Originally Posted by
catocony
Aren't the max rack rates posted in most rooms on the door somewhere? Those rates are usually far, far higher than the usual rates. There's also a wide variety of rates paid for the same room in the same hotel.
Yeah, I think it would be difficult to prove any kind of price gouging as long as their under the rack rates. Every rate we all see is technically a "discounted" rate, and the idea is that as the hotel capacity is filled, they move closer to the rack rate (not always true in practice).
That said, there's a moral side to it as well, when there's a natural disaster. They could still make money at the discounted rates, while helping people survive the hurricane. It's ultimately better for the brand and the company then making a few extra $ for a couple weeks. But I don't see any proof that they did anything other than that in this case anyway.