Resort Fees -- Time to Say Goodbye to Caesars'/Harrah's

[redietz]

By the way, I like Rob's angle. Use a credit card one number off from an actual one. Alan, how do you feel about that?

[Alan Mendelson]

I just called the Host's office at Caesars... I intentionally did not want to ask my own host. Here's what I was told:

If you get a comped room either on an offer, or because you are Diamond or 7Stars there are NO RESORT FEES. If you have to PAY for a room, the Resort Fee will be charged.

I asked about my "gift certificates" for free rooms -- and the answer is "NO RESORT FEE" so now I have to go back to my friend who is using one of my gift certificates to confirm they were charged a resort fee OR if the resort fee was being charged on the OTHER ROOMS with the rest of the gang that is going up there with them.

[Rob.Singer]

Okay, experiment time. I know some diamond folks. Let's take a poll. If they reserve a room, and Caesars'/Harrah's doesn't back off from the resort fee if they threaten to leave, what should they do if Caesars'/Harrah's does not budge? And Rob, you recommend not leaving an actual credit card number so they cannot charge you in this event? Is that correct? Alan, any recommendations?

That's correct. If Ceasars does not budge, you go elsewhere if that's possible (which it always was for me) or you take the fee up the shorts and Don't give them a penny's worth of play.

[Rob.Singer]

I just called the Host's office at Caesars... I intentionally did not want to ask my own host. Here's what I was told:

If you get a comped room either on an offer, or because you are Diamond or 7Stars there are NO RESORT FEES. If you have to PAY for a room, the Resort Fee will be charged.

I asked about my "gift certificates" for free rooms -- and the answer is "NO RESORT FEE" so now I have to go back to my friend who is using one of my gift certificates to confirm they were charged a resort fee OR if the resort fee was being charged on the OTHER ROOMS with the rest of the gang that is going up there with them.

Not unusual. It always depends on the person you talk to or have to deal with.

[regnis]

Curious on the credit card suggestion. They always take a copy of my card at check in for incidentals. How are you avoiding that.

[regnis]

I will be going in May and will get a definitive answer at that time. I am taking my niece for 21st B-day. I doubt they will give me the 2nd room free anymore like they always have for all my other nieces and nephews but I was a much bigger player in those days. We shall see.

[Rob.Singer]

Curious on the credit card suggestion. They always take a copy of my card at check in for incidentals. How are you avoiding that.

That was for making the reservation and for your profile on the TR site. I would never hand over my real card upon checking in until I was told that there is no resort fee being added.

[Alan Mendelson]

That was for making the reservation and for your profile on the TR site. I would never hand over my real card upon checking in until I was told that there is no resort fee being added.

You realize, of course, that anyone who plays at a TR property can "pay" for the resort fee using their comp balance. Come on Rob, that's only a couple of hands at $10 video poker.

[Rob.Singer]

You realize, of course, that anyone who plays at a TR property can "pay" for the resort fee using their comp balance. Come on Rob, that's only a couple of hands at $10 video poker.

I just had some more fun with arci so let me have a minute to process this.

OK, I'm the type that, if I absolutely positively had to stay there and they hit me with a resort fee, I'd go out on the floor first, win the money, then go back to check in with a great big smile on my face. In fact, that happened once at the Palms. The front desk weenie (it was too late for the invited guest checkin) said I was required to pay the fee on my comped room (of course he was wrong) an that his manager was out for a few hours. It was late, so I told him to wait a few minutes and I'll be right back. I went into the high limit room, stood at the $5 BP machine, and played until I won $30, betting 1 credit, then 2, then 5 until I won the amount. It took maybe 30 seconds.

[Vegas Vic]

This article raises more questions than it answers:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013...g-resort-fees/

[Rob.Singer]

It also begins with a lie. Who doesn't have a cell phone and would rather use & pay for their in-room phone to make local calls. And is there really more guests than not that come without a smartphone and/or hotspot for their Internet?

[Alan Mendelson]

I want to update my post about 7Stars and Diamonds being exempted from paying the resort fee when they come on a comped visit. Platinums are also exempted from paying when they come in on a comped visit.

[redietz]

So are we to understand that the great unwashed (Gold), who get the majority of the comped rooms, are supposed to pay resort fees? I routinely got rooms at the Rio for $40 to $50. An $18 fee is a bit out there for a $40 room.

The new tiers are designed to screw the little folks, as are the resort fees. Basically, Caesars'/Harrah's wants you to drop mega-bucks on fewer trips than average bucks spread among many trips.

I notice nobody has broached this, so allow me: lower tier people are going to overreach to maintain their previous perks. In fact, these simple changes by Caesars'/Harrah's, because of the size of the company and the naivete of most of their players, have the potential to create more problem gamblers than any commercial change or rule change in Las Vegas gambling history. These changes will result in more players in immediate behavioral and financial trouble.

Caesars'/Harrah's, of course, is aware of this. It's actually the perfect opportunity to amp up the play of people who have been conditioned to receive certain perks for a certain pattern of ongoing play. That pattern is no longer sufficient, so we have behavioral modification at work.

I suggest all of you check any classic text on behavior mod out of your library. This is how it's done.

[regnis]

It also begins with a lie. Who doesn't have a cell phone and would rather use & pay for their in-room phone to make local calls. And is there really more guests than not that come without a smartphone and/or hotspot for their Internet?

And while i would use the fitness room in other cities, I get all the exercise I want walking up and down the strip in Vegas, so that is also a waste.

[Alan Mendelson]

Caesars'/Harrah's wants you to drop mega-bucks on fewer trips than average bucks spread among many trips.

They did this to me too, despite my 7Stars ranking. Caesars dramatically cut my Las Vegas offers because I made frequent trips at "lower levels of play" than what they wanted to see. It didn't matter to them that all of my "frequent trips" added up to a 7Stars ranking. What they wanted to see was "mega gambling" -- and they weren't getting it from me since I spread my play around many trips. So, they slashed my offers. The result was -- I stopped going to Vegas.