I say this with reservations as attend the rallies and hate to make any enemies and not be able to get a room myself.  The fact of the matter is the people are feed up with having to pay high hotel fees during a rally event.  I received several emails in response to last month article I wrote about the low attendance of the Daytona Bike Week and that every vacancy sign was light up wherever you looked.  All reports coming out of Daytona stated that attendance and hotel occupancy was down 40%.

While I was at the Laughlin River Run, I ended up spending a lot of time in Vegas and everyone I spoke to complained about the price rapping by the Laughlin hotels.  They now have been booking rooms in Vegas where the competition is fair, and they just take the 2-hour ride into Laughlin to check out the rally.  The word coming out of Laughlin is they too, had vacancy everywhere you looked.  I got one word that there was over 3,000 rooms available.

Just like Vegas, the surrounding areas of Daytona such as Orlando and Sanford are enjoy the growing increase of room booking from and event that is just one hour away.  During the last 3 years the hotel booking are up 50 percent, with a 75 percent being recurring guest.  Do you think the guests are HAPPY?

What does all this mean?  Well I cranked up the calculator and tried to figure out why a hotel would be so greedy and is it really worth it.  Especially when the guests leave your hotel very unhappy and most likely not returning.

I do not think you have to have an accounting degree to follow this, because I barely can count past one hundred, so here is my theory.

Greedy Hotel Owner:

100 room’s total
Rents out at GREDDY rate of $200.00
Total income: $20,000 per day if sold out.

Greedy hotel has a 40% vacancy:
60 room’s total
Rents out at GREDDY rate of $200.00
Total income: $12,000 per day at 60% occupancy
Loses $6,000 per day and pisses off guest and they will not return next year.
Need to ad in addition advertising to get new customer to rape next year - $3,000
Total income: $9,000

Fair Hotel Owner:

100 room’s total
Rents out at FAIR rate of $100.00
Total income: $10,000 per day if sold out.

Fair hotel has a zero percentage vacancy:
Total income: $10,000 per day at 100% occupancy
Does not pisses off guest and they WILL return next year.
No Need to spend money on advertising because e the HAPPY guest is telling their friends about the GREAT hotel owner.

With the economy and gas prices, we all are being more frugal and thinking twice before spending money this year.  I recommend you take one extra minute and call some of these hotels and let then know you will never book with them until the start to price their rooms fairly.  Eventually they have to wake up.

If you have a hotel story or a fair place to offer up, please CLICK HERE and I will post your story.