Don’t overpay on your next hotel stay: this simple trick instantly wipes out $200 in fees

You book a hotel that says “$149 a night” (about €138). Three days later, your card gets hit for closer to $700 (about €650). The room really was $149. Everything else is extras nobody warned you about.

If that’s happened to you more than once, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re doing the normal thing, and the normal thing is what hotels have counted on for the last twenty years. There’s a simple booking move most travelers have never tried that can knock $150 to $250 (about €140 to €230) off a typical three-night stay in a big US city. It’s free, it takes about 15 minutes, and it only works once you know why your bill keeps going up.

The extra $200 has a name (actually, five names)

The line on your bill is called a resort fee. Depending on the hotel, it might be called a destination fee, amenity fee, facility fee, or “urban” fee. Same charge, different name tag. It’s a daily fee added on top of your room rate, and you pay it whether you use the pool, gym, and “free bottled water” or not.

According to NerdWallet’s analysis of over 100 US hotels, the average resort fee (when there is one) is around $38.82 a night (about €36), and fees typically run $15 to $50 a day (about €14 to €47) (1). NerdWallet’s chain-by-chain breakdown, reported by Fox News, put Marriott’s average at $50 a night, Hyatt’s at $33.80, Hilton’s at $33, and IHG’s at $32.57 (2). Times three nights, that’s easily $100 to $150 (about €93 to €140) in fees, before parking or Wi-Fi.

You’d think the government would have shut this down. Sort of. The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees kicked in on May 12, 2025, forcing hotels and booking sites to show you the total price upfront (3). Real win. But the rule made the fees easier to see, not illegal. Hotels can still charge them. They just have to tell you before you click “book,” and most people, in a rush, sigh and click anyway.

Why the “normal” way of booking loses money every time

The pattern’s the same for almost everyone. You go to a big booking site, sort by price, pick a hotel that looks like a deal, put in your card, and show up. A fee you didn’t plan for lands on your final bill like it’s your fault for not reading the small print.

A few things go wrong even for careful travelers. Third-party booking sites don’t get you out of resort fees, and as FTC economist Mary W. Sullivan documented in the agency’s 2017 report, hotels and online travel agents (like Expedia and Booking.com) use these fees to advertise lower base rates while collecting the same revenue at the end (4). Skipping the free loyalty signup means missing the members-only rate. Marriott’s site says Bonvoy Member Rates give “a discount of at least two percent on weekdays and up to five percent on weekends,” plus you earn points (5). And most people never check the Best Rate Guarantee, though Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt all offer one. An approved Marriott claim gets you the lower rate plus another 25% off, or 5,000 Bonvoy points (5).

Think about what that looks like on a real bill. Three nights in a downtown Chicago Hilton at $180 a night: $540. Add a $40 daily “urban destination” fee: $120. Parking at $50 a night: $150. You’re at $810 before tax, and you never touched the amenity the fee paid for. Small leaks alone. Stacked, they add up to the extra $200.

The move that actually kills the fee

Ready?

Book your stay with hotel loyalty points instead of cash, at a chain that skips resort fees on award stays. Two big chains do this, and they say so in writing on their own websites.

Hilton Honors. Hilton’s official terms say there are no resort fees on reward stays booked entirely with points, or on promotional free night stays (like the ones issued by credit card partners) (6). Any Hilton Honors member gets this, no fancy status needed. Free to sign up.

World of Hyatt. Hyatt’s program terms waive resort, destination, and facility fees for any member when a stay is booked entirely with points or a free night award (7).

A Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills or a Hyatt in downtown Chicago that would normally hit you with a $45 or $50 (about €42 or €47) daily fee suddenly has that line crossed off your bill. Over a three-night stay, that alone wipes $135 to $150 (about €126 to €140) off your total.

The chain to skip if fees worry you: Marriott Bonvoy still charges the fee on award stays no matter your status, per NerdWallet’s Hyatt vs Marriott comparison (8). If you’re paying in points, pick the right ones.

Do this before your next stay

The 15-minute routine, in order:

• Sign up for Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt. Both free.
• Price your dates in points on both chains first. Many US city Hiltons run 30,000 to 60,000 points a night, which one credit card sign-up bonus can cover.
• Book direct on the hotel’s site or app, never a third party. Third-party bookings kill the fee waiver, the price-match, and your points-earning.
• If you’re paying cash and have AAA, ask for the AAA rate. AAA’s partners page lists “10% or more” at Hyatt, “5% or more” at Hilton, and “5% or more” at Marriott, with loyalty points still earned on top (9).
• Within 24 hours of booking, do one more price check. If another site has the same room, dates, and cancel policy for less, file a Best Rate Guarantee claim.
• If a fee shows up for something the hotel didn’t give you (pool closed, Wi-Fi broken), ask the front desk manager to take it off. Point to what wasn’t there. Works more often than people expect.

Stack three of these and the $200 isn’t marketing math. It’s the bill when you stop paying for what everyone else quietly pays for.

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Sources: (1) NerdWallet, 3 Hotel Chains With Top-Tier Amenities yet No Resort Fees; (2) Fox News, Hotel fees are draining Americans’ wallets, citing NerdWallet study; (3) Federal Trade Commission, Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees; (4) Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Economics, Economic Analysis of Hotel Resort Fees by Mary W. Sullivan (2017); (5) Marriott, Best Rate Guarantee and Member Rates; (6) Hilton Honors, Terms and Conditions; (7) World of Hyatt, Awards FAQ; (8) NerdWallet, Hyatt vs Marriott loyalty comparison; (9) AAA, Preferred Hotels page.