I think resort fees are outrageous and, since this is a Hyatt thread, especially so at MGM Properties, where the resort fee can be more than the room rate (e.g., Excalibur).

Even worse is what they include. At one of the MGM properties, I think it was Mandalay Bay, the fee included free internet (which of course a Diamond should receive anyway), fitness center (which might be valuable to some, but which a minority of guests in Vegas probably use and hence is a bad candidate for inclusion IMO), local calls (useless for the vast majority of guests I would assume), and notary services. They should be embarrassed at even including "notary services"; it really looks pathetic.

To add insult to injury, at Mandalay Bay they now charge for inner tubes at the lazy river -- $20 to purchase. And I guess you have to lug the thing across the lobby and up to your room daily to avoid buying a new one each day. It used to be that the inner tubes were just there to use. The lazy river is a differentiating "resort" factor for this property, so an inner tube would be a much more legitimate inclusion of a resort fee.

Unlike others here, however, I don't believe it automatically follows that we should sic the government or tort lawyers on companies that charge resort fees, wrong as it is.

Depends upon the hotel. I paid it in Maui, but at a diamond discount. In Waikiki they did not charge diamonds the resort fee no matter the rate.

I realize this thread is ancient history, but I've got to respond to this.
First of all, it wasn't ALWAYS true that hotels would ALWAYS spell out the extra fees before you clicked "book." In fact, Starwood Hotels got dinged in court for this very same con. I know; I was among those that got conned, and I'm a pretty experienced traveler.
Second, maybe you don't mind getting nickled and dimed by travel and hospitality concerns...but then, maybe you're just not as experienced as some of us. For example, you may have never checked into a Hyatt resort. There, you're hit up for a $25 a night valet parking fee - nothing unusual there, you're not REQUIRED to park your own car - and then another $25 a night resort fee. Ask them what's included, and you'll hear,

• "Newspaper under your door every morning " - Really? My gosh, sign me up!
• "Use of the resort facilities" - what, so do these magically disappear if you refuse to pay the fee? It is, after all, a freakin' RESORT!
• "WiFi and Internet" - the same Wifi and Internet that Red Roof Inn provides for free?
• (This one killed me!) "Use of the in-room mini-bar" - so, you have to pay extra to access something that contains stuff for which you have to ...pay...extra?

Basically, you're paying for things that have customarily been free at resorts since Roman times....
And why? What problem is being solved? Just charge more in the room rate! We're not impecunious, we'll pay it! We'll grumble about the price increase, but we'll pay it! Why make us pay your exorbitant resort room rates and then insult our intelligence on top of it?

Lastly, I ask you to consider this scenario: You sit down to dine at your favorite restaurant, when suddenly you notice a sticker on the menu that says "Each patron will now be charged a mandatory Silverware Useage Fee." Are you going to tell me you wouldn't feel the slightest urge to snicker at the obvious attempt at profiteering? But then, you say, you'd simply get up and walk across the street to the competing restaurant...only to find out they're doing the same thing! If this wouldn't bother you...someone needs to check your pulse.

There are restaurants that do just that, charging an additional "service charge" to get napkins and silverware. In some countries, this is standard procedure.

Simple solutions to your problem: DON'T GO. Stay home. Camp. Stay in hotels without resort fees. Get Hyatt Globalist status. Or just moan and groan.... it is what it is. This is how hotels operate and it's NOT changing anytime soon.

I thought that was mainly a San Francisco city thing, and then only in restaurants often patronized by tourists. Outside of the city of San Francisco, I've never seen this anywhere in the bay area.

I have empathy for restaurants the fixed cost of a brick and mortar place is enormous with todays rents/leases
Sadly I've seen successful restaurants closing as they can't make the numbers work anymore
One of my all time favorites in America Gulfstream in Century City closed after Westfield came in and tried to renegotiate a new lease.
There is a real imbalance out there and retailers are experiencing it even more so fighting Amazon etc
And the future looks troubling in the most expensive cities especially like San Francisco where the cost of doing business is out of control

I have zero empathy for restaurants. Unlike any other industry here they pay peanuts to back of house (cooks, busboys) and expect customers to pay wages for servers via tips. And now they add a separate line item for employee benefits (health care, etc.) that is already included in the price of everything else that you buy - except restaurants. No thanks

That being said fast food jobs were NEVER designed to support a family - they were originally conceive as minimum wage jobs for kids with expected turnover of 2x a year (I know because I started at McDonalds). That should not change now just because we have many immigrants and adults with no skills that work there. Instead we should be creating good skilled jobs for adults that pay decent wages.

At some point SF and other ridiculously expensive cities will have to raise prices of everything due to cost/scarcity/wages and a balance will be achieved. Right now it is out of balance, and so you will see a lot of disruption as business go belly up. When tech workers find they cannot find cheap food down the street then maybe we will see some action.

My understanding is that when fixed costs are all figured in the actual profit margin is quite thin when all the smoke clears
The failure rate in restaurants is enormous even before factoring in today's economic challenges
I have done everything in my power to talk loved ones & friends out of opening restaurants not that it stopped them :)
For some the risk is worth it trying to achieve a successful formula.However passion frequently clouds good business sense and I speak from experience over the years ;)

What does restaurant surcharges have to do with resort fees?

Here's the bottom line.... the world E-V-O-L-V-E-S. Things change. You either adapt or your obsolete. Whenever I see an (invariably) old person complain about how good it was "in the old days" all I can do is feel sorry for a person who has clearly been left behind. NOTE: You CAN be old and still evolve/accept.

Or you can moan/groan/complain all you want, but the marketplace decides these things as views and society continually change... unless, of course, you are socialist and want the government to decide (which is up to you, but the majority of Americans aren't socialists hence we let companies mostly do what they want, so long as it's disclosed and there's no trickery involved). At this point, my grandma knows what a resort fee is, so there's nobody on these boards who don't understand that is how it works now in America, at least....