Which DC Hotels Charge a Destination Fee, From Their Own Booking Screens
By Matt Spaulding · November 10, 2026
Photo: DJTechYT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you want a DC hotel with no destination fee, look in Georgetown first. Seven of its eight hotels showed none on their own booking screens. The Wharf came in at seven of 10 with none, and Navy Yard at five of seven. Downtown and the White House runs the other way, with 10 of its 12 hotels charging one.
Across the 84 DC hotels we cover, 45 charge a nightly fee and 37 don't. Two more we couldn't read. Where the fee is a flat nightly amount, it runs $25 to $42 before tax. We checked each hotel's own booking screen where we could, for two adults, one night where the hotel would sell one.
Not one of the three Courtyards, three Residence Inns, three citizenMs or two Hampton Inns we read printed a fee. Eleven other hotels sold through Marriott's screens did, at $25 to $40 a night, and so did six sold through Hilton's. Hyatt split four to three: the Hyatt House, Park Hyatt Washington and both Hyatt Places printed none, and the other three charge.
Marriott and Hilton fold the fee in, IHG lists it beside the room
Marriott and Hilton put the fee inside the nightly rate they list, though Hilton's screens add that the price "excludes taxes and government charges". Accor's total goes further and is labeled "taxes and fees included". IHG's screens, Kimpton's included, show the fee beside the room, and so do Hyatt's full-service hotels. So do most of the independents that charge one, though Riggs, Pendry, the Churchill, Hotel Madera and Capitol Hill Hotel fold it into the price.
The Westin Washington, DC Downtown puts its $40 destination fee inside the price Marriott shows. Riggs Washington DC does too. Its room list labels the price "including fees" and "excluding taxes", and the breakdown shows the $40 hotel fee on its own line with a tax line after it. If you're comparing a Marriott price with a Kimpton one, add the fee to the Kimpton price.
Only The Graham charges in Georgetown
The Graham Georgetown itemizes a $30 destination fee on a one-night stay, beside the occupancy tax. The rest of Georgetown printed none: Rosewood Washington, D.C., The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC, Canal House of Georgetown, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, citizenM Washington, D.C. Georgetown, The Hoya Hotel at Georgetown and The Georgetown Inn. The Hoya's screen and the Georgetown Inn's added only sales tax. Six more hotels have Georgetown in their names, but they sit in Foggy Bottom, and all six charge a fee.
Five of Navy Yard's seven print no fee
Thompson Washington D.C., by Hyatt lists a $32 daily destination fee per room, subject to change. The AC Hotel by Marriott Washington DC Capitol Hill Navy Yard has a $25 destination fee inside Marriott's rate. Those are the only two fees in Navy Yard.
The other five showed no fee: Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront, Hampton Inn & Suites Washington, D.C.-Navy Yard, Residence Inn Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard, Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard and Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington DC Capitol-Navy Yard. The Cambria's Choice Hotels summary was just the room rate plus tax.
Three Wharf hotels charge, $35 to $39
The biggest fee in The Wharf is $39 at The Potomac Hotel, Autograph Collection, a destination fee already in Marriott's rate. InterContinental Washington D.C. - The Wharf adds a $35 nightly guest amenities fee. At Pendry Washington DC - The Wharf, the nightly price on the booking screen already includes a $35 destination fee, and the estimated tax covers the fee too. The screen says the hotel collects the fee during your stay.
None printed at Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf, Canopy by Hilton Washington DC The Wharf, Hyatt House Washington DC/The Wharf, citizenM Washington DC Capitol, Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall, Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol - National Mall or Residence Inn Washington, DC National Mall. The Holiday Inn's screen lists a $50 incidental hold per stay but no fee.
Seven of Capitol Hill's 12 hotels charge
In Capitol Hill, three of the seven fees are already in the price. YOTEL Washington DC shows a $30.18 mandatory charge per night and The Morrow Hotel Washington, DC, Curio Collection by Hilton a $30 one, both inside Hilton's rate. Capitol Hill Hotel's own screen counts $30 a night in destination fees inside the rate.
Kimpton George Hotel puts a $37 guest amenities fee on top, per room per night, and Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill lists a $35 nightly destination fee per room. Phoenix Park Hotel's own FAQ gives a $32 mandatory facility fee per night, tax included. The taxes-and-fees line on its booking screen works out to the DC tax plus that $32.
We haven't read a booking screen for The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill, so its $35 destination fee per day comes from the hotel's own site, and we can't say whether it sits inside the price or on top.
No fee at Hyatt Place Washington DC/US Capitol, Hilton Washington DC Capitol Hill, Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC/U.S. Capitol, citizenM Washington DC NoMa or Courtyard Washington, DC/U.S. Capitol.
Seven Dupont Circle hotels charge, none above $35
In Dupont Circle, the Washington Hilton's $25 mandatory charge and Hotel Madera's $29 amenity fee are already in the rate. So is the $26 historic preservation fee at The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row.
Lyle Washington DC itemizes a $30 hotel fee per night, the same $30 its own small-print page lists. Kimpton Banneker Hotel itemizes a $30 guest amenities fee, and The LINE DC charges a $27 amenity fee. We haven't read the booking screen for The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle either, so its $35 destination fee per day also comes from the hotel's own site, and it's just as unclear whether it sits inside the price.
