Aventine

Those prices are for rooms in the second last week of November. I can only imagine how much they want for suites. The HR still really does punch above its weight class. I'm a big fan of the first floor Garden suites.

Michael82

I organize luxury supercar tours - i have a lot of contacts at hotels and several travel agents.

Especially Italy was overrun by Americans this year who pay any price really and 80% of this years bookings of this group have already been renewed for next year.



I also just spent 10 days in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,
Stayed at the Mandarin which was occupied 80% with russians round about. St regis abu dhabi - same. Spoke to GMs and basically russians/ukranians all flock to dubai and bring their cash…Hence the top Hotels keep increasing the rates.

Just the way it is.

I always stay at top Hotels but at some point you ask yourself: ...?
Rates have skyrocketed especially in Europe last year and I dont understand how or why people spend 2k a night for an entry level tiny room in a city hotel (paris for example).

I dont understand why people pay this - its a complete rip off.

erik123

Negotiated rates can be 50% below rack rates and still very affordable. I also see many hotels now excluding entry level rooms (i.e. affordable) from all but corporate bookings. I much prefer hotels that use standardized, transparent rates, and don't use extensive discounting or gimmicks.

Michaeljinnyc

How do you negotiate corporate rates?

tdiddy23

One small anecdote but was encouraging for me. hotels in Whistler, 4.5 - 5* seem to have peaked last year. 660 Cdn for a weekday night during peak ski season is a lot more reasonable than i recall last year. Although they have no added a pesky resort fee.

EuropeanPete

First start or work for a billion dollar company. Once you do that, it's quite easy to call the Director of Sales at the hotel and have a word.

KatW

Also, many large corporations have a travel department or designated person who works with hotels/brands to establish favorable rates for their traveling employees traveling. Pandemic may have changed this picture somewhat.

CanaryWharf

I live in Dubai and used to do a lot of staycations in 5* hotels, but no more. It is not just about the increase in prices, but the quality has dropped massively too. Not to mention the greedy resorts that would like to sell rooms for a fortune and at the same time sell cheap day-passes to non-residents, resulting in chaos at the pool/beach.

I just take the plane to Qatar or Oman now - much better service, reasonable prices and no crowds. Oman: The Chedi, RC Al Bustan or Anantara.
Qatar: Four Seasons, Raffles, MO, Zulal, Anantara

epitopeX

This is a perfect example. I stayed at PH Kyoto for a week during X-mas and New Year 2019-20 for ~40% of the nightly rate you quoted, and that's as close to pre-pandemic peak season as I could think of.

jkirk

I think a lot of these issues have contributed to me being less engaged with this particular discussion board. The focus here (which I'm not knocking) is often "what's the best hotel in X?" and with prices at the point they are, that's no longer a question I ask myself, at least in cities with lots of high-tier options.

When I travel these days, I'm looking for high-end properties that deliver luxury in one form or another, while delivering real value for the dollar. I think that these days that's almost never the "best" hotel in a major city. The best hotel can charge whatever it wants, and does. But you can often find what I'm looking for elsewhere in the top tier. Our most recent travels last month took us to the Ritz Carlton in Singapore, the Capella in Bangkok, the MO in Kuala Lumpur, and the Soho Grand in NYC. None of these hotels are the "best" in their respective cities, but three of the four qualify as luxury properties (in my subjective view), and they all delivered what we were looking for at a price point we were happy with. In London the shift is more significant - my favorite hotel pre-pandemic was the Rosewood, but nowadays you'll find me at Batty Langleys or one of the Red Carnation properties because they all deliver "enough" value and I never feel ripped off. When go to Whistler on a ski trip next month, I'll stay at FS because their December rates are pretty appealing, But when I go to Utah in January, there's no way I'll pay what Stein Erickson or Montage Deer Valley are asking, so I'll end up at a chain hotel.

I know there are plenty of folks here who always want to stay at the "best" hotel, and if I'm looking for a hotel in Winnipeg or Bristol or New Delhi then yes, that's probably what I want too. But I no longer have much interest in debating the best hotel in Paris or Hong Kong or whatever. I just want to know what a really good one is.

scented

Brilliant idea, actually. I also found that greed is the name of the game these days for resorts in Dubai. But it seems to work for them. Some still seem to get the quality right (FS, Bulgari) but then the overall clientele changed massively, too... plus party everywhere all day, every day. Sigh.

There's another aspect to this: In Paris at FS GV a standard room will be around 2,000 to 3,000 EUR per night this and next year... many guests who are happy to pay, mostly from the US. And they will get arguably the best experience in Paris. But simply comparing FS' "flagship" to other, perhaps lesser FS... I have come to the conclusion that George V doesn't really touch the soul, while others do. So the value for me just isn't there. It still might be amongst the best in Paris, along with Rosewood and now perhaps Cheval Blanc if they sort out certain issues.

KatW

I sometimes am in your camp. This thread may be of interest. Changing travel preferences —

bigdog2

Do you mind sharing the hotels you've chosen for Sabah/Kota Kinabalu?

SanDiego1K

Hyatt Centric seems to be the best place to stay. The hotel is a little over a year old. I have booked a premium suite, their king sea view suite, 1044 sq ft, for $188 (878MYR) all in. I debated quite a long time about spending a couple nights at Gaya Resort but reviews were sufficiently uneven to give me pause. I now plan to take the boat to the island for a day visit.

livefromtuscany

I can very much relate to this. In Paris recently, after seeing the exorbitant rates at Crillon, George V and Cheval Blanc, I booked a suite with Eiffel Tower views at the Kimpton St. Honore, which cost me much less than an entry-level room at the before mentioned properties. Instead of Pellicano in Tuscany, I stay at a lovely, brand-new 4*beachfront hotel in Liguria, which is actually more eager to deliver good service than the former. I find myself looking more at the value proposition, rather than booking the "best".