Hotel mandatory resort fees have to be baked into the advertised room price under a federal rule that took effect on May 12, 2025. The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 C.F.R. Part 464) applies to hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and home-share platforms selling short-term lodging in the United States, and it makes the old practice of revealing a $30 or $50 nightly fee at checkout illegal.1Federal Trade Commission. FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees to Take Effect on May 12, 2025 If a hotel still hits you with an undisclosed charge, you have real options: a written dispute to your credit card issuer, complaints to the FTC and state attorney general, and in some cases a conversation at the front desk.
What Counts as a Mandatory Resort Fee
Hotels use several names for these charges. Resort fee, facility fee, destination fee, and amenity surcharge are the most common, and the label doesn’t change the analysis. If you cannot avoid the charge by declining a service, it’s a mandatory fee. Typical amounts run from $15 to $60 per night and bundle things like Wi-Fi, pool access, fitness center use, or a local shuttle. You pay whether you use any of it or not.
Urban properties often use “destination fee” to cover neighborhood extras like bike rentals. Resorts sometimes pack in yoga classes, guided outings, or passes to nearby attractions. The bundle can look generous, but from a legal standpoint the only thing that matters is whether you can opt out. If you can’t, the fee is mandatory, and the disclosure rule applies.
What Hotels Must Disclose Now
The core requirement of the FTC rule is simple. Any price shown to you must be the total price, including every mandatory fee the business knows about and can calculate. That total has to appear the first time price is displayed, whether on a search results list, a map view, or a comparison page, and it has to be shown more prominently than any individual fee component.2Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions
Only three categories can be left out of that upfront number: government-imposed taxes, shipping charges, and truly optional add-ons you choose yourself. Before you confirm payment, the final amount including taxes must appear at least as prominently as the total shown earlier. Drip pricing, where fees appear only as you click deeper toward checkout, is prohibited for lodging.
The rule also targets vague fee labels. A hotel can’t call something a “service fee” or “convenience fee” without a description that accurately reflects what the charge covers. Violations can bring civil penalties exceeding $50,000 per violation, refund orders, and required changes to business practices.2Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions
How the Rule Applies to Booking Sites
The rule reaches beyond hotels themselves. Any business that displays lodging prices to U.S. consumers is covered, including online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com, metasearch engines, and third-party resellers. The platform’s physical location is irrelevant; if it shows prices to someone in the United States, the rule applies.2Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions
Practically, that means a $149 room on the search page cannot become a $189 total at checkout because of a resort fee. If it does, the platform is in violation. Sites are still allowed to break the price into components for transparency, but the all-in total has to lead.
State Laws That May Go Further
Several states have their own all-in pricing laws that operate alongside the federal rule. At least four states had enacted such laws by early 2025, and more have introduced similar bills. The federal rule does not preempt state law, so hotels must comply with whichever standard is stricter in a given jurisdiction. State attorneys general can bring their own actions under state consumer protection statutes, with penalties that typically run from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation.
For most travelers, this overlap is a practical benefit rather than a compliance headache: a hotel that follows the federal rule will almost always satisfy state requirements too.
Fees on Points Bookings
The rule addresses disclosure, not whether a fee has to exist. That distinction matters when you book a “free” night with loyalty points. Whether a resort fee still applies depends on the chain.
A few major programs waive mandatory resort fees on award stays booked with points or free night certificates. Most large chains do not, so you can redeem points and still owe $30 to $50 per night at checkout. At least one program’s official policy waives the fee on point redemptions but enforcement varies by property, and you may have to raise it at the front desk to get the waiver applied.
Before you redeem, check the specific property’s listing on the loyalty program’s site. The fee policy is usually in the property details or rate terms. Sometimes paying cash at a cheaper hotel without a resort fee beats “saving” points at a resort that tacks on $50 a night.
Disputing a Fee That Wasn’t Properly Disclosed
Some hotels will still get this wrong. When they do, two channels tend to work in tandem.
Credit Card Dispute Under the Fair Credit Billing Act
The Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute billing errors on a credit card statement, and an undisclosed mandatory fee qualifies because the charge doesn’t match what was represented at purchase. Send a written dispute to your card issuer’s billing inquiry address within 60 days of the statement date that first shows the charge. Include your name, account number, the amount in dispute, and why you believe it’s an error.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
Most issuers also accept disputes online, which is faster for smaller amounts. Before you file, collect your evidence: a screenshot of the original booking confirmation showing the quoted price, the final invoice showing the higher amount, and any correspondence with the hotel.
Complaints to the FTC and Your State Attorney General
Filing complaints with the FTC and your state attorney general’s consumer protection division creates a paper trail. These agencies track patterns, and multiple complaints against the same property or chain can trigger enforcement. Include your booking date, the advertised price, the amount actually charged, and copies of the confirmation and invoice. Most states offer online portals that take only a few minutes.
For federal rule violations, the FTC can seek civil penalties, order refunds, and require changes to business practices going forward.2Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions A single complaint may not produce a personal refund through that channel, but it feeds the enforcement pipeline that reaches the rest of the industry.
Asking the Front Desk to Remove or Reduce the Fee
Even when a fee was properly disclosed, you can sometimes get it reduced or removed by asking. This works best with a specific reason: the pool was closed, Wi-Fi didn’t work, you didn’t use any of the bundled amenities. A calm, specific explanation lands better than a general objection to the fee itself.
Many property systems add the fee automatically, and a front desk agent may not have authority to strip it out. Ask for a manager if that happens. Some hotels will credit your dining or parking charges instead of touching the fee line directly. Loyalty status helps, because hotels are more willing to accommodate guests they want back.
If the hotel refuses and the fee wasn’t properly disclosed in the first place, go back to the dispute channels. A chargeback paired with a state attorney general complaint tends to get faster attention than either one on its own.