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Sorry, you can probably tell from the thread title that this is a bit of a rant.
I am a college professor and I usually go to 1-2 academic conferences per year. Usually the conferences negotiate "special" rates for the conference, but for one that I'm going to in late March 2018, it's still close to $200/night after you add in the 17% tax (it's in Indianapolis, which clearly has very high hotel taxes!). The sad thing is, I am coming to realize that that is actually a GOOD price for a hotel room!! (The conference rate is $164/night, but that's a bit over $190/night with the taxes.)
Trying to save a bit of money for my employer, I looked online for hotels close to the conference hotel (which is the J. W. Marriott downtown, not to be confused with about half a dozen OTHER Marriott hotels in the vicinity). The nearest hotel was something like $159/night plus taxes, which was not enough to make me go there since the conference hotel is $164/night. But at first, on a map I saw that the Westin in Indianapolis, just a few minutes' walk from the conference hotel, was $115/night. Yippee!!, I thought. But no, that was clearly an Internet error (and a GIGANTIC one!!). When I went to the hotel's site (the CHEAPEST site for its rooms), I saw that the rooms were actually around $400/NIGHT -- for a place to SLEEP!!
Maybe I am completely naive, but I was astonished at this. I guess business travelers pay this (since their corporations are actually paying)? That's the only thing I can think of as I try to understand how anyone in their right mind would spend $400/night on a place to SLEEP. And yes, I know I keep saying that, but seriously, for me that's all a hotel room IS -- a place to sleep. OK, I might watch a bit of ESPN on TV before falling asleep (especially if my favorite team is playing), but otherwise, I will mostly be OUT of the hotel room during the day.
Am I nuts to think that I should be able to get a decent room -- I mean, seriously, a place to SLEEP -- for, say, $150/night?!!
It's not just a place to sleep, it's some place to sleep that is clean, safe and convenient to the airport and the place you need to be. I'd rather plunk the $400 to be in the same building as a conference than $150 to be six miles away, especially in cities where driving and parking are a hassle.
Complementary breakfast, internet access, maid service, safe and clean, secure parking, van transit to airport, prime location. You could probably find a cheap motel that had none of these, but not a hotel.
It's not just a place to sleep, it's some place to sleep that is clean, safe and convenient to the airport and the place you need to be. I'd rather plunk the $400 to be in the same building as a conference than $150 to be six miles away, especially in cities where driving and parking are a hassle.
Seriously? No, it doesn't have to be "convenient to the airport" because there are airport shuttles that go between most major cities' downtowns and the airports. So that doesn't seem to explain it, at least not to me.
So $400 for a place that is "clean and safe"? These are all downtown hotels -- cleanliness and safety are pretty much standard for all. So again, why pay $400 for ONE NIGHT for a place to SLEEP? I'm sorry, maybe I am just naive or dense or ornery, but I do not get the value AT ALL of paying $400 for a place to sleep. I mean, I'll be at the conference for 5 days (4 nights), so with tax the cost would be close to $2,000 for a few days for a place to sleep! I'm sorry, but that is mind-boggling to me! I am honestly surprised that anyone would find that reasonable?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harpaint
Complementary breakfast, internet access, maid service, safe and clean, secure parking, van transit to airport, prime location. You could probably find a cheap motel that had none of these, but not a hotel.
Safe and clean, yes. Internet access, alas, most hotels charge EXTRA for that (and the $400/night hotel did NOT specify that that was one of its "features," which makes me think that you have to pay extra for that). Parking, nope, most people going to a conference don't use that (and it, too, of course, is an EXTRA cost). Maid service, come on, ALL hotels have that (and some, including the high-end ones, are trying to STOP having that -- they actually make a point of asking you if you really "need" or "want" maid service because, you know, for environmental reasons maybe you SHOULDN'T want fresh towels and linens every day -- they make it sound like you are trying to ruin the environment if you want such things). Van transit to airport, well, ALL metro downtown hotels have that, so again, not a real plus. Prime location? There are dozens of hotels around there, same location, so THAT can't be it.
Complimentary breakfast? No, as far as I could see, the $400/night hotel did NOT include that (it was NOT listed as one of its "features"). I THINK, if I remember correctly, they included a mini-refrigerator in your room (which I DO like, but not, you know, $200+ worth of liking), but no free meals.
Seriously, is $400/night pretty "normal"? It sounds totally insane to me, and I go to conferences typically 1-3 times/year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reed303
A quick look with TripAdvisor shows EARLY March dates (8&9th) with $400 rate
Must be something big going on in Indy in early March.
The conference I'm going to is actually LATE March (Wednesday 3/28 through Saturday 3/31, although I'm getting in on Tuesday 3/27). This period DOES cover Good Friday, but really, is there some special attraction of Indianapolis for Easter?!!
I put in the actual dates that I would need, and that's how I got the $400/night price (actually, it was slightly more than that, and did NOT include the 17% tax rate!). So the conference hotel rate of $164 plus the 17% is actually looking pretty good ... although still insane to me. There are SO many other things I would rather spend my money on than a $200/night place to sleep.
It's supply & demand. You can pay $350 a night in Montana during summer rates at some not that great hotels.
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