of it goes directly into their pocket.

So why are you now seeing it in places like Chicago or New York? Because a hotel in the middle of a city can’t logically charge a “resort fee,” they’ve simply rebranded it as a “destination fee” or “urban amenity fee.” It’s a clever name change for the exact same purpose: to show you an attractive, lower price in search results, only to hit you with the real, higher price at the last possible second. It’s a practice that travelers on forums like Reddit are universally calling a “bait-and-switch.”

So, Do You Actually Have To Pay It?

This is the million-dollar question, and here is the brutally honest, on-the-ground answer for 2025: Yes, 99% of the time, you are stuck paying it.

Traveler forums are filled with stories of people trying to fight the fee at the front desk, and the overwhelming consensus is that it’s a losing battle. Front desk staff are trained with scripted responses, telling you it’s “mandatory” and was disclosed in the fine print of your booking. The hard truth is that by clicking “book,” you have technically agreed to their terms, however deceptive they may be.

The Myth of the Las Vegas Rollback

You might have heard rumors that Las Vegas was starting to roll back its infamous resort fees. Based on real-world reports, that’s a myth. While a single hotel like Resorts World may run a limited-time promotion to get heads in beds, this is a marketing tactic, not an industry trend. The major players—MGM, Caesars, Wynn—are still charging massive fees, often over $50 per night, and they are not backing down.

The New Battlegrounds: 7 Cities Where The Fees Are Spreading

Based on recent traveler reports, these are the cities where the “destination fee” plague is now most rampant.

1. New York City: The Big Apple is a major offender. Travelers consistently report being shocked by mandatory “urban fees” of $30-$50 per night at hotels all across Manhattan.

2. Chicago: The Windy City will blow a hole in your wallet. Hotels throughout the downtown Loop and River North neighborhoods have embraced the destination fee, with travelers reporting fees of $25 or more per night.

3. Nashville: Music City is singing a sad song for travelers. As one of the hottest new tourist destinations, its hotels have been quick to add “amenity fees” that can inflate your bill by 15-20%, a common complaint in travel forums.

4. Austin: The capital of “cool” has adopted a very uncool trend. Many of the trendy new hotels in downtown Austin now have mandatory daily fees that are often poorly disclosed at the time of booking, a frequent source of frustration for visitors.