The percentage line
State, county and city occupancy taxes stack to roughly 10-17% of the room rate. On a USD 70 night, expect about USD 7-12 added.
What cheap rates hide
The nightly rate on a listing is the starting figure, not the final one. State, county and city occupancy taxes commonly add 10-17% of the room rate, some properties add a fixed destination fee of USD 10-35 per night, and a card hold of USD 50-200 can sit on the account from check-in. This guide splits the price into its parts so the total is visible before payment.
Three pages, one question each
Scroll the strip sideways — 5 cards.
State, county and city occupancy taxes stack to roughly 10-17% of the room rate. On a USD 70 night, expect about USD 7-12 added.
Destination and resort fees run USD 10-35 per night where charged. Fixed means a USD 60 room and a USD 120 room pay the same fee.
Commonly free at budget properties. Where charged, expect a flat USD 5-20 per day rather than a per-vehicle rate.
A USD 50-200 pre-authorisation at check-in. Not a charge, but it ties up credit until the property releases it after check-out.
Cancellation windows commonly close at 18:00 local time the day before arrival. Miss it and the refundable rate stops being refundable.
| Line on the bill | Typical amount | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy taxes (state, county, city) | about 10-17% of the room rate | added at the payment step |
| Destination or resort fee | USD 10-35 per night, fixed | every night, where the property charges one |
| Parking | free at many budget properties; USD 5-20 per day where charged | flat daily fee, not per vehicle |
| Incidentals pre-authorisation | USD 50-200 card hold | placed at check-in, released after check-out |
| Early check-in | a charge set by the property | before the standard 15:00 arrival time |
| Prepaid third-party rate | often the lowest listing price | paid at booking; cancellation returns nothing |
| Direct-booking rate | often matches the listing price | cancellation commonly free until 18:00 local the day before arrival |
Four lines do almost all of the damage: occupancy tax, a nightly fee, parking and the incidentals hold.
Occupancy tax is the quiet multiplier. State, county and city layers stack and commonly add 10-17% of the room rate; on a USD 70 rate that band means roughly USD 7-12 per night. Small per line, visible in the total.
A destination or resort fee is different in shape: a fixed amount per night, commonly USD 10-35, charged by the properties that apply one whether or not the facilities it funds get used. It does not scale with the rate, so it hits cheap rooms proportionally harder.
Parking splits by property: commonly free at budget addresses, and where charged usually a flat USD 5-20 per day rather than per vehicle. The last line is the incidentals hold, a pre-authorisation of roughly USD 50-200 placed on the card at check-in.
Five checks, in order, each one built to kill a specific named surprise.
Work through the steps in sequence, because each filters a different failure mode. The quoted names are the failures as regulars describe them.
The figures here are typical published ranges for US budget and limited-service lodging: tax bands, fee levels, room sizes and house rules that recur across the segment. No property was contacted and no specific listing is quoted; the subject is the pattern, not any single address. Where practice varies by brand or property, the text says so.
Where the numbers come from
The ranges cited reflect commonly published figures for the US lodging segment rather than any single chain, city or booking platform.