--- title: "The Power of Fees: Turning Fees into Revenue" description: Explore how hotels can leverage fees, amenities, and upgrades to increase revenue, boost ADR, and deliver greater guest value. image: https://luxepricing.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Upscale%20Hotel%20Lobby%20At%20Dusk%20With%20City%20Lights.png --- [![LUXE Pricing](https://luxepricing.com/hubfs/luxe-white.svg)](https://luxepricing.com/) [![LUXE Pricing](https://luxepricing.com/hubfs/luxe-white.svg)](https://luxepricing.com/) - [Home](https://luxepricing.com/) - [HouseCount RMS](https://luxepricing.com/housecount-rms) - [Who It’s For](https://luxepricing.com/housecount-rms/who-its-for) - [What’s Possible](https://luxepricing.com/housecount-rms/whats-possible) - [FAQs](https://luxepricing.com/housecount-rms/faq) - [LuxSell URS](https://luxepricing.com/luxsell-urs) - [Who It’s For](https://luxepricing.com/luxsell-urs/who-its-for) - [What’s Possible](https://luxepricing.com/luxsell-urs/whats-possible) - [FAQs](https://luxepricing.com/luxsell-urs/faq) - [The Luxe Advantage](https://luxepricing.com/the-luxe-advantage) - [About Us](https://luxepricing.com/about-us) - [Core Values](https://luxepricing.com/core-values) - [Meet the Team](https://luxepricing.com/meet-the-team) - [Pricing](https://luxepricing.com/pricing) - [Blog](https://luxepricing.com/blog) - [Request a Demo](https://luxepricing.com/request-a-demo) - Login - [HouseCount RMS](https://rm.luxepricing.com) - [LuxSell URS](https://upsell.luxepricing.com) [All articles](https://luxepricing.com/blog) # The Power of Fees: Turning Fees into Revenue November 2, 2026 · Ben Scholl ![](https://luxepricing.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Upscale%20Hotel%20Lobby%20At%20Dusk%20With%20City%20Lights.png) Let’s talk about fees. Fees can be a touchy subject, especially in today’s current market. Guests are increasingly more price sensitive and, rightfully so, looking for value in what they pay for their hotel stay. We are all familiar with resort fees and parking fees as standard for most hotels, but there are many other types of fees and ways to leverage them effectively. Fees come in all shapes and sizes including penalties, amenities, pricing differentials and upgrades, and many more. First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, fees are intended to bring in additional revenue. It would be difficult to say with a straight face that they’re not designed to earn money. However, there is a fine balance that must be struck to avoid being overly punitive or to appear to be “nickel & diming” your guests. An effective fee is a value add. In return for the fee, the guest should receive the service for which the fee is being leveed. This sounds simple and logical but often is not how it plays out in practice. A fee is also an effective tool for guest recovery and the sales negotiating table. As something that can be waived or discounted, hoteliers can use fees to recover guests and not lose out tremendously on hotel revenue. The fee is the first item to drop off the folio for compensation, often done proactively before compensation has even been mentioned by the guest. A bundle of fees is also a powerful item for sales managers to leverage in group contracting. Dropping or reducing parking or resort fee to satisfy a prospective client can be the difference maker in signing massive business without sacrificing ADR. Cancellation fees, no-show fees, damage fees, and pet fees fall under the umbrella of penalty fees. If a guest takes (or fails to take) certain actions, a subsequent fee is applied. Of all the fees, these penalty fees are the least focused with driving revenue. Their goal is to train a hotel’s clientele to respect the fees with hope that they don’t cancel at the last moment or that they don’t allow a pet to damage a room. These fees act as a warning against behavior that the hotel does not want. Collecting nonrefundable payment in full, sometimes up to 48 hours before arrival, is very standard in today’s market. Travelers are smart and increasingly savvy and will take advantage of loopholes to gain a better deal. These punitive fees protect hotels from rooms going unsold. The key to effectively leveraging these fees is to ensure proper training and understanding with the front desk team on how these are implemented and consistent verbiage and policies across the PMS, booking engine and other distribution platforms to avoid confusion or misinformation. Next, we have amenity or service type fees. This could be a nightly fee for a rollaway bed or crib or a fee for additional water to the room, an early check in or late check out fee. A resort fee or high-speed internet fee may also be included here. These amenities may be add-ons that are not included as standard with the room rate. Many hotel rewards programs opt to waive these types of fees for its higher tier members, providing a value add and incentive to join the program and reach that level of status. These are the type of fee that not all hotels or markets may be comfortable offering. In more regional markets where room rates are lower and brand competition is scarce, charging the extra fee for the rollaway bed might not make sense. There is not much revenue to be made from the fee, and the clientele is so local and familiar as to be personally insulted by the fee being introduced. The successful execution of an amenity-based fee is above all, to provide excellent service and value. Deliver the rollaway fully made and have staff set it up for the guest, same with the crib. If the high-speed internet costs more, it