Loveman says Caesars properties won’t charge resort fees

Caesars Entertainment Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman weighed in on the Las Vegas gaming industry debate over charging customers resort fees.

MGM Resorts International has been a leading proponent of charging hotel customers various fees for such services as wireless Internet, use of fitness centers, early and late checkout times, and even a $30 guarantee for a king-size bed.

Often times, resort fees are not included in advertised room prices and pop up on the final bill.

MGM Resorts officials told investors on Feb. 14 that the company’s first quarter earnings would include resort fees in its revenue per available room calculations, in order to give Wall Street better profitability comparisons.

Loveman, during Caesars quarterly earnings conference call Friday, said his company doesn’t believe in charging resort fees.

He seemed surprised by an analyst’s question, saying Caesars, which operates 10 Strip area properties including the Rio, Bally’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace, is opposed to the idea.

“We are taking a position that we are not going to be charging our customers resort fees,” Loveman said. “This is quite an interesting conceptual debate and you can imagine our colleagues have had a lot of hours amusing one another on this topic. But it's our view that for our portfolio, it's best to position ourselves as not charging our guests resort fees.”