Hotel breakfasts

[agentsteel53]

$17 was in 2006 in Gallup, NM.  The room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the shower was warm.  Didn't test the TV or the possibility of wireless. 

[hm insulators]

I'm still getting used to the fact that you can't get a room for $17 anymore.  Dang.

Hell, it's hard to find a room for $29 anymore.   The only ones I've seen recently are between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga.  And, they are too close to home for me to worry about.

A couple of months ago, there was a Motel 6 in Phoenix along I-17 and Northern (I think) that was 29 dollars a night. I didn't stay there (I only live a few miles away), but I would drive past it coming home from visiting my mother.

[US71]

A couple of months ago, there was a Motel 6 in Phoenix along I-17 and Northern (I think) that was 29 dollars a night. I didn't stay there (I only live a few miles away), but I would drive past it coming home from visiting my mother.

That's cheap for Motel 6. Lately, they seem to average around 40 or more.

[Truvelo]

There's a Motel 6 just off I-70 near Columbus which is $37 + tax if booking online.

Another thing about North American accommodation - why don't prices include taxes? They do in the UK likewise with anything you buy in a store. The price you see is what you pay.

[agentsteel53]

Another thing about North American accommodation - why don't prices include taxes? They do in the UK likewise with anything you buy in a store. The price you see is what you pay.

just how business works here in the US.  When I quote someone a price for a sign, I do not include shipping or tax, and add those on later, and no one blinks an eye.  They know "299" when shipped to California will really be more like 336 and that is just that.

[agentsteel53]

the cheapest I've seen Motel 6 in recent memory (March, I think) was $26.99.  I just cannot for the life of me remember where, but I think it was in the midwest.  Missouri?

[huskeroadgeek]

There used to be a book at my local library listing "budget" motels in the US. The level they used to designate a "budget" motel was $40 or less per night(without tax). This book was printed about 10-15 years ago, I think. I wonder if a similar book today would use a higher cutoff level. It's difficult today to find very many motels for $40 per night. Motel 6 is the only chain I think where you can regularly find rooms for $40 or less, and many of them aren't even that low. As someone who tries to stay as cheaply as possible wherever I can, I'm happy if I can find a motel for under $50 a night.

[mightyace]

Another thing about North American accommodation - why don't prices include taxes? They do in the UK likewise with anything you buy in a store. The price you see is what you pay.

just how business works here in the US.  When I quote someone a price for a sign, I do not include shipping or tax, and add those on later, and no one blinks an eye.  They know "299" when shipped to California will really be more like 336 and that is just that.

And, part of why it's done that way here is marketing.  Businesses want to advertise the lowest price possible.  That's why things like mobile phone bills and airline fares have "fees" added onto them.  If it's a fee, then it's technically not part of the price.

[agentsteel53]

And, part of why it's done that way here is marketing.  Businesses want to advertise the lowest price possible.  That's why things like mobile phone bills and airline fares have "fees" added onto them.  If it's a fee, then it's technically not part of the price.

it's a real fine line between what's a "fee" and what's just the cost of doing business.  If it can be neatly itemized away as something that does not benefit the buyer directly, and is not part of the seller's supply chain ... it's a fee.

sales tax - a fee.
9/11 regulatory commission shit on one's cell phone bill - a fee.

assorted highway sign parts - ahem, yeah that's part of the price, because that is what I'm selling you!
assembly cost of said parts - yep, again, enjoy the merchandise.

[mightyace]

^^^^

Well, what I'm talking about are some things that are "fees" are IMHO are part of the cost of doing business.

For example, part of your total cost of an airline flight is a "landing fee" in addition to the fare.  Uh, that's a cost of doing business.  Making that a fee makes as much sense as Greyhound or UPS charging separately for tolls along a route.

Now, there's also luggage fees and food/drink charges, but that's more debatable.

Another example is the "fuel recovery charge" on my electric bill.  Uh, if you are burning something to generate electricity, that's a part of doing business.

[agentsteel53]

oh I never said these companies aren't dicks about it.

the worst, though, like I said, is that stupid 9/11 fee on my phone bill.  Great, now I'm explicitly paying to be harassed at the airport.

