Something I don't get about expensive vs cheap hotels

[Mahaguru]

I used to travel for work with previous job, and stayed in all kinds of hotels. Cheaper hotels like Holiday Inn Express or Mariott Residence Inn had everything included and did not nickle and dime you. Free parking, free internet, and free breakfast were all included. If at some location parking wasn't free, then it was very cheap and mostly done to avoid non-guests from parking. Expensive hotels are the complete opposite, they love to nickel and dime guests. Ridiculous priced parking, $9.99 - $15.99 for internet per day, super expensive breakfast, $4 bottle of water waiting on the table, stocked fridge with super sensitive sensors to note down when you touched the $8 bottles of beer, etc etc. Oh and at a 4 star hotel in Boston, the business center charged $6.95 for internet use per 15 minutes.

Now, what I don't get is that the more price sensitive customer is obviously going to stay at places like Holiday Inn Express and Mariott Residence Inn. Yet, he is already being provided all the services that he may or may not need. He may not need the internet and is probably fine with walking down to the business center. He also may not need breakfast and is ok with just going to McDs in the morning. So it may be in the benefit of the price sensitive customer to just pay for things he really needs. If he needs the internet, he can just pay a fee and if he wants breakfast he will just pay for it.

Isn't this the opposite of what hotels are doing? The more price sensitive customer gets everything included, but the less price sensitive customer must pay for everything. This is opposite of how things work in other places. Airline first class seating includes everything, but the economy passengers have to pay for the conveniences like extra leg room, luggage and food (well at least in US domestic airlines). In the automotive business, cars like BMW and Mercedes already include all the luxuries since they are aimed at a less price sensitive customer. The more price sensitive customer will opt for an Accord or an Impala and if he wants luxuries like premium sounds, GPS or leather, he can pay extra for those.

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[mugs]

Price-sensitive customers usually don't see a la carte pricing as potentially saving them money, they see it as a company trying to rip them off by charging for things that "should be included."

Example: Airline baggage fees. Does it make a difference if the airline charges a baggage fee or raises fares? Yeah, baggage fees can be avoided. But customers don't see it as an alternative to a fare increase.

That wasn't an attempt to answer your question, I'm just addressing your point about price-sensitive customers not needing the free amenities.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'll keep this in mind wherever I find myself needs a place to sleep that ain't home.

 

[Anonemous]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

 

[thepd7]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

I have a feeling that's changing a lot. My company doesn't let me pull that shit (even before the economy went south) and I'm betting lots of companies are going to be cracking down on expenses.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

Ding ding ding. It's annoying personally but a lot of businesses don't care and hotels know this. E.g., whenever I travel for casework, the travel expenses are billed straight to the client. $250/night to be at an office near the client? Ok. $15/day for internet? Ok - I still may need to get work done in my room. $20/day to park the rental car? Big deal. And travel expenses are a small part of the overall bill so if a client squabbles about the charges, it usually isn't over travel.

I've never stayed at those places and payed those fees for personal travel. Usually something like a La Quinta Inn or Holiday Inn Express is decent enough and a good value.

 

[Jumpem]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

Yes we do. We still have to abide by the maximum nightly rate our company will pay for.

 

[guyver01]

people that stay at fancy hotels dont care that they're paying for other amenities.

 

[GeekDrew]

I try to stay at "less expensive" hotels (always Holiday Inn Express, when available) regardless of whether I'm traveling for business or personally. I like having "everything included" (to some reasonable extent). It annoys the hell out of me when the hotel nickles-and-dimes me to death. The only time I stay at "expensive" hotels that charge the hell out of everyone there, is when I'm at a business conference for which there is a large benefit to stay at the host hotel... and even tho, it annoys me.

For what it's worth, I'm not usually "cheap", price is usually secondary to quality with me. In my experience, less expensive hotels are just as decent as expensive hotels, as far as rooms / sleeping accommodations are concerned.

Also be advised that I'm not including sub-economy-level hotels and motels in my discussion. I'm used to staying at places that charge $100-$150 / night (and that's what I define as "less expensive"). The few times I've stayed at hotels that were less than $100/night, I felt unclean and unsafe.

 

[blinblue]

It is interesting how areas of commerce differ on services offered at various price points. The way I see it, its shameful that any place charges for internet. Its so cheap (compared to basically any other cost a store/hotel/etc has) that there is no reason not to make customers happy.
I am much more likely to visit a place again if I feel welcome and have useful services provided with no/minimal hassle. And free wifi is certainly one of those.

 

[QueBert]

I stayed at a nicer hotel about 5 years ago, was a bottle of water on top of the microwave, I figured it was complimentary. It wasn't huge or a brand like Voss or anything. I drank it and during check out was charged $6.50 for it, WTF lol.

 

[Slew Foot]

Most businesses dont care, its a tax writeoff for them.

