That sting you felt in your wallet after staying at a hotel wasn’t a phantom pain: Room rates at hotels in the United States were at their highest level in 2014, with experts predicting that the price surge isn’t going to settle down this year.
Hotel rates were up 4.6% to $115 on average in 2014, according to a new report by hospitality research firm STR Inc. (via the Chicago Tribune). And hotels are raking it in because of it, with the average revenue collected by hotels per room jumped 8.3% to a high of $74.
Despite the prices, we’re still willing to get a room at the inn, with average occupancy rising 3.6% to 64.4%.
The priciest place to stay was — no shocker, here — New York City, where guests shelled out an average of $263 per night. San Francisco and Miami came next at $207 and $185 per night, respectively.
The fun doesn’t stop there, folks — while you’re down, hotels figure they might as well kick you, as industry experts say they expect hotels to add some more extra fees and surcharges. And we’ll have to just deal with it, because hotels can always find someone else willing to pay.
“Hotels have pricing power now and they will exercise that,” said Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.
And start saving those pennies for vacation: By the end of this year, industry analysts say we’ll be facing a 5.2% increase on room rates.
Hotel rates reach new record; more guest fees to come [Chicago Tribune]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist