Plain-English guide
Do resort fees show up in the price?
Sometimes. Here's where they still hide.
Short answer: more than they used to, less than you'd hope. A US Federal Trade Commission rule that took effect in 2025 requires hotels and booking sites to show the total price, including mandatory charges like resort fees, up front for US lodging. That genuinely helped. But fees still slip through the cracks: search results sorted by pre-fee nightly rates, international properties outside the rule, prepaid OTA rates where the fee is collected separately at the hotel desk, and totals that only appear on the final checkout screen. In one August 2026 check of ours, a Las Vegas Strip resort's lowest rate showed $821 a night before tax, and $931 all-in: the Strip's 13.38% room tax alone. Here's how to never be surprised by that gap.
No affiliate spin here. This is just how fee display actually works in 2026, and how to compare around it.
Where fees show, and where they hide
The 2025 US total-price rule fixed a lot. These are the two lists that still matter.
Where you'll see the fee up front
- US hotels and booking sites must include mandatory fees in the displayed total
- Major OTAs show an all-in or total-with-taxes figure before checkout
- Google Hotels can display totals with taxes and fees switched on
- Hotel sites disclose their own resort or destination fees on the rate page
Where it still surprises people
- Sort orders and headline comparisons often still rank by pre-fee nightly rate
- Prepaid OTA rates may exclude fees the hotel collects separately at check-in
- International properties sit outside the US rule; display varies widely
- Some discount sites only reveal the full total on the final checkout screen
The gap between the headline and the total
Even with better rules, hotel pricing still runs on two numbers: the nightly rate that wins the click, and the all-in total you actually pay. Resort fees (also sold as "destination" or "facility" fees, typically $20-50 a night; we covered the mechanics in resort fees explained) live in the gap between them, alongside taxes and service charges. In one of our own August 2026 checks, a Las Vegas Strip resort showed $821 a night before tax and $931 all-in, a 13% gap. That gap matches the Strip's 13.38% room tax almost to the dollar, so it measures tax, not the resort fee: from one check we cannot tell whether the fee was already inside the $821. Either way, the number that wins the click was 13% below what you pay.
The subtle trap is cross-site comparison: one site quotes the room with fees folded in, another quotes it before fees, and the "cheaper" option is just the one hiding more. This is the single most common reason the same room appears at different prices on different sites. On prepaid OTA rates there's a second trap: you pay the site for the room, then the hotel charges the resort fee separately at check-in, so neither number alone is the price of your stay. The booking channel can widen the gap further with charges of its own, from bundled service-fee lines to currency markups; we break down that layer in hotel booking fees explained.
How to see the real price, every time
- 1. Compare totals only. Get the after-taxes-and-fees figure for your exact dates from each site before judging which is cheaper.
- 2. On prepaid rates, ask what's collected at the desk. The rate details disclose fees due at the property; add them before comparing.
- 3. Outside the US, assume nothing. Check the fine print for mandatory extras (city tax, service charge) that the display may omit.
How Underbook handles fees, honestly
Underbook is a free browser extension that compares your hotel and dates across booking sites on an all-in basis: the price gap is worked out on totals after taxes and fees where the sites report them, not headline rates, so a site can't win the comparison by hiding its fee line.
And when the fee data isn't there, we say so. If no source for a hotel reports its before-tax breakdown, we can't be certain resort fees are inside the numbers, so Underbook labels the figure a "listed rate" instead of calling it "all-in", and tells you to verify fees before booking. That label exists because a single number cannot show whether a resort fee is inside it, as the Vegas example above shows; we'd rather admit what we can't verify than quote you a total that grows at the front desk.
Fee display, common questions
Didn't the US ban hidden resort fees?
It banned hiding them from the advertised price, not the fees themselves. Since the FTC's total-price rule took effect in 2025, US hotels and booking sites must include mandatory fees in the displayed total. The fee still exists inside that total, and the rule doesn't reach international properties or stop list views from sorting by pre-fee rates.
Are resort fees included when I prepay an OTA rate?
Often not. Prepaying an OTA rate covers the room and its taxes; many hotels then collect the resort fee directly at check-in, in your final folio. The rate details on the booking site disclose this ("fees due at property"), but it's easy to miss. Add that line before comparing a prepaid rate against anything else.
Which hotels charge resort fees?
Resort and casino markets are the heaviest: Las Vegas, Orlando, Hawaii, Miami, and big-city "destination fee" hotels in places like New York. Amounts run roughly $20-50 per night plus tax. Outside the US the same role is played by city taxes and service charges. Our resort fees explained guide covers what they claim to pay for.
Can I refuse to pay a resort fee?
If it was disclosed before booking, you agreed to it and the hotel can insist. If it genuinely never appeared before you paid, dispute it at the desk and then with the booking site; under current US rules an undisclosed mandatory fee is on shaky ground. Realistically, the win is comparing all-in totals so the fee never ambushes you.
Does Underbook include resort fees in its comparisons?
Only when the booking sites report them. Underbook compares the price for your hotel and dates, all-in where the sites report taxes and fees to Google Hotels. When no site at that hotel reports a price before taxes, it cannot tell whether fees are in the numbers, so it calls them a listed rate and says resort or property fees may not be included. Check the total at checkout either way.
Las Vegas and Orlando, measured
On September 25, 2026, the all-in going rate at the 14 Las Vegas hotels in our snapshot with both prices was 12.0% to 13.8% above the before-tax going rate, and at 12 Orlando hotels 12.0% to 13.4%: about the same share at every price, so no flat fee showed up on top of the before-tax price. Whether a resort fee was already inside it, the listings did not say. The guides: Las Vegas hotel prices, measured and Orlando hotel prices, measured.
Real prices, hotel by hotel
Every site's price at 5,970 hotels in 368 cities
From our price snapshots of September 25, 2026, September 28, 2026, September 29, 2026, September 30, 2026, October 1, 2026, October 3, 2026 and October 10, 2026: each hotel's page lists every booking site Google Hotels showed, the going rate, and whether the lowest-priced listing named a room, with a button to check today's price for your own dates.
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Compare the price you'll actually pay.
Underbook compares hotels across booking sites on all-in totals where the sites report fees, and flags when they don't, so you know to check the fees at checkout. Free, and you always book where you choose.
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