Four printed no fee: The Dupont Circle Hotel, Tabard Inn, The Ven at Embassy Row, Washington, D.C., a Tribute Portfolio Hotel and Courtyard Washington, DC Dupont Circle. Tabard Inn's one-night quote added only the DC hotel tax.
Eight of Foggy Bottom's 12 hotels charge
In Foggy Bottom, The Watergate Hotel charges a $37 urban resort fee per night. The Westin Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and Washington Marriott Georgetown each put a $30 destination fee inside Marriott's rate. A $25 mandatory charge sits inside Hilton's price at Embassy Suites by Hilton Washington DC Georgetown, and the same $25 at One Washington Circle DC, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown's $37.28 urban experience fee sits inside an Accor total labeled "taxes and fees included". Eurostars St Gregory Dupont Circle Georgetown has a Spanish-language screen that prints "Destination fee de $34.78 incluido / Impuestos no incluidos": a $34.78 fee inside the price, taxes extra. Melrose Georgetown Hotel's booking screen shows a $30 historic preservation fee plus tax per night, though the hotel's own pages say $29. We count the screen's figure.
No fee at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., Residence Inn Washington, DC/Foggy Bottom, ARC Hotel, Washington DC, Series by Marriott or Park Hyatt Washington.
Seven Penn Quarter hotels charge, up to $40 at Riggs and the Westin
Four Marriott hotels in Penn Quarter fold the fee into the rate: $30 at Washington Marriott at Metro Center, $35 each at Washington Marriott Marquis and JW Marriott Washington, DC, and $40 at the Westin Downtown. Grand Hyatt Washington lists a $35 destination fee per room per night on its 11 November screen. On 29 October it showed $30 for a November night.
Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC itemizes a $37 guest amenities fee per room per night. Riggs's $40 hotel fee is the same daily fee its own site states. Conrad Washington DC, Waldorf Astoria Washington DC and Hampton Inn Washington-Downtown-Convention Center showed none.
Ten of 12 charge by the White House, up to $42
In Downtown and the White House, The Jefferson, Washington DC and The Hay-Adams were the only two whose screens added nothing but the room tax.
Marriott's rate holds a $40 destination fee at The St. Regis Washington, D.C., $30 at The Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection and $36 at Le Méridien Washington, D.C., The Madison. Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square has a $40 urban experience fee inside Accor's price, and Capital Hilton a $30 mandatory charge inside Hilton's. Hotel Washington has the highest flat nightly fee we read: a $42 destination fee, itemized on its screen.
Hotel Zena Washington DC charges a $35 guest amenities fee, which its own site calls mandatory per room per night, and The Darcy an amenity fee of $30.18, each with tax on a line of its own. IHG's booking screen listed no rooms at the Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C. on the nights we tried, so its fee comes from the hotel's own site: a $35 daily amenity fee per room per night. Hamilton Hotel has two fees, a $25 facility fee and a 1% community impact fee, both taxed.
The FTC and DC now require the fee in the price
Since 12 May 2025, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR Part 464) has covered hotel stays. Its FAQ says the total price must include "all charges or fees the business knows about and can calculate upfront", and it uses a mandatory resort fee as its example. Government charges and shipping may be left out, and so may optional extras, as long as they're disclosed before payment.
DC's consumer-protection code, section 28-3904(a)(12), as printed on code.dccouncil.gov on 10 November 2026, makes it unlawful to advertise, display or offer "a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges", other than government taxes and fees and postage. Its history line cites D.C. Law 26-187, 26 September 2026.
Fourteen screens tax the fee
DC Code 47-2001 counts "amounts charged for any cover, minimum, entertainment, or other service in hotels" in the sales price. Fourteen screens showed the fee taxed: Kimpton Monaco, Kimpton George, the Watergate, the InterContinental, Pendry, Banneker, the LINE, the Churchill, the Darcy, Riggs, the Lyle, Hotel Zena, the Melrose and the Hamilton, which taxes both its fees. Where the screen prints the tax on the fee to the cent, it is 15.95%, the same as the room. Our DC hotel tax guide covers the rate itself.
Hotel Washington, the Graham, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Thompson itemize or state a fee with no word on whether it's taxed. The Royal Sonestas' own site says "plus applicable taxes", and Phoenix Park's says its $32 includes tax. The Willard's says nothing about tax.
A government rate drops the fee at two hotels
The Hamilton's own offer page (hamiltonhoteldc.com/offers/government-military-rate, read on 10 November) says: "Government employees and military personnel can enjoy exclusive rates at Hamilton Hotel, including a waived facility fee, when a valid ID is shown upon check-in." The fee it waives is the $25 facility fee. Group bookings don't get the offer, and the page doesn't say whether the 1% community impact fee is waived too.
The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill's own site says its Government Rate "includes a waiver for the hotel's daily Destination Fee", the $35 one.
The two Penn Quarter hotels we couldn't read
The Henley Park Hotel and Morrison-Clark Historic Inn & Restaurant, both in Penn Quarter, share a booking engine. At the Henley Park it showed only one total, with no tax or fee line, before checkout. The booking page mentions no fee except "no fees will be charged" in its cancellation policy and a parking fee managed by the hotel. Morrison-Clark's home page doesn't state a fee. Neither hotel is counted in the 45 or the 37.
