Hotel gouging customers during Holiwood Nights? (HW)

I just pulled up that same Motel6's rates for next Saturday...the lowest internet rate is $71.39 per night and their "base rate" is $83.99. So, no, they did not jack up the rates for Holiwood Nights, nor the Memorial Day weekend...

I was at the HW Nights event this weekend and stayed at the Motel 6 Chitown mentions in his post. I booked the room on the chain's website about a month before HWN was announced and paid a special internet rate of $51.99 plus tax.

And Gonch...where was ya? Two days at Holiday World and we don't meet? WTF is up with that? ;)

You must not listen to the podcast Moosh. Gonch isn't going anywhere until maybe mid June.

Nope...I don't listen to the podcasts.

Yeah, but Moosh, if you book that many months in advance at ANY hotel, you will get a better deal than a week before or even worse as a "walk-in."

Yeah, Gonch isn't getting anywhere for a few more weeks. Slow start this year. What can I say?

Guess I'll have to make up for it in the mid-to-late season. :)

Here's another little hotel secret. If the area is particularly slow, you might get a better rate than booking in advance by just showing up as a walk-in. Granted there's a gamble there, but any hotel would rather give you that $109 room for $79 than let it go empty - especially if much of the hotel is empty that evening and definitely if many of the hotels are running slow.

If they don't, then they don't know what they're doing. :)

Honestly, It's not gouging when your the only game in town. Why does Nascar charge 200 bucks a ticket for Bristol? Because they can and have a two year waiting list.

Me and My brother took a trip sunday night out to Haubstat IN for a Dirt track race. there were several hotels along the way and its only a hour to the IL state line. It's all very drivable IMHO if you don't want to deal with raised prices for a time when they all know they are going to sell out closeby.

Chuck, who considered his 3 nights at Lake rudolph a good bargain for 102 bucks despite totally unacceptable filfhy restrooms at the camp store all weekend. I used the other ones :)

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Lord Gonchar said:

Price gouging is when a hurricane hits Florida and residents need a place to stay and a hotel bumps up to $500 a night.

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Exactly!

...and "politics" is how they get away with that... ;)

My insurance company paid a king's ransom to two companies that gouged like CRAZY when the house got...impacted....by Frances. I reported them to the State Commissioner (even though it wasn't "my" money), never heard a WORD back about either instance.

Sounds like things are light on the supply side. Who wants to front me the dough to open up a hotel in the area? ;)

I'm with you jan...problem is that you have to make all your money in 4 months because the rest of the year is SLOW!

No problem with the prices the other motels seem to be getting away with. ;)

Sounds like the cost of "leaving the light on for you" goes up and down depending on the time of year.

If you want your jaw to drop-- try reserving a room next to Times Square for New Years Eve. Your jaw will drop again when you realize that there are people who can and do pay those rates. :)

Hey Im only an hour from Knoebles, and 45 min from Dorney for 20 bucks you can sleep on my sofa but the beer in the frige is extra.

BG Nut, I'll have to take you up on that :)

Chuck

Here's another example.

The hotel my wife is currently at normally runs around a $159 or $189 a night rate.

For the MLB All-Star game this year (in Pittsburgh) they're at $289 with a 5 night minimum and non-refundable deposit for the room.