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Sorry, I can't agree with you or sympathize on this one. I do understand how you feel, but June to Sept is among the heaviest travel time of the year and certainly a motel in a touristycity will up their rates. If they continue to lose business you may see the rates go down. In the meanwhile it is supply and demand. Like the rest of us, they are in the business to make money.
This in a nutshell.
Ocean City, MD, the Holiday Inn Suites is $140/night Oct. 1 to April 30. May 1 to Sept. 30 is $390/night.
Ocean City, MD, the Holiday Inn Suites is $140/night Oct. 1 to April 30. May 1 to Sept. 30 is $390/night.
And I paid $48/ night at the other Holiday Inn in Ocean City in early November a couple of years ago. Rathes are seasonal. If you need to travel in the peak months, you pay peak prices. If you are patient and travel when occupancy rates are low, you get the spoils.
OP standard rates for summer season listed here start at your LQ motel 67.50 up w/AAA/AARP. Bargain time I would say. Select A Room
Other [name deleted]'s in SAT are as high as $139.50
I normally stay 1 night per week at an older[name deleted] Inn in San Antonio since it's clean and centrally located. Normal rate is $53/night up until June hit. Now, the same room is $20 more per night + taxes. I noticed that there are no more cars in the parking lot than before. In fact, it looks like even less!! I always thought that motel/hotel rates were "supply and demand", but that appears not to be the case. These ppl are no better than the oil companies who hike gasoline prices every time the Middle East hiccups. Sucks.
OP, did you ever think that maybe they are trying to cover some increase in operating cost, like a property tax hike, rate increases from SAWS / CPS / insurance carriers, or the like?
Or maybe they are expecting a lot of occupancy due to graduations, tourists, etc. There is such a thing as seasonal rates, especially in tourist towns.
Try staying at a hotel in Alaska. Summer rates are about $300 a night. In the winter, that same room is $100. Try getting a room on Super Bowl weekend in the host city. If you can even find a room, it will be astronomical.
I normally stay 1 night per week at an older [name deleted] Inn in San Antonio since it's clean and centrally located. Normal rate is $53/night up until June hit. Now, the same room is $20 more per night + taxes. I noticed that there are no more cars in the parking lot than before. In fact, it looks like even less!! I always thought that motel/hotel rates were "supply and demand", but that appears not to be the case. These ppl are no better than the oil companies who hike gasoline prices every time the Middle East hiccups. Sucks.
OP you are looking at it from the wrong direction.
A motel has to earn so much income per year to make a profit. The price you are seeing is the normal price for the stay, and when business drops off they lower the price to attract more visitors. You have been staying there during the off season, when they lower the price to attract visitors and hope to break even at least. Now the rates are back to normal level, so by the end of the year they have earned $xx for the year and are profitable.
We used to go to Laughlin Nevada when we lived in St George Utah. Much cleaner and nicer than Las Vegas. I have seen where they lowered the prices say at 6 p.m. when occupancy rates were not up to normal, especially on week nights. We would not check in, till we saw if they were getting their occupancy rates down low. We paid as low as $15 per night, for a $50 room.
They are not raising the rates, but have quit lowering them due to increased number of available visitors.
As I said, I have stayed at this motel every week for several months. This was the first time that I noticed only 2 other cars parked in the area where I always stay. I am on the frequent stay program, but they don't accumulate that fast. If the motel were legitimately with NO VACANCY, I could understand the higher prices, but that's not the case. I'm going to use Air BNB service I the next few months, although I notice that the " bargain" properties go quickly and there has to good advance to get them.
you are totally missing the point: rates do go up and down: I know you said you have stayed there every week for months, that has nothing to do with the summer rates being higher, whether they started the policy this year, last of whenever. I think we can all relate to what we paid at a particular property several times, just to see it just the next time. It also has to do with competition. You just said it yourself, the good deals go fast. As for how many cars in the parking lot, even that doesn't really tell much.
We stay at a hotel near our local regional airport when we fly somewhere. We are aware of price changes. Sometimes we have to pay $20 more than maybe a week earlier. No one is ripping us off. Do I like it? Of course not. Do I think the price of hotels have gotten out of hand? yes, but that's business and the price you were getting is dirt cheap for any hotel/motel, in any city, especially someplace like San Antonio.
OP you are looking at it from the wrong direction.
A motel has to earn so much income per year to make a profit. The price you are seeing is the normal price for the stay, and when business drops off they lower the price to attract more visitors. You have been staying there during the off season, when they lower the price to attract visitors and hope to break even at least. Now the rates are back to normal level, so by the end of the year they have earned $xx for the year and are profitable.
We used to go to Laughlin Nevada when we lived in St George Utah. Much cleaner and nicer than Las Vegas. I have seen where they lowered the prices say at 6 p.m. when occupancy rates were not up to normal, especially on week nights. We would not check in, till we saw if they were getting their occupancy rates down low. We paid as low as $15 per night, for a $50 room.
They are not raising the rates, but have quit lowering them due to increased number of available visitors.
And I remember staying in Laughlin weekdays and getting a free room after only 1 or 2 stays. Then, as you say other times the rates were twice as high or more.
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