Can Someone Explain the Hotel Business Model to Me?

[Otter]

I'm in Moab Utah driving back from meeting a client and just physically ran out of gas. Getting to the point where I'm going to fall asleep and kill myself on some back woods road where my body won't be found until the next generation of otters.

I pull into a Econo Lodge, not the Hilton, or Mandalay Bay but an Econo Lodge and ask for a room. Guy behind the counter says $150 dollars. I say 'dude, I just need a solid 4 hours of sleep and I'm not paying $40 an hour to lay in a bed. Can you cut me a deal'. Nope. No negotiations at all. There was one other SUV in the parking lot besides my Tacoma with easily 30 empty rooms I could see just from the front of the building let alone the back.

As a business person wouldn't you rather have a room occupied for say $50 or $60 dollars instead of just nothing? I mean I'm going to use up maybe $5 in electricity and $5 in hot water (and that's being generous) so you just made a $40 profit on top of nothing at all.

I wound up sleeping in my truck for 2 hours in their parking lot. This makes no sense to me. The whole motel industry seems antiquated and could be making more money if they adapted . Any insider info on why things are this way because I see an opportunity here unless I'm missing something.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by srvy

Paki? East Indian? Did you smell curry cooking? If yes to any of those turn around walk away save yourself bedbugs. And they will soon have empty rooms than strike a deal.

30 years of traveling sure supports this 100%. Places with curry smell, a Paki pushing slurpies, and a once a week sheet change plan is nasty.

[Saulbadguy]

Dumbass.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I had to go to a funeral last week, and last-minute flights are a somewhat similar issue. With flights, one could offer two theories:

Theory 1. Flights should be cheap when you're in the last day or so, so they can fill up every seat.

Theory 2. Flights should be expensive when you're in the last day or so, because the buyers at that point are the people who have to travel.

Obviously the second theory is the one that occurs. Presumably the airlines don't care if 70 percent of people get priced out because they make more money by gigging the 30 percent of people. However, the other argument for raising prices is that everyone would wait until the last minute if prices got cheaper with time, so it's not really about the cost of those last tickets.

Still, one would think that if one airline wanted to capture market share, they'd go slightly cheaper than everyone else, which would cause the next airline to do the same thing, and so on until the prices declined to a fair profit level. And yet that doesn't happen. My assumption is that there aren't many airlines, so they all wink and nudge each other and keep prices high and negotiate market share. Oligarchy is not a good thing for the consumer.

I wonder if hotels have the same dynamic.

Will you be my mentor Rain Man?

[mikeyis4dcats.]

never done it, but I've heard in the OPs situation sliding a couple of 20s on the counter makes it easier. The desk jockey knows he can pocket the money, as you won't be charging it.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

This is why Priceline and Hotwire clean up selling potentially unused inventory at discounted rates. The guy you dealt with probably didn't have the authority to cut you a deal.. or he's an idiot.

Next time, priceline that bitch and you probably would have had one of the ones on the main strip for $50-75 easy.

yep, priceline it. I've cut deals calling them before I get there as well but the easiest way is just to do an app.

[Beef Supreme]

When the **** did Econo Lodge decide that their rooms are worth $150 a night? I don't mind sleeping in an economy hotel, but **** em if it isn't actually economical. That shit is outrageous.

[Hoover]

You do realize you are in a vacation destination? Plus its not like there is a nearby town for you to find a room, so you basically paid the desk guys salary for the night.

[HoneyBadger]

Originally Posted by Hoover

You do realize you are in a vacation destination? Plus its not like there is a nearby town for you to find a room, so you basically paid the desk guys salary for the night.

Moab, Utah is a vacation destination?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Moab, Utah is a vacation destination?

It's a really cool vacation destination. If you've never been, go. Now.