Ghoulish

It takes 5 minutes to upload a hotel confirmation, vax, and passport to get a Thai Pass.

Essentially all medium to high end hotels and resorts are "government approved", (SHA) and well versed at arranging for the test on arrival.

Also, May 1st test on arrival becomes ATK so essentially instant results.

They've scrapped pre-departure testing so that makes up for the inconvenience of a test on arrival.

lamphs

I am taking my nephew to Europe in June - usual stuff. I am not even looking at anything close to luxury, and I can't believe the rates for the properties where I would supposedly receive elite benefits, i.e. Hilton, Marriott. Not worth counting on those benefits. Likely heading to the Airbnb/VBO route; finding decent properties at reasonable rates.

teddyflyer

We had a US trip fully priced and booked for January 2021, which was cancelled due to COVID. We have now attempted to recreate the trip for January 2023 and I am astounded by the prices. In my case add business class flights from Australia and not the best exchange rate and it is not justifiable.

Specific changes (confirmed rates for same dates):
- FS Vail - $685 (2021) - $2100 (2023)
- FS Orlando - $900 (2021) - $1700 (2023)

EuropeanPete

And thanks to those restrictions which are essentially dealt with in 5min and $100, I can have what would be a $40,000 holiday in the US for about $3,000 in Thailand.

Pausanias

One of the many factors which push up prices in Europe are the various employment laws and minimum wage requirements for hospitality staff. There is currently a major despite about this in the UK regarding ferry operator P&O. I am led to believe that employment law as we recognise it in the UK and Europe does not apply to US hospitality sectors where staff, such as front line hotel and restaurant waiters etc, are paid the absolute minimum which requires them to rely on tips to make a living. Consequently the huge increase in US room rates can only be regarded as profiteering in times of uncertainty.

Ghoulish

Your assumption that because laws don't mandate hospitality staff be paid a certain amount that they are paid the minimum. That is simply not true. It's nearly impossible to find any unskilled employees at even double the minimum wage. Competition for labor is fierce.

Wait staff and tips is a different matter. I do know bartenders and waiters who make thousands in a night, so I'm not sure they would prefer a higher base wage and no tips.

richarddd

Employment laws and requirements are different in the US and Europe and have neither have changed much recently, so that's not likely to be an explanation for the recent rise in prices in both places. Hotels are in business to make profits and will set prices to whatever they think will maximize profits. This is true in any market environment. Costs are only one element in pricing.

RichardInSF

Here's another example: I know that the Park Hyatt Paris is not so well regarded on this forum but I have always been treated well there. Am going to be there for a week starting May 30. When I booked during the pandemic, entry level rooms were E580/night (cheap for this hotel); when I checked today, they are E1,170 (definitely more expensive than any previous peak).

Jerkstore

Hotels are definitely taking advantage of last minute stays. Close-in pricing is astronomical.

mozilla

As others mentioned already, the rates are this high because people are willing to book at these rates. Hotel chains are being given the opportunity to recoup their COVID-era losses on a silver platter, and they're grabbing it with both hands. Many of the COVID service and amenity cuts persist or have been made permanent, and people are *still* willing to book at much higher rates while getting much less in return, so profitability is going through the roof.

The good news is that the high prices are not likely to last. Because consumers willingly spend their money on high airfares, gas prices, car rental prices, hotel rates, etc., the U.S. median weekly checking account balance has been dwindling from its COVID high. It used to be +120% above February 2020 values in March 2021, but now it's already down to +60%. Soon the high rates will become unaffordable for a more critical segment of the population, and the rates will follow suit.

ridefar

I went to the Maldives for 2 weeks with similar logic. Flying business class from YYC to Hawaii takes about 7 hours, about 24 hours to the Maldives (flying time, not counting layovers): the price for 2 was the same to both destinations. And that business class to Hawaii is usually a pretty bad hard product. And then hotels last fall were out of this world: the Westin on Maui (the Westin! not luxe by any stretch) wanted close to $1500 USD a night. A very nice room in the Maldives was the same rate. So we went to the Maldives. I honestly can't see returning to USA or Mexico for vacation until rates return to normal; the value proposition is just not there. Nor is Canada immune to this: $5000 CDN a night at Fogo Island Inn for a smallish room (650 sq ft.). They are smoking something over there...

Ghoulish

I made the mistake of following Thailand up with the Florida Keys last winter. $1200/night for what amounted to a glorified motel room with awful service.

The extra travel time to BKK was well worth it, the value in that country, particularly at the high end, combined with copious and friendly service (no labor shortages there!) have made me reconsider whether to bother with any other warm weather destinations.

uclabruin82

It is even worse for those of us looking for quick weekends in the southern california area. Most of the hotels I would want to stay at are completely sold out for every weekend for the next few months and then a mid-week stay in a non-descript week costs the same as an jr suite at the Ritz Paris. Pool suites at the Amans in SE asia - even Amanpulo are often less. Sadly, the only thing stopping me is the wife has put the kibash on long-travel until our son is older.

The other issue that does not get discussed is the "hidden inflation." Meaning amenities that used to be included, but are no longer. For instance, at the St Regis Punta Mita, the evening champagne sabre and complimentary glass is no longer. Not the end of the world, but clearly not reflected in a "lower" room price. I find that the true luxury hotels have been better about this, but the "corporate chains" are real laggards.

Inflation, at least here in LA, has gotten so bad that when looking at menus at hotels in the Cote d'azur for our July trip, I actually think to myself that the FS Cap-ferrat is charging reasonable prices for food.

chinmoylad

Spot on. International travellers to the US will NOT pay those rates. Domestic travellers will (clearly, they do - many places are sold out). And it's almost entirely domestic travellers at the moment.
Adding, I assume, paying premium rates to keep key and other staff around. Staffing has been an issue for many properties of late.
Just my two cents*/guess though....












* Which if you've gotten to the end of this post, is now worth six cents.

mozilla

I do not see this trend reversing anytime soon. The data that the chains are getting right now no doubt indicates that folks are willing to pay record-high rates, even when tons of amenities are stripped and service continues to be downgraded.

The chains knew that many of the "I'm going to vote with my wallet" statements would not materialize or extrapolate to the general public, and they were right.