Hotels have gotten pricey!

[JayhawkRoy]

I don’t understand why every hotel is doing a $50 hold? Hotels with no restaurant or bar.

Most likely Security for room damage or vandalism or theft of stuff. That is what I have been told.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Most likely Security for room damage or vandalism or theft of stuff. That is what I have been told.

$50 seems like a tiny amount for damage if that is what it is? I suppose its something. Never happened before Covid. The nicer hotels don't do it at all, so maybe its for people that steal the towels.

 

[ecotourist]

When we scraped ourselves out of lower, lower middle class the wife decided that the first thing we'd spend more money on was hotels. She's rationally afraid of bed bugs and I was on board.

So we went from $60 rooms to $250 rooms and got slightly better cleanliness for a couple of years but then the operators slacked off. $250 is the new $60. It's only a couple huge chains running everything.

I did stay in a random quaint family owned hotel in VA 11 years ago for the storied $60 rate and it was clean. That's all I want, a clean room and no crackheads within earshot.

I had bites all over me (3 in a row - most likely bedbugs, possibly fleas) the day staying overnight in a rather nice and pretty expensive hotel in a major tourist town. So expensive is no defense.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

$50 seems like a tiny amount for damage if that is what it is? I suppose its something. Never happened before Covid. The nicer hotels don't do it at all, so maybe its for people that steal the towels.

Happened to me quite a bit when traveling before Covid, all the way back to 1980's. If bill is settled at end of stay, the $50 validates the credit card also. My personal experiences in various parts of the US. The 50 can always be updated to a larger amount later before finalized or the hold is released. Same way with many gas station pumps.

 

[ecotourist]

$50 seems like a tiny amount for damage if that is what it is? I suppose its something. Never happened before Covid. The nicer hotels don't do it at all, so maybe its for people that steal the towels.

We brought a (supposed to be) physician for a job interview and arranged for him to stay in the nearby quite nice hotel. He not only stole the towels and facecloths, he stole the tray for the shampoo/body wash/etc. The hotel said they had never have anyone steal the tray before.

The hotel billed us for the room as arranged and we withheld the "extra amount" from his expense claim. The hotel got their money. He didn't get the job but then had the temerity to ask whether the "unfortunate incident with the hotel" had anything to do with our decision. We had a better candidate.

We had doubts during the interview whether he was actually a physician. He was supposedly a graduate of a prestigious medical school with post graduate training at a famous European medical college. We never got as far as checking into it

 

[97prizm]

Sue and I are planning a 4 or 5 night road trip to Sedona AZ for some sightseeing and hiking. We like nicer hotels but prices have gotten ridiculous. It's very easy to spend $500 a night in Sedona. Gasoline is a bargain in comparison!

Rant over.

Scott

Sedona is partially a well known vacation/ tourist spot that is much cooler than the Phoenix area and is in between Phoenix and Flagstaff. I bet there are off peak times that they're slow.

 

[PandaBear]

Families and students are probably trying to get their last vacation in before school starts again.

And they had to wait a bit due to World Cup brought in a lot of demand early in the summer. So they are all going right now.

 

[PandaBear]

Wonder if you could find an Airbnb cheaper?

These days after all the fees and surcharges they are more expensive than hotel.

 

[facility1]

Mr. modern business man and $$$

 

[PandaBear]

But having said all that, there is a certain hotel outside Ottawa with a sign that advertises "34 exotic dancers every night" where I won't be staying again. I'd explain but it's a long story.

Last December I went to Japan with my 2 daughters (10 and 13) and one of the place we stayed in was Toyoko Inn Nishiki Nagoya. Google street view looks normal enough, very quiet with not much traffic.

That's just because it was daytime. Those "office buildings" were really night club towers.

After we checked in and came back from dinner, the walk from the subway staton to the hotel was.... the red light district with night clubs, bill board girls, sales lady on the street, neighborhood patrols who are either 1) bar managers, 2) social workers, 3) police, 4) bouncers / enforcers. I also see a 24 hour bakery pretty much every other blocks (their street block is small), 24 hour izakaya (skewer and alcohol restaurant / bar), plastic surgeons, massive billboard of the "top performing lady of the month" of the club, etc.

At least the Japanese culture really emphasize on reading the air. When I was walking with my daughters they never try to catch my attention on their "specials of the night".

I didn't say anything and my daughters probably still think that's how a large city downtown looks like in Japan. They probably would one day realize that's because dad was cheap and found a room in the red light district instead. They have been to Vegas so they know some of the ladies walking on the street dress "different".

 

[SC Maintenance]

Happened to me quite a bit when traveling before Covid, all the way back to 1980's. If bill is settled at end of stay, the $50 validates the credit card also. My personal experiences in various parts of the US. The 50 can always be updated to a larger amount later before finalized or the hold is released. Same way with many gas station pumps.

The $50 is in addition to the room fee. I was the top 1 or 2 levels at Marriott, Hilton and IHG over the last 30 years. Many years were 100 nights. I never had an additional $50 charge / hold when checking in prior. Still don't in most places. They already have the hold for the room, so the gas station "they can raise it later" is already built in. I don't much care, its just odd.

 

[y_p_w]

I'm retired and enjoyed taking 3 to 4 road trips a year. We rarely spend more than a full day in any one location unless it turns out to be special. We stay in motels anywhere from 5 to 8 nights or so on a trip. Only a few years ago I could do this for 75.00 to 85.00 a night staying at places like Best Western, Comfort Inn, etc. These same hotels now cost 125.00 to 150.00 a night (sometimes significantly more in urban areas). Our AARP and AAA discounts don't put much of a dent in lodging prices any more. I now do a lot of pre-trip planning and make prior reservations to get best rates and to make sure places we stay have good reputations for cleanliness and not in iffy areas.That can take spontaneity and some enjoyment from a real road trip. Staying at a mom and pop 50.00 a night motel in a small town was a reasonable risk and often rewarding but at 100.00+ a night is now too big of a risk/gamble for me. Needless to say, at these still increasing rates for lodging along with restaurant prices increasing as well, my road trips are now down to maybe1 or 2 a year.

I remember $30 a night at basic motels. I’ve done family trips where we went camping too.

 

[82StudebakerDaytona]

My neighbor's (who is 90) Son (74) planned a 1-week trip to AZ. He and his wife slept in a large tent. They slept on air mattresses. They first stayed in the Forest southeast of Flagstaff. It had showers. The forest fire smoke made them move early. Their next camp spot was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I'm sure they planned this trip.
There is a site - https://freecampsites.net/ . I used this in 2010 on my way to Glacier National Park.
BLM Property is free camping; leave no trace.
Hotel/motel prices jumped during Covid. Everyone got a pay raise. Any Special event, it doubles. Inflation is all around us. My homeowners Ins has tripled in 4 yrs.
Try Colorado the end of September.

 

[rszappa1]

I remember $30 a night at basic motels. I’ve done family trips where we went camping too.

I can remember back in the late 70s...Motel 6 was 9.99 a night...back then it was a clean room and you paid extra for a TV and a phone...

 

[Zee09]

The $50 is in addition to the room fee. I was the top 1 or 2 levels at Marriott, Hilton and IHG over the last 30 years. Many years were 100 nights. I never had an additional $50 charge / hold when checking in prior. Still don't in most places. They already have the hold for the room, so the gas station "they can raise it later" is already built in. I don't much care, its just odd.

The places I stayed at did not disclose the $15 admin fee or the $50 hold.
I think you are right, charge an arm and a leg and a half full hotel requires fewer employees...