Hilton and Marriott resort fees: the hidden charge you don't see until checkout (2026)
You booked a Hilton or Marriott at a price that worked for you. Then, at check-in (or on the final bill), a charge shows up that you don't remember agreeing to: the "resort fee" or "destination fee." It's not a classic scam — it's a real, mandatory charge that big hotel chains have been adding for years without always showing it clearly upfront.
Here's how much these fees really cost in 2026, what changed with the new US rule on disclosure, and how to avoid them or get them waived.
What a resort fee actually is
It's a fixed per-night charge the hotel adds on top of the room rate, framed as "covering" things like WiFi, gym access or the pool — services that in many cases should already be included, or that you may never use. The key part is that it's mandatory: you can't opt out even if you don't plan to use anything it claims to cover, and for years several chains only revealed it at the very last step of checkout, or at the front desk.
How much it really costs in 2026
The average resort fee at US hotels is around $43 per night, but the real range runs from $20 to $80 depending on the hotel and city. At several major Las Vegas Strip hotels, the resort fee alone runs $45 to $55 per night, before tax. Chains like Hilton and Marriott tend to sit at the high end of that range, often exceeding $50 per night at their resort properties.
Do the math: on a 5-night stay at a hotel with a $50 resort fee, that's an extra $250 that wasn't in the price you saw when you searched. That's money that could've gone to an excursion, a nice dinner, or simply booking a cheaper hotel instead.
The new rule forcing hotels to show the full price
A new FTC rule (the US consumer protection agency) now requires companies to display the total price, including all mandatory fees, from the very first ad — not just at the final step of booking. Companies that don't comply can face fines of up to $50,000 per violation. Hilton and Marriott, along with Wyndham, Choice and IHG, have already updated their sites to show the final price before you book.
One catch: the rule applies to bookings made in the US. If you're booking from another country, or through a site outside that jurisdiction, the resort fee may still only show up later in the process — so it's worth checking anyway, even where the site "should" already disclose everything.
Both Hilton and Marriott have faced class-action lawsuits over this exact practice (known as drip pricing: adding charges bit by bit without warning), so this isn't a minor issue limited to one property.
How to avoid it or get it waived
- Book with points: Hilton waives the resort fee on many award bookings made with its loyalty points.
- Call the hotel directly and ask if your elite status waives the fee — it's not guaranteed at every property, but it often works if you ask before you arrive, not at check-in.
- Look for "resort fee" or "destination fee" in the fine print before you confirm — don't assume the price you see is the final one.
- Compare the total price (room rate + resort fee + taxes) across hotels, not just the base rate — sometimes a "pricier" hotel with no resort fee ends up cheaper overall.
A simpler way to check your booking
If you've already booked a Hilton, a Marriott or any other hotel and you're not sure what fees it includes, upload the confirmation to AuditorTravel: in seconds it tells you, with a simple traffic light (🟢 🟡 🔴), if there's something worth checking before you travel.
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