Hotels have gotten pricey!

And BTW, we were going to spend the first night in Needles so we can drive the old Route 66 through Oatman AZ. Past Oatman the road is desolate and way the heck off the beaten path, but that's the kind of road trips we like. Then 3 nights Sedona and one night in Palm Springs on our return to visit friends.

The following link is a nice video about Route 66, Oatman, etc. We'll drive this route. This guy, Steve of Sidetrack Adventures, is really good at what he does.

Scott


Done a lot of that when I’ve brought two classic MB diesels of mine back east from CA. Love that trip!
 
The public whines so much about inflation and gas prices...then spends without regard. Restaurants are full, movies theaters, coffee shops, hotels, you name it, are full.
The treasury is going to spend $1.3 Trillion in interest payments this year. That is a direct stimulus to those that are wealthy enough to own T-bills and money market accounts - ie the top half of the K. Its also far from the only stimulus - like 4% inflation and a fed that doesn't care, good for stocks and other risk assets.


Understood….

But lots of people have multiple credit cards and have no concern maxing them out.
We have the largest and wealthiest retirement demographic ever. They only have so much time to spend it. Next time your out look around - its not a lot of young people, at least what I see. Doubt there putting it on credit.

1/3 of buy now / pay later is groceries.

Tale of Two groups.
 
The treasury is going to spend $1.3 Trillion in interest payments this year. That is a direct stimulus to those that are wealthy enough to own T-bills and money market accounts - ie the top half of the K. Its also far from the only stimulus - like 4% inflation and a fed that doesn't care, good for stocks and other risk assets.



We have the largest and wealthiest retirement demographic ever. They only have so much time to spend it. Next time your out look around - its not a lot of young people, at least what I see. Doubt there putting it on credit.

1/3 of buy now / pay later is groceries.

Tale of Two groups.

I’m in the segment with money to spend….. not bragging.

Younger folks think they can rack up debt, max out their credit cards / BNPL loans and simply walk away…… until credit card companies file lawsuits against them.

Look at pro athletics games, night life locations, bars, restaurants, upscale malls, etc….. I see lots of people under 30.
 
I’m in the segment with money to spend….. not bragging.

Younger folks think they can rack up debt, max out their credit cards / BNPL loans and simply walk away…… until credit card companies file lawsuits against them.

Look at pro athletics games, night life locations, bars, restaurants, upscale malls, etc….. I see lots of people under 30.
You know me - I follow numbers.

For those that carry a balance, average cc balance for Gen Z is like $3500 and for boomers that carry a balance its closer to $7000. Experian published a study not that long ago.

There are young people with money. No family, no plans for one, you don't have to worry about money as much. Yolo.

Was at a nice resort twice this summer. Whole families there. I presume the matriarch was paying. Perhaps those you see out are on Daddy's money. Maybe you saw my kids . :ROFLMAO:
 
Busiest Sedona months are April and October. It will be a touron antfarm. Just warning you what to expect. The only way to hike there is to be out at the Crack of dawn and be getting back to your car as the sleep-in tourons are arriving. If you're up to a challenging hike look at Bear Mountain hike. Bonus is no mountain bikes to dodge. You can probably hike right from your lodge. We lived across the valley for 13 years and hiked there a lot but got over it. World class high level mountain biking.

There's a fledgling wine industry in the Verde Valley mainly centered along Oak Creek SW of Sedona, vineyards, wineries, tasting rooms etc. Can't recommend any fine dining, we don't do it. Sedona is a cool place lots to do and see.
 
You know me - I follow numbers.

For those that carry a balance, average cc balance for Gen Z is like $3500 and for boomers that carry a balance its closer to $7000. Experian published a study not that long ago.

There are young people with money. No family, no plans for one, you don't have to worry about money as much. Yolo.

Was at a nice resort twice this summer. Whole families there. I presume the matriarch was paying. Perhaps those you see out are on Daddy's money. Maybe you saw my kids . :ROFLMAO:

Bank of mom and dad helping the little youngins in 2026.
 
