Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did hotels start charging 2k a night????!!!! I know these are luxury brand names but this seems excessive. Some of the normal brands are charging 1000-1500???!!! What is happening to the travel industry? It’s not like the amenities have improved. Is there a hotel worth these crazy prices?

Trump republicans
Trump republicans
Repeat ….

This isn’t new. It started under Biden. If you search, you can find threads on this topic starting in 2023.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

Don’t think that’s true for Europe anymore.

Of course it is. Just not in the big cities.

Anonymous wrote:Thing is, with those Hawaii places at 1 to 2 thousand a night to start, you read the reviews and they don't deliver the 5 star experience they promise. Due to staff things.
I have no problem affording the price but want value. Park Hyatts in Paris and Japan deliver value.

Up your budget if you want better value in Hawaii. That something was less expensive or less crowded in the past means nothing. I want Cinque Terre 20+ years ago. Up your budget, or go to Japan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

LOL but they typically don't have air conditioning.

That's why you go to Northern Europe in the summer or travel off season. You don't need air conditioning in most European cities outside of June-August. Yes, even with global warming. It's gotten to the point where much of Europe is susceptible to heat waves in the summer and that can be miserable in a city like Paris or Rome that lacks the infrastructure for it, but if you instead do Copenhagen or Helsinki, you'll be fine. And if you go November-March, you can go anywhere in Europe and not worry about AC.

I'd personally also be okay traveling to southern Europe in July and just figuring it out, but I'm a reasonably adventurous traveler. Americans are nuts about climate control though. Especially in the Southern US. It is wild to me that people will choose to live in Houston or Tampa or Atlanta but then freak out about air conditioning. If the heat bugs you so much, move to Vermont! It's such a weird flex to insist on living in a warm weather place but then also insist that you spend 95% of your time in 70 degree comfort.

I've never paid more than $300/night for a hotel, and that rarely, but I still agree with OP. I think the issue is that there is often no middle ground, when there used to be.

I grew up in a middle class family where we stayed at Holiday Inns and HoJos. Not fancy, but clean, convenient, and they usually had a decent pool for the kids. That's how my family of 6 was able to take spring break and summer vacations to places like Florida, Phoenix, and Denver, and occasionally pricier places like DC or Southern California. We always needed two rooms, which adds up fast, so my parents worked hard to keep the rate down.

The mid-level brands all skew high or low. You can find Holiday Inns that cost $450 a night, and I'm talking about a Philly suburb here. On the other hand, you can also find ones that cost under $150, but they will be disgusting. Like dirty bathrooms, water stains on the ceiling, visible mold around the indoor pool. The more high end the destination, the more expensive the disgusting version will be -- go to a popular beach town in the summer and enjoy spending $400 a night on a place like that. Easily.

So those are the options now: very pricy or disgusting, or both. It's very, very hard to find clean, with basic amenities, under $200 a night, unless you are very careful to book off season and know where to find deals. I've done it, but you have to be sneaky to make it work.

We're going to Kauai in a few months and we booked a VRBO a block away from the beach for way less than any hotel would cost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ask, you can't afford it, OP. Come back down to the Residence and Hampton inns with the rest of us riff-raff.

The Residence Inn in Charlottesville was $750 a night for a one bedroom suite (we are a family of 4) last year!
NP

Graduation?

that or football weekend.

Anonymous wrote:That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

LOL but they typically don't have air conditioning.

Anonymous wrote:That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

Exactly. The value isn't there in the US. You get so much more bang for your buck overseas. The service is so much better too. Daily housekeeping is still a thing, and the breakfasts are so much better, even at 'lower end' Fairfield Inn level Marriotts.

Blame republicans it’s only going to get worse

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t stay in those places. We look for Airbnb properties or inexpensive hotels or share a room (which is miserable and I won’t do it anymore).

Except their prices are crazy too now. I was just looking all around online yesterday and was shocked at the prices even in basic places not even touristy places.

I paid $350 including taxes for a basic hotel room in NYC a few months ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ask, you can't afford it, OP. Come back down to the Residence and Hampton inns with the rest of us riff-raff.

The Residence Inn in Charlottesville was $750 a night for a one bedroom suite (we are a family of 4) last year!
NP

Graduation?

Anonymous wrote:That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

Don’t think that’s true for Europe anymore.

That's why so many Americans are travelling outside of the US. You get much cheaper hotels in Europe for a much better value. and it's not like airline tickets to travel within the US are much cheaper than the ones from US to Europe.

Anonymous wrote:If you ask, you can't afford it, OP. Come back down to the Residence and Hampton inns with the rest of us riff-raff.

The Residence Inn in Charlottesville was $750 a night for a one bedroom suite (we are a family of 4) last year!
NP