better work and it better be fast! If you’ve charged for an early check in, deliver that room on time. If a resort fee is being charged, the front desk should be able to speak to exactly what the “resort” is and what benefits the fee is providing. Lastly let’s look at room type differentials, occupancy pricing, and upgrades. While not strictly fees, these are value add pricing that can stack onto the room rate. These types of fees can help to increase ADR and are somewhat more opaque in some cases than traditional fees. A room type differential is charging a different price for a different room type. We are all familiar with suites or premium rooms boasting higher prices than standard, but we can even price between a king and a double or a king smoking vs king nonsmoking. Occupancy based pricing is charging more per guest, typically a $10-$20 added to the room rate per additional guest. Your market will determine the efficacy of that strategy. A resort near a theme park that tends to bring in large families might see success with these types of fees. Upgrade fees are also extremely common, and an excellent upsell opportunity to train the front desk on to bring additional revenue with the opportunity, in some cases, to earn commissions. Unlike the previous types of fees, these are not fees that can be waived or removed so easily as they are typically baked into the room rate. Luxe Pricing is happy to support its hotel partners with room type differential and occupancy-based pricing strategy through HouseCount RMS and offers a dynamic upgrade tool via LuxSell to ensure revenue is grown through more than just room rate alone. While fees may sound like a dirty word at first, after further analysis, we see that fees offer more than just revenue generation. They help train our guests, offer optional value adds, can be member benefits, and can give a boost to ADR when leveraged appropriately. Luxe Pricing is in your corner as you navigate this world of options. - Share this article - - - ##### About The Author ###### Ben Scholl Global Partnership Executive ## Keep exploring [All articles](https://luxepricing.com/blog) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Atlantic%20City%20Boardwalk%20At%20Sunset.png?width=480&height=300&name=Atlantic%20City%20Boardwalk%20At%20Sunset.png) October 15, 2026 Atlantic City Hotel Revenue: The Strategy Behind the 2026 Rebound Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/atlantic-city-hotel-revenue-the-strategy-behind-the-2026-rebound) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Surfer%20Balancing%20On%20Wave%20At%20Sunrise%20Beach.png?width=480&height=300&name=Surfer%20Balancing%20On%20Wave%20At%20Sunrise%20Beach.png) October 1, 2026 Riding the Revenue Wave: How Dynamic Pricing Captures More Revenue Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/riding-the-revenue-wave-how-dynamic-pricing-captures-more-revenue) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Cozy%20Hotel%20Lobby%20With%20Colorful%20Cocktails%20At%20Twilight.png?width=480&height=300&name=Cozy%20Hotel%20Lobby%20With%20Colorful%20Cocktails%20At%20Twilight.png) September 23, 2026 Hotel Front Desk Upselling Training: How to Read Guest Cues Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/hotel-front-desk-upselling-training-how-to-read-guest-cues) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Luxury%20Casino%20Hotel%20Lobby%20with%20Grand%20Chandelier%20and%20Velvet%20Chairs.png?width=480&height=300&name=Luxury%20Casino%20Hotel%20Lobby%20with%20Grand%20Chandelier%20and%20Velvet%20Chairs.png) September 15, 2026 Casino Hotel Revenue Management: From Static Comps to Yielded Offers Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/casino-hotel-revenue-management-from-static-comps-to-yielded-offers) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Miami%20Skyline%20Sunset%20with%20Palm%20Trees%20and%20Formula%201%20Car.png?width=480&height=300&name=Miami%20Skyline%20Sunset%20with%20Palm%20Trees%20and%20Formula%201%20Car.png) September 1, 2026 Miami Hotel Market 2026: Independent Hotels and Pricing Power Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/miami-hotel-market-2026-independent-hotels-and-pricing-power) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Hotel%20Front%20Desk%20CheckIn%20Scene.png?width=480&height=300&name=Hotel%20Front%20Desk%20CheckIn%20Scene.png) August 25, 2026 Hotel Front Desk Upselling Training: Why “No” Is Normal Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/hotel-front-desk-upselling-training-why-no-is-normal) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Philadelphia%20Summer%20Street%20Festival%20at%20Dusk.png?width=480&height=300&name=Philadelphia%20Summer%20Street%20Festival%20at%20Dusk.png) August 22, 2026 Philadelphia’s Marquee Summer Events Tell a Quieter Hotel Story Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/philadelphias-marquee-summer-events-tell-a-quieter-hotel-story) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Casino%20Floor%20with%20Neon%20Lights%20and%20Diverse%20Patrons.png?width=480&height=300&name=Casino%20Floor%20with%20Neon%20Lights%20and%20Diverse%20Patrons.png) August 2, 2026 The Hotel Pricing Maze: From Casino Labyrinth to Dynamic Pricing Read article](https://luxepricing.com/blog/the-hotel-pricing-maze-from-casino-labyrinth-to-dynamic-pricing) ### [![](https://luxepricing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AdobeStock_1606335318.jpeg?width=480&height=300&name=AdobeStock_1606335318.jpeg) July 23, 2026 Offering Hotel Room Upgrades Isn't Upselling. 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