 

[GeekDrew]

I stayed at a nicer hotel about 5 years ago, was a bottle of water on top of the microwave, I figured it was complimentary. It wasn't huge or a brand like Voss or anything. I drank it and during check out was charged $6.50 for it, WTF lol.

I stayed at the Gaylord Texan a couple of years ago. They charged for the bottled water in the room regardless of whether or not you drank it. *THAT* got on my nerves.

 

[edro]

I stayed at the Gaylord Texan...

LOL @ hotel name

 

[manlymatt83]

Most business I've been working with have started using hotwire.com (on my recommendation actually) to book travel. Still get a nice hotel, but it's much cheaper.

 

[GasX]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

As someone who has scrutinized many employee expense reports, i would rather see one charge instead of several. I won't begrudge a guy paying for Internet access if he needs it, but I am not going to overlook it. My guys were expected to stay within company policy which specified max nightly rates, but beyond that they were scrutinized.

 

[spidey07]

Well, the business class people that stay at hotels are on their company dime so they don't care that they are being charged up the wazoo for free stuff that's normally at the cheaper motels.

Quoted for truth. I will only stay at a marriot or higher on business travel. You're keeping me from my home and you're going to pay for it.

 

[Viperoni]

For myself, I have no problem staying in $75-$145/night hotels, and I don't want to pay much more for anything on top.
But for business, $100-$200 plus anything neccessasry is definietly going on the bill.

To add to the further topic, my company is also cracking down on extraneous expenses and has put together a "travel team" that handles everything for people travelling.

 

[shortylickens]

I think OP needs to study the Supply and Demand curves. You can bitch about it all you want, but the fact is people are actually paying those prices, so hotels dont see the need to charge less. In fact, many of them might be charging below equilibrium, but some sort of governing body prevents them from jacking up their rates.

And you know what the cool thing is about modern technology? You can get a lot of stuff cheaper or free that used to cost an arm and a leg.
If I had the means, I would open up wifi hot spots in business heavy locations. Charge a couple bucks less than everyone else. I've been in richer and more business oriented neighborhoods in Northern Virginia and DC. People actually pay for wifi access on top of their coffee/crapucino prices. They'll pay anywhere from 10 to 20 bucks a day for internet access from their hotel.
All you gotta do is setup a little hot spot near a big hotel. Make sure you support all the latest standards, and charge 18 bucks instead of 20. Most business travelers would go with you just out of principle. To show the hotel they cant rape people for every last dime. Wifi is cool like that. You didnt used to be able to do that in the good old days.
And the best part is you will always have plenty of room to maneuver with your pricing. The only downside is it looks like the big cellular providers are also going to move into wifi service now. Or 4G speeds that are practically the same. But the fact that hotels and coffee shops charge money and get it means there is a market for such services.

 

[TXHokie]

I'm all about free internet, free breakfast and free parking.

 

[JS80]

Go price a BMW/Mercedes/Porsche on Carsdirect.com and then Lexus/Acura/Infiniti. Tell me which has more options to get nickeled and dimed on.

 

[shortylickens]

Go price a BMW/Mercedes/Porsche on Carsdirect.com and then Lexus/Acura/Infiniti. Tell me which has more options to get nickeled and dimed on.

The only one I know for sure is BMW.

Last couple months I checked out all the 300 series. Was amazed at what 45 grand WONT get you these days. You have to spend an aweful lot of extra money for shit that should be cheap or free.
Today I just went to the Dodge website out of curiosity. Was amazed at what 21 grand would get me, and how much I could get for an extra 12 grand.

Lemme go Lexus and see if they are better or worse.

 

[Slew Foot]

Go price a BMW/Mercedes/Porsche on Carsdirect.com and then Lexus/Acura/Infiniti. Tell me which has more options to get nickeled and dimed on.

Back when I bought my car, it was the German cars all the way. My Acura had 1 option that wasnt standard, high-performance tires. MBZ, and BMW had a billion ridiculous option packages for fairly basic things youd expect to have in a luxury car.

 

[Anonemous]

Well I'm sure businesses/companies care how much their employees spend on their trips but things like internet and parking aren't going to draw any flags to be scrutinized. If it were me, I would not trust hotel networks and would rather tether since I do not know how well they encrypt their wifi.

 

[sjwaste]

Just the way it is, I suppose. A lot of it has to do with business travel. I'm not staying at anything worse than a Sheraton if my employer sends me somewhere, and even then, I'm trying for at least a Westin or a W.

Thing is, when you travel enough, you pick up status and a lot of the little crap like internet or breakfast become free.

I'm pretty loyal to Starwood hotels, though, because for the most part they have always gone out of their way to treat me well at their properties. Even now that I'm not traveling for work anymore and no longer have status, they're still really good about finding rooms for me if I call in on a fully booked hotel. Sometimes they hold a few back on the club level or have a wait list, but they always do whatever they can for you.

Close second are the Fairmont properties.