Has anybody ever book through EXPEDIA.com are that New York City and State imposed taxes included in their booking or do you have to pay them upon arrival at the hotel? I called Expedia, but they are being ambigous and don't know what they are talking about! I know that taxes are a hefty 15%+, so I want to be prepared to pay if I have to. I am also looking into Washignton DC.

Please help,

THANKS!

I would not expect any hotel rates in the USA through USA websites like www.expedia.com to include taxes in the price. Some, like www.booking.com give you further information as to what to expect to pay in taxes, but the taxes are not included in the quoted rate.

If you click on "book now" in Expedia, it will show the room price plus the taxes and fees. So they are "included" in the final price, but not in the price for the room shown on the first page.

Thank you! Hope that someone else confirms what SF said - only then will I have some peace of mind!

I want to make sure I really understand your question because it's a little confusing to me.

Rates for U.S. hotel rooms posted online rarely, if ever, include taxes. I can't recall a single web site that includes prices in the basic rates quoted. It's just not that way in the U.S., where we don't have a VAT.

However, if one pre-pays for a hotel room, taxes are generally included. I've booked many hotel rooms on Expedia and on similar sites (both in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world), and I've never booked a fully-paid hotel online where I had to pay taxes when I checked out.

Now I have booked rooms on Priceline and had to pay a resort fee or some other kind of fee on check-out---but never taxes.