What is an "incidental amount" when booking a hotel in Las Vegas?

"Incidentals" are the subject heading under which hotels typically put everything other than the basic rate plus taxes you're paying for your room. Depending on your rate and the location, this might include in-room phone calls, orders from the TV/on demand Entertainment system, room service, the mini-bar and any dining at the hotel and charging it to your room number. To make sure people don't run off without paying, a charge is frequently blocked out for this in advance, either by a deposit (for cash or debit bookings) or by placing an authorisation hold on a credit card (so that your credit limit is temporarily reduced by that amount). The level is frequently higher at tourist destinations and resort hotels, since people are more likely to avail themselves of those kinds of services.

Under normal circumstances you'd expect the full amount to be refunded, or the hold to be cancelled providing you don't actually spend any money in this way, but if you're in doubt it's probably best to confirm this with the hotel you're booking with directly, since it's just possible that some of the fees they class as incidental get automatically added to your bill unless you clearly opt out. In extreme circumstances (e.g. you end up draining the entire mini-bar) you might even get charged something on top of the estimate.