Originally Posted by
ahappyelite
This is a totally out of control industry that still continues to charge more than $100 a night at every middle of nowhere hotel even those located in the middle of a filling station. The hotel scam (facilitated- sorry by business travellers who don't usually care if they are being ripped off). There are hefty redemption requirements, usually 2 or 3 hotels in the whole world in their lowest category, and a constant erosion of point value, and plenty of multi star "franchise in name only" dumps... The hotel folks remind me of the Sopranos- I won't even start about the double billing, charges I never made, sneaky fees, interent charges at $250 hotels, etec.
Well, you're not going to get Senate hearings on why HHonors points are worth less now, so put away your oversight fantasies. In fact airlines, hotels and car rental firms all have adversarial relationships with their customer base, but I think the hotel business is the toughest of the three. It's more competitive, fixed costs are astronomical, it's relatively easy for customers to cancel reservations without penalty, you have to fulfill your brand promise through (often) crazy, corrupt or unresponsive franchise operators and poorly trained, low-paid workers, etc. I wouldn't want to be in the hotel business.
I think you have to play chess with all travel and hospitality providers, I think it's naive to count any of them as your friends, but the hotel biz is only partly "out of control" because customers tolerate it. Nobody's being held hostage.