One of the easiest methods to avoid a resort fee is to book a room with hotel points. Loyalty programs at multiple hotels waive resort charges for award stays made with points only (as opposed to cash and points that may incur additional charges). During the checkout process, your credit card is already on file, you will not be able to refuse to pay the fee at that time. You can and should try to negotiate the waiver of the fee if you do not do so at check-in, but there is nothing you can do to prevent them from charging the card you provided at check-in.
Spend a few days in an award-winning city. You can avoid paying resort fees by booking your hotel room with hotel loyalty points. In several hotel loyalty programs, we recommend reward stays based on cashless points or points that will generate charges (rather than a cash and bonus program). You'll need to earn top-tier Hyatt Globalist status to avoid resort charges on paid stays, but the search may be worthwhile if you have the option to stay with Hyatt year-round and want to enjoy all the benefits of the high-end elite tier.
A representative from the American Hotel and Lodging Association said resort fees help pay for hotel services, such as swimming pools, gym access, towel service, Wi-Fi, newspapers, shuttle service, and 24-hour parking. You may receive a refund if you decide to cancel your reservation for any reason; however, many hotels impose cancellation fees. The hotel may offer a cheaper room cost than the actual room rate when listing a room that does not include a resort fee in the price. Finally, Wolfe suggests filing a consumer complaint with your Attorney General that may lead to a refund of your resort fees.
Loyalty program groups have different fee waivers to redeem points with reward rates (or to use loyalty points for cash and additional charges). Because resort fees are not optional, it is correct to include them as part of the nightly charge. In general, hotels won't waive the resort fee (even when you're not using the services that are billed to the resort), Missie says. Virtually every hotel in Hawaii charges these “small” mandatory resort fees, making it nearly impossible to avoid them.
Not only that, but these rates can be drastically expensive at times and can sometimes be even more expensive than the hotel rate per night itself. Generally, hotels will not waive the resort fee once you leave them (for example, if you do not use certain services offered by the resort). Speaking of The World of Hyatt credit card, this is one of the best cards to consider if you want to avoid paying resort fees on award nights and paid stays.
