I have had the experience myself of getting an unexpected and mandatory “resort fee” added to my nightly rate in NYC, and I agree it’s a scam. I read somewhere that the practice came about as a result of price comparison websites. It gives hotels a way to appear near the top of the list when you sort by price, by displaying a bogus price that excludes the resort fee. They bury the resort fee in the small print. This is exactly how I got suckered. I think it reflects poorly on the price comparison sites as well as the hotels.