^

The airlines love fees because while the flight itself is taxed--meaning the airline is required by law to state the total fare, yet has to give much of the airfare in taxes to the govt.--but they get to keep 100% of fees charged!

Similarly, resorts love fees not just for the additional revenue, but also because you have to figure that quite a few guests are staying on pre-paid or bundled rates (combined with airfare) or were 'gifted' the rooms (for honeymoons...etc). These guests are less likely to complain, since they already got what they believe to be a great deal. The flip-side are SPG guests who are using their hard-earned points and are now essentially being double-charged. (For what it's worth, I think we're the only group holding back the surge of $100+ resort fees per night.)

For hotels, it's all about what you can get away with. For us, it's even worse because Starwood already bends over backwards for their resort hotels and by frequently giving them a one-category bump (IMO) above what the resort deserves (based upon room rate).