Agree that Sedona is beautiful. But I'm cheap so we stayed in Flagstaff in a super quirky 1950s style hotel having small pink tiles on the bathroom walls and all.

Considering that we only sleep and shower in a hotel room, as long as it's clean and in a "not dodgy" neighbourhood it'll be fine. We've stayed in very expensive hotels as well. They're nice enough but for a place to sleep and shower, it doesn't make much difference.

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.

“….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.

This is BITOG! And we’re more than willing to listen…..!! 😎
 
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“….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.

This is BITOG! And we’re more than willing to listen…..!! 😎
It's a long story. But if you wanna hear it ...

I used to travel to Ottawa regularly, once a month or so. I always used a travel agent and had hotel reservations at my favourite hotel or an alternate if I couldn't get a room there. I would arrive at the Ottawa airport about 10:30 at night after a full day of work and go straight to my hotel, to sleep and get ready for meetings the next day.

On this occasion when I got to my regular hotel, they said they had given away my room because I hadn't arrived at a normal hour, my reservation hadn't been clear about the need to hold the room, and there was a big conference on in the city and a great shortage of rooms. I hadn't checked my travel itinerary as this trip was like a milk run. My travel documents were indeed a bit vague about the "guaranteed arrival" provisions. So I called my travel agent and said - "you guys messed up, find me a room". So the hotel and my travel agent both got busy and after some time my travel agent "found me a room". They said they didn't know the place but there was a room there - maybe the last one in Ottawa.

So I called for a taxi. The driver said, "You do have cash don't you?" I should have considered that a warning.

After an interminable trip (at least 20 miles) we arrived at the XXXX which had the sign "34 exotic dancers every night". But what was I going to do? It was about midnight, I had a meeting the next morning, and this might be the last hotel room in Ottawa. Inside, there was an eccentrically dressed older lady with a feather in her hair sitting by the check-in counter. The night clerk suggested I had better, "confirm the room for my whole stay because this is probably the last hotel room in Ottawa." I declined.

The night clerk carried my bags down a narrow hall with red shag carpet to a room with a bathroom door that was so crooked it couldn't be closed. I decided that I wasn't putting my bags on that floor, and I wasn't undressing or sleeping under those covers. I decided to call my travel agent to tell them to get me a better room. I had trouble getting a line out (the days before cell phones were common) so I moved a chair out from the corner to sit beside the bedside table (so I could keep trying to get a line out). There was a baited and set rat trap in the corner under the chair!

It was a miserable night. You get really cold sleeping in your clothes, lying on top of the covers. I had taken my shoes off. You don't lie on the bed wearing shoes in Canada. Every one in a while there was an ungodly snap. I would wake up, shake out my shoes, put my shoes on, turn on the light - only to find that the half size refrigerator crammed into the closet had started again. That happened over and over again all night. Lying there, I decided I could be really mad or find the whole thing funny so I decided funny was better. The next day my adventures regaled everyone at the meeting. And my travel agent came through - there were rooms at a high end hotel well outside my allowable travel budget (but on this occasion partially funded by my travel agent).

When I returned to my home office, there was a rat trap on my desk, squashing a rubber rat. The joke around the office was that YYYY wanted to go to the XXXX hotel on his next trip to Ottawa. A nice lady from the travel agent came to see me bearing a written apology. And I've dined out on this crazy story ever since. But I'll never stay at the XXXX again.
 
Then don't go to Sedona... sound like a ripoff anyway.

My next beach trip I am staying at Hard Rock Atlantic City (South Tower) for 2 nights and it's going to be under $200 for the rooms with all fees and taxes included (and even parking). Not $200/ night, just $200 for two nights. And it's right on the beach. Just got back from staying at the Tropicana which was slightly higher, but it was July.... I don't gamble either, I just get on their mailing lists and rebook if a sale comes along. I will also be using Hard Rock's 55+ buy one get on free buffet on Monday night...
 
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