[mightyace]

worst, though, like I said, is that stupid 9/11 fee on my phone bill.  Great, now I'm explicitly paying to be harassed at the airport.

I think that is for the 911 emergency service.  I remember seeing it on my phone bill long before 2001.

[agentsteel53]

I think that is for the 911 emergency service.  I remember seeing it on my phone bill long before 2001.

oh, I've only had a mobile phone since 2003.  It's only like 46 cents a month, so I can't complain about the financial hit.  I thought it was funded by general taxpayer money, though?

[Scott5114]

I suppose it is, but that is the fee for the cell phone company to be able to hook up to Podunk Corners, MT's 911 service if that's where you happen to be.

[corco]

Strangely, rumor has it that an entirely disconnected off-plan cell phone that can't make any other calls can still call 911. If this is the case, I'd assume that situation is rare enough that the rest of us subsidize those calls on our plans.

[agentsteel53]

Strangely, rumor has it that an entirely disconnected off-plan cell phone that can't make any other calls can still call 911. If this is the case, I'd assume that situation is rare enough that the rest of us subsidize those calls on our plans.

indeed, that is the rumor.

who the Hell carries around a disconnected cell phone??

[J N Winkler]

Another thing about North American accommodation - why don't prices include taxes? They do in the UK likewise with anything you buy in a store. The price you see is what you pay.

As Jake points out, it is simply the way business has been done in the US for decades, but I would also expect it to be controversial to legislate inclusion of taxes and fees in the sticker price the customer sees at the point of sale, for two reasons.

*  There is a strong belief that you should know exactly how much the government takes off you in taxes, to act as a brake on the government enlarging itself unreasonably by imposing stealth taxes (a well-known problem in the UK under Gordon Brown's chancellorship).

*  Unlike the case in the UK, where taxes are typically fixed for the entire country in national legislation and are revised from time to time through Finance Acts, multiple levels of jurisdiction have taxing powers.  For instance, many states have county- and city-option sales taxes, which are frequently used to finance infrastructure--for example, Wichita has had an 0.5-cent sales tax increment since the mid-1980's to fund construction of the Kellogg freeway.  Meanwhile, discounted prices for various goods and services tend to be advertised nationally or regionally, and it would make it more difficult to run promotions on that scale if local-option taxation for every district had to be taken into account in setting the advertised price.  Unlike the case in the UK and other EU member states, there is no national sales tax in the USA, though from time to time there have been proposals to introduce one (usually very controversial and always shot down).  In the US generally, you need to have a very good reason for raising the costs to business through regulatory action.

If I am wrong, I beg to be corrected, but it is my understanding that while Canada has a national Goods and Services Tax (GST) which operates similarly to European VAT, sticker prices shown in Canada are neat of GST and any applicable Provincial Sales Tax (PST), much as is the case in the USA.

I would say that there is more convergence between the US and Europe in how airline ticket prices are treated than is the case for other goods and services.  It is true that American airlines tend not to advertise ticket prices with the taxes (airport landing fees, any applicable sales taxes, etc.) included, but then there is little consistency between European airlines in how those are treated in advertising.  Ryanair has long advertised 1p flights--in other words, the base cost of the ticket is one penny, but that price does not include air passenger duty (which has been on a steep upward increase in the UK, because air passengers have replaced motorists as a favored target of the government) and other add-on charges.  On the other hand, occasionally Ryanair advertises tickets at some low price (say £10) "with all government taxes included"--a mindfuck clearly designed to frustrate price comparison.  With EasyJet, on the other hand, the advertised price includes APD.

My rough impression is that even with APD as high as it is in the UK, it is still lower than landing fees at many American airports, which tend to have more runways and to operate them less intensively than peer airports in the UK or Europe (e.g. London Gatwick has just one runway in regular use and 37 million PATMs annually, while Phoenix Sky Harbor has three and handles 39 million PATMs annually).

[Truvelo]

If I am wrong, I beg to be corrected, but it is my understanding that while Canada has a national Goods and Services Tax (GST) which operates similarly to European VAT, sticker prices shown in Canada are neat of GST and any applicable Provincial Sales Tax (PST), much as is the case in the USA.

