Fees hotels state
431
Name an exception
34
Name none
397
Across 36 US cities. An exception counts only where the hotel's own sentence says it: 18 of the 34 say something ("some rates do not include it") without naming which rates, and those are counted under none of the kinds below.
What hotels actually write down
Every exception below is quoted from the hotel’s own page. They fall into a few kinds, and the largest kind is not a discount anybody can ask for — it is a rate an employer or a government has already negotiated.
A government rate · 5
The hotel says its government rate does not carry the fee.
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Chicago Downtown · Chicago · $17.61 a night
“Free Night Rewards Redemptions, Government rates, groups, and negotiated accounts are exempt.”
- The Allegro Royal Sonesta Hotel Chicago Loop · Chicago · $32.00 a night
“The Government Rate includes a waiver for the hotel's daily Destination Fee.”
- The Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown · Chicago · $32.00 a night
“The Government Rate includes a waiver for the hotel's daily Destination Fee.”
- Sheraton Phoenix Downtown · Phoenix · $30.00 a night
“Not charged on government per diem rates: "Enjoy per diem rates with no destination fee at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown." (marriott.com rooms page)”
- The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill · Washington · $35.00 a night
“The Government Rate includes a waiver for the hotel's daily Destination Fee. (Federal, State, Local Government and U.S. Military employees; subject to availability, not available to groups, valid Government or Military ID required at check-in.)”
A negotiated or corporate rate · 8
A rate an employer or agency negotiated with the hotel; not a rate an individual can book.
- The Godfrey Hotel Boston · Boston · $46.58 a night
“Not charged on certain corporate negotiated rates.”
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Chicago Downtown · Chicago · $17.61 a night
“Free Night Rewards Redemptions, Government rates, groups, and negotiated accounts are exempt.”
- The Godfrey Hotel Chicago · Chicago · $20.00 a night
“with the exception of certain negotiated rates”
- Ella's Cottages · Key West · $45.00 a night
“waived on the collection’s Book Direct Exclusive rate booked on keywesthistoricinns.com: "Save up to 25% when you book direct, plus we'll waive your $45 nightly Guest Amenity Fee" (offer terms: "Guest Amenity Fee waived ($45 nightly value)"; "Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for groups or negotiated corporate accounts. Cannot be combined with other offers."); no end date stated”
- Fitch Lodge · Key West · $45.00 a night
“waived on the collection’s Book Direct Exclusive rate booked on keywesthistoricinns.com: "Save up to 25% when you book direct, plus we'll waive your $45 nightly Guest Amenity Fee" (offer terms: "Guest Amenity Fee waived ($45 nightly value)"; "Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for groups or negotiated corporate accounts. Cannot be combined with other offers."); no end date stated”
- Lighthouse Hotel · Key West · $45.00 a night
“waived on the collection’s Book Direct Exclusive rate booked on keywesthistoricinns.com: "Save up to 25% when you book direct, plus we'll waive your $45 nightly Guest Amenity Fee" (offer terms: "Guest Amenity Fee waived ($45 nightly value)"; "Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for groups or negotiated corporate accounts. Cannot be combined with other offers."); no end date stated”
- Ridley House · Key West · $45.00 a night
“waived on the collection’s Book Direct Exclusive rate booked on keywesthistoricinns.com: "Save up to 25% when you book direct, plus we'll waive your $45 nightly Guest Amenity Fee" (offer terms: "Guest Amenity Fee waived ($45 nightly value)"; "Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for groups or negotiated corporate accounts. Cannot be combined with other offers."); no end date stated”
- Winslow's Bungalows · Key West · $45.00 a night
“waived on the collection’s Book Direct Exclusive rate booked on keywesthistoricinns.com: "Save up to 25% when you book direct, plus we'll waive your $45 nightly Guest Amenity Fee" (offer terms: "Guest Amenity Fee waived ($45 nightly value)"; "Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for groups or negotiated corporate accounts. Cannot be combined with other offers."); no end date stated”
A points or reward stay · 3
A stay paid with the chain’s own points or a free-night certificate.
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Chicago Downtown · Chicago · $17.61 a night
“Free Night Rewards Redemptions, Government rates, groups, and negotiated accounts are exempt.”
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham New Orleans Downtown · New Orleans · $21.15 a night
“For Free Nights, this fee is included in the rate displayed. For Discounted Nights with Points + Cash, this fee will be added at checkout and cannot be paid with points.”
- Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter · New Orleans · $25.00 a night
“For Free Nights, this fee is included in the rate displayed. For Discounted Nights with Points + Cash, this fee will be added at checkout and cannot be paid with points.”
Already inside the rate · 3
The hotel says the fee is included in the room rate rather than added at the desk — so the quoted price already carries it.
- Sheraton Dallas Hotel · Dallas · $25.00 a night
“The hotel's page says this fee is "included in room rate": the room rate marriott.com quotes for this hotel already contains the daily $25.”
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham New Orleans Downtown · New Orleans · $21.15 a night
“For Free Nights, this fee is included in the rate displayed. For Discounted Nights with Points + Cash, this fee will be added at checkout and cannot be paid with points.”
- Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter · New Orleans · $25.00 a night
“For Free Nights, this fee is included in the rate displayed. For Discounted Nights with Points + Cash, this fee will be added at checkout and cannot be paid with points.”
Only on bookings from a date · 1
The fee starts on reservations made after a date the hotel names: an older booking does not carry it.
- The Whitney Hotel Boston · Boston · $30.00 a night
“Applies to new reservations made on or after April 1, 2026.”
What this does not say
It does not say the other 397 hotels will refuse you. It says they have not written an exception down, which is a different thing — and the reason this page counts sentences rather than collecting advice. A hotel that waives a fee at the desk for a complaint has published nothing we can count, and a page that told you otherwise would be inventing evidence.
It is also worth knowing which way the money moves. A fee the hotel collects at the desk is not ours to waive: it never reaches us, and nobody selling you the room can remove it.
Questions people ask
- Can I ask a hotel to waive the resort fee?
- You can ask, and some hotels do. What we can show you is only what hotels have written down: 34 of 431 name a case, and most of those are negotiated, government or points rates rather than something to request at the desk.
- Do points or free-night stays avoid the resort fee?
- At 3 of the hotels we have read, the hotel's own page says a reward stay does not carry it. Everywhere else, nothing has been written either way.
- Is the fee ever already in the price?
- Yes, at 3 of them: the hotel says the fee is included in the room rate, so the quoted price already carries it and nothing is added at the desk.
What the fee is and why it is not in the price is in what is a resort fee, and the hotels that charge none are in hotels without resort fees.