Will Higher Oil Prices Mean Cheap Hotel Rooms Are Soon to Arrive?
In a nutshell - it already has.
The huge run-up in oil prices in 2008 already has affected tourism in the U.
S.
Because of the weak dollar, it hasn't affected foreign travel so much, which had helped hotels to keep prices fairly level and at high rates.
But in the last few weeks, chains like Starwood resorts started a $25 Gas Back promotion (with restrictions) and lowered prices for certain locations and certain days of the week and Marriott reported lower earnings.
This was like a shot across the bow for many hotels and some prices began to ease as soon as they saw less strength in the tourist trade based upon the expectation of reduced demand in 2009.
A final arrow to the heart came when a Good Morning America story made the wire that more Americans were planning "Staycations" this year.
Then, just as suddenly oil plummeted in a matter of a week and suddenly there was talk of the upward cycle having finally been broken.
So would this mean hotels will NOT lower prices after all? While anything is possible, here is my thought - crafted from years of watching rates rise and fall.
It is SO easy to change rates that hotels will likely continue monitoring the situation and not slash rates willy-nilly across the board.
Certainly not for 2009 because that is simply too far out and few people book a year in advance.
If anything, hotels will keep rates high for 2009 knowing that most bookings come within weeks of arrival anyway.
But if they see softness in the middle of the very next month, they may lower rates 5% and see of that increases demand.
What does this mean for the traveler? Your greatest chance of getting a really cheap rate for a good hotel will likely lie in your waiting to book until you arrive in a city.
If there is an weakness in the market, it will manifest in good rates for that day.
Make sure however there is nothing going on - like a major sporting event or convention which will sell out the area and drive prices up.
This you do by checking rates in the area ahead of arrival or calling one hotel and asking if there are any events going on for your dates.
You can try the auction-bid sites too, although my advice for them always remains the same: most of the low ball bids are accepted by low rent motels so you aren't really getting a bargain.
If you aren't greedy however and bid $69-$89 however, you may well end up at a higher echelon property that is selling advance reservations for $149-$229 and they have a sudden glut of rooms.
At the least, you can still get a $45 room by simply calling properties that only charge $50 anyway.
These you can find with a modicum of research from travel sites and review sites.
The huge run-up in oil prices in 2008 already has affected tourism in the U.
S.
Because of the weak dollar, it hasn't affected foreign travel so much, which had helped hotels to keep prices fairly level and at high rates.
But in the last few weeks, chains like Starwood resorts started a $25 Gas Back promotion (with restrictions) and lowered prices for certain locations and certain days of the week and Marriott reported lower earnings.
This was like a shot across the bow for many hotels and some prices began to ease as soon as they saw less strength in the tourist trade based upon the expectation of reduced demand in 2009.
A final arrow to the heart came when a Good Morning America story made the wire that more Americans were planning "Staycations" this year.
Then, just as suddenly oil plummeted in a matter of a week and suddenly there was talk of the upward cycle having finally been broken.
So would this mean hotels will NOT lower prices after all? While anything is possible, here is my thought - crafted from years of watching rates rise and fall.
It is SO easy to change rates that hotels will likely continue monitoring the situation and not slash rates willy-nilly across the board.
Certainly not for 2009 because that is simply too far out and few people book a year in advance.
If anything, hotels will keep rates high for 2009 knowing that most bookings come within weeks of arrival anyway.
But if they see softness in the middle of the very next month, they may lower rates 5% and see of that increases demand.
What does this mean for the traveler? Your greatest chance of getting a really cheap rate for a good hotel will likely lie in your waiting to book until you arrive in a city.
If there is an weakness in the market, it will manifest in good rates for that day.
Make sure however there is nothing going on - like a major sporting event or convention which will sell out the area and drive prices up.
This you do by checking rates in the area ahead of arrival or calling one hotel and asking if there are any events going on for your dates.
You can try the auction-bid sites too, although my advice for them always remains the same: most of the low ball bids are accepted by low rent motels so you aren't really getting a bargain.
If you aren't greedy however and bid $69-$89 however, you may well end up at a higher echelon property that is selling advance reservations for $149-$229 and they have a sudden glut of rooms.
At the least, you can still get a $45 room by simply calling properties that only charge $50 anyway.
These you can find with a modicum of research from travel sites and review sites.
Source...