Resort fees going up at 3 Caesars hotels in Las Vegas

Two months after its CEO expressed concerns about increasing rates, Caesars Entertainment Corp. is raising resort fees at three of its hotels.

On Oct. 15, Caesars Palace and Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace will go from charging $39 per night in resort fees to $45 per night — $51.02 with tax. The Rio will increase its nightly resort fee from $32 to $35, or $39.68 with tax. A company statement said the changes will “bring resort fees in line with relevant competitors.”

According to company representatives, these fees encompass in-room Wi-Fi for two devices per day at a “premium Wi-Fi speed,” fitness center passes for two guests per day and all local calls.

All of the other Caesars resorts in Las Vegas will remain the same, and Caesars Rewards Diamond and Seven Star guests remain exempt from these fees. The last time Caesars changed this fee was in February 2018, when it raised resort fees at Caesars Palace and Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace to $39 per night plus tax; Bally’s, the Flamingo, The Linq Hotel and Harrah’s to $35 per night plus tax; and The Cromwell, Planet Hollywood Resort and Paris Las Vegas to $37 a night plus tax.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Barry Jonas said the Caesars team is likely looking to keep property resort fees in line with competitors, regardless of the upcoming sale of the Rio and merger with Eldorado Resorts.

“Management has noted there is a breaking point to these fees, but it doesn’t appear they think we’ve hit it yet,” he said.

In August, CEO Tony Rodio expressed concerns about rising fees during a call to investors.

“Over time, at some point there’s going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” Rodio said during the call. “I don’t think we’re there yet, but I want us to be very judicious and cautious about taking those rates any further. It’s certainly a revenue stream that’s hard to walk away from, and it’s been accepted at this point, but we’re getting pretty high.”

Meanwhile, bipartisan legislation introduced two weeks ago by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., seeks to make resort fees more transparent.

The Hotel Advertising Transparency Act of 2019 would make resort fees more transparent by prohibiting hotels and other short-term lodging establishments from advertising a room rate that does not include all required fees, not including taxes and fees imposed by a government.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.