Yes, prices in Canada also exclude tax. Last month when in British Columbia virtually every radio station was discussing replacing the taxes with a harmonized HST but that would involve taxing items that are presently tax-free such as food and clothing. It seems there's a fierce debate and it's not proving popular.

As for airlines, in the UK I generally find prices for full service carriers are fully inclusive. The big five American carriers UK websites also show fully inclusive prices whereas their US websites prices are plus tax. This confused me at first because the prices in $ and £ were almost the same so I naturally went to book through the US site only to find the reason for this was the US prices excluded tax

[mightyace]

indeed, that is the rumor.

who the Hell carries around a disconnected cell phone??

Supposedly, shelters for battered women have requested otherwise obsolete cell phones for just this purpose.  The rationale being the woman can call 911 if the "man" in her life comes around again looking for revenge and it won't cost the woman or the shelter anything.

[agentsteel53]

the "man" in her life comes around again looking for revenge

people have got too much damn time on their hands. 

[realjd]

I'd hardly call Hampton Inn cheap. $99 a night is darned expensive to me.

Well sure, $99 is expensive compared to a $35 Motel 6, but if you're in a market where the Hampton is priced at $99, the other comparable brands like Holiday Inn Express will be comparably priced, with next-level up brands like HGI being $120-ish. You're not going to find a $35 Motel 6 in a market like that. In places with $35 Motel 6's, in my experience Hampton Inn's will usually run $60-$75.

Many hotels charge for the safe if you use it or not. I find myself arguing with the Front Desk in the morning over the safe charges (it's just a way for them to make an extra dollar).

It's funny - I travel extensively for work throughout the US, and that Doubletree was the only one I've ever been in where they charge for a safe.

A few other tips:
Get away from the interstate. There have been many times in my travels where places like Holiday Inn Express and Quality Suites are going for $100+, but 10 miles away nicer hotels like Hilton, Marriott, Embassy Suites, and Crowne Plaza are going for $80.

To get a really good feel for hotel rates in an area, find out the GSA per diem: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287 It's the maximum price for a hotel that government employees (and many company employees) are allowed to book when they travel without having to justify the cost. It tends to be a little low for non-government employees because we don't get gov rates, but it does give you a good idea for what a moderately-priced hotel should cost.

[agentsteel53]

I don't think I've ever noticed a Hampton for under $130.  But that is because when I am in the business of noticing the Hampton, then someone else is in the business of paying for it! 

a good addendum to "get off the interstate" is to find the business loop or otherwise paralleling old US highway.  Find a mom and pop motel with a neon billboard out front and you'll likely be getting some of the best prices in the area. 

[dfilpus]

I don't think I've ever noticed a Hampton for under $130.  But that is because when I am in the business of noticing the Hampton, then someone else is in the business of paying for it! 

In small towns, Hamptons can be found for down to below $70/night. I spend a lot a time in northwest Philly, where Hamptons run $110-120/night. Sometimes I find one for less than $100 in the area.

[Truvelo]

The Hampton I'll be staying at in a few weeks cost me $84 ($93 with taxes). That was a pre-payment price though. It's $99 + tax if you pay when you check in. Pre-paying is something worth considering if you want a better price. The same also applies to rental cars.

[hbelkins]

a good addendum to "get off the interstate" is to find the business loop or otherwise paralleling old US highway.  Find a mom and pop motel with a neon billboard out front and you'll likely be getting some of the best prices in the area. 

I like to reserve in advance and know that I am going to have a room with the amenities I want. A lot of these mom-and-pop places don't have Web sites, not even rudimentary ones with a phone number to call, and many aren't reviewed on Trip Advisor so one can tell what kind of accommodations one is going to have.

The Hampton I'll be staying at in a few weeks cost me $84 ($93 with taxes). That was a pre-payment price though. It's $99 + tax if you pay when you check in. Pre-paying is something worth considering if you want a better price. The same also applies to rental cars.

I'm hesitant to pre-pay. With me, a trip could fall a part the day before I'm scheduled to leave.