Let's see..... I think PNMs at Hillsdale pay about $5, which basically covers the cost of 'processing' their forms. I have no idea what this means, but that's what we were all told the money was for when we went through recruitment.
In every active members dues (of every chapter) are included a few dollars in Panhel fees which pay for recruitment materials. However, the chapters themselves cover the cost of all materials for their recruitment: nametags at their house, etc. In truth, there is not much involved in recruitment at my school, therefore, there are not many fees.
We have deffered recruitment, so the girls come back three days early from their Christmas vacation and move into their dorms then; however, there is no special fee for doing this. There are no hotels involved in our recruitment, everyone stays in their house or dorm, and the recruitment parties are held in the houses.
We are a very small school, and our deans do everything they can to encourage Greek life, which is wonderful. It is perhaps for this reason that we don't have the PNMs pay a recruitment fee. I think, however, that a small fee to cover a tee-shirt, food, nametags, etc. is perfectly appropriate as long as it is clearly explained to the PNMs what they are paying for, and the fee is not so exorbitant that it drives members away. This, of course, would vary from school to school.