In America the advertised price isn’t the price

The one piece of country-specific advice Harry repeats across the whole United States trip, and the only thing about the country he genuinely complains about. The quoted number is a starting point: what you actually pay is that plus a resort fee, plus parking, plus tax, plus a tip that is expected rather than optional.

His framing is that he doesn’t mind America being expensive — he thinks you get what you pay for — but that he minds not being told what it costs.

How it catches him

Resort fees. Quoted as covering wi-fi and parking, disclosed in the terms and conditions rather than at booking, and applied whether or not you use either. In Hawaii they came on top of hotels already at $400–600 a night, and on top of the two-star at $160 he took instead. In Las Vegas it was $50 a night. His question both times was why it isn’t simply in the price.

Tax and parking, added at the end rather than shown at the start.

Tipping, which is the part he argues with rather than just notes. Asked to tip for a coffee in Miami, he refuses and then puts the other side himself: service staff are paid below minimum wage and tips make up the difference. His objection is not to the money but to the default — as an Englishman he tips for good service, and being asked to subsidise a large company’s wage bill at the counter is a different proposition.

The practical version

Budget from the total, not the rate. On a hotel, assume the headline price is not what leaves your account, and read what the resort fee actually covers before you decide it’s an outrage.

Demonstrated in

• Hawaii is the Most Overrated Place in the World 🇺🇸 — resort fee plus parking plus tax on every rate he’s quoted.
• What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas 🇺🇸 — $50 a night, buried in the small print.
• Miami Is Like playing GTA VI in Real Life 🇺🇸 — the full version of the argument, tipping included.