Please note – The self-parking fee at this hotel is USD 6 per vehicle per night.
Sep 27, 2019, 8:39 am
#61
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I have a similar travel pattern to you, 20 or so countries, mostly in Europe and I have travelled extensively in the States (25+ States) and outside large city centres such as London, Paris, Barcelona, San Francisco e.t.c paying for parking is definitely not the norm, but unsure if I have a unusual travel experience/pattern.
As an example, I currently live in Oxford, pop ca. 150k so about double the size of Grand Junction which is what was guessed earlier in this thread as the city in question.(I was actually in Grand Junction in June, stayed in the DoubleTrees, it had free parking)
In Oxford there are the following hotels within/near the ring road: Holiday Inn, Jurys Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard by Marriott, 2 x Travelodge, and a Premier Inn, all similar to the Fairfield Inn in standard and only the Courtyard, which is a city centre location, charges for parking. All the others are free.
I even stayed at a HGI in Mestre, Venice last month, 5-10 minutes bus to San Lucia train station, free parking.
In my experience across small town USA and Europe, parking is almost always free with the exception of large city centre locations.
As an example, I currently live in Oxford, pop ca. 150k so about double the size of Grand Junction which is what was guessed earlier in this thread as the city in question.(I was actually in Grand Junction in June, stayed in the DoubleTrees, it had free parking)
In Oxford there are the following hotels within/near the ring road: Holiday Inn, Jurys Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard by Marriott, 2 x Travelodge, and a Premier Inn, all similar to the Fairfield Inn in standard and only the Courtyard, which is a city centre location, charges for parking. All the others are free.
I even stayed at a HGI in Mestre, Venice last month, 5-10 minutes bus to San Lucia train station, free parking.
In my experience across small town USA and Europe, parking is almost always free with the exception of large city centre locations.
Sep 27, 2019, 10:35 am
#62
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Crazy explosion of growth in the mountain towns over the past decade. Places having gated/paid parking year round is thus not surprising to me at all.
Sep 28, 2019, 6:48 am
#63
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You serious? Over $42? While I agree that the fee is ridiculous, it's a balancing test for me. I might choose not to stay in that property again, but stop staying at Marriott properties altogether? Over $42?? Nah, not me.
Sep 28, 2019, 8:03 am
#64
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The likelihood of this happening is close to zero. The main customer of a hotel group like Marriott are the hotel owners. No hotel group is going to tell their customers they can't charge what they feel is appropriate for a product or service.
Imagine a 160-room limited-service hotel. If it runs at 80% occupancy and 80% of guests park a car at $6/night, that's $224,256 in annual revenue. That's a lot of money for a hotel in a rural location or one along the interstate.
If a hotel group decided to prohibit parking fees at some locations, I guarantee that at the end of their contracts those hotels would be moving to a competitor that doesn't micro-manage their franchises.
Imagine a 160-room limited-service hotel. If it runs at 80% occupancy and 80% of guests park a car at $6/night, that's $224,256 in annual revenue. That's a lot of money for a hotel in a rural location or one along the interstate.
If a hotel group decided to prohibit parking fees at some locations, I guarantee that at the end of their contracts those hotels would be moving to a competitor that doesn't micro-manage their franchises.
A quarter of a million dollars. It's not nickels and dimes. If you are the property down the road which does not charge (and has the space), you are the fool.
Sep 28, 2019, 8:18 am
#65
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Sep 28, 2019, 9:16 am
#66
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Sep 28, 2019, 9:35 am
#67
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At today's occupancy rates the numbers are on their side. Math is a funny thing. But of course people pounding the table on the Internet know better than professional industry operators.
If / when the economy tanks then of course everyone will be singing a different tune and they'll be crawling and begging for us to stay.
Sep 28, 2019, 9:50 am
#68
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I’m not sure I agree. I posted upthread about two stays that Hilton got from me specifically because the Marriott property nearby charged a nuisance parking fee. Both stays were multi night stays with the final bill exceeding $300 in each case. Marriott lost a sale totaling hundreds of dollars over a $10 per night parking fee...talk about being penny wise and dollar foolish. I’m sure the local Hampton Inn down the road is a big fan of the Fairfield Inn parking fee!
You are also an outlier. Pretty much every piece of marketing research out there shows that most people don't look at ancillary costs such as parking when choosing their location. Either it's not much or it's being reimbursed or they are annoyed but not too much.
Sep 28, 2019, 11:45 am
#69
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But I've been enlightened in this thread that it is the individual franchisee not Marriott itself. A check of some other Residence Inns in Colorado showed no parking fees. So redirecting my "hate"...
Sep 28, 2019, 4:50 pm
#70
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The $6 goes straight to the bottom line while room revenue does not.
You are also an outlier. Pretty much every piece of marketing research out there shows that most people don't look at ancillary costs such as parking when choosing their location. Either it's not much or it's being reimbursed or they are annoyed but not too much.
You are also an outlier. Pretty much every piece of marketing research out there shows that most people don't look at ancillary costs such as parking when choosing their location. Either it's not much or it's being reimbursed or they are annoyed but not too much.
Sep 28, 2019, 4:54 pm
#71
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The $6 goes straight to the bottom line while room revenue does not.
You are also an outlier. Pretty much every piece of marketing research out there shows that most people don't look at ancillary costs such as parking when choosing their location. Either it's not much or it's being reimbursed or they are annoyed but not too much.
You are also an outlier. Pretty much every piece of marketing research out there shows that most people don't look at ancillary costs such as parking when choosing their location. Either it's not much or it's being reimbursed or they are annoyed but not too much.
Parking charges at a podunk property is a pure money grab. It leaves a bad taste in customers mouth, especially if not communicated clearly and in advance. What’s next, a resort fee?
Unless the property is cheaper to book, it will cost them business. Now, as you say, the $6 goes straight to the bottom line. If a property has 150 rooms, an average occupancy of 75%, and average room rate of $100, and a 30% margin, the profit per room is $22.50 per room, per day. $6 a day is huge profit increase. They might figure that if they lose less than 20% of customers, they’re still ahead.
Sep 28, 2019, 5:25 pm
#72
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I am actually a bit curious if either of you have been to many of the CO mountain towns lately, in any season. I was in a number of them over the summer and it is really crazy how they have exploded in popularity and development. I-70W from Denver on a Friday afternoon is just as bad in July as in ski season. It doesn't surprise me at all that properties are implementing fees to try to keep their lots manageable (and yeah, make a buck).
The fourth RI on the western slope is in a remote area surrounded by open fields next to the GJT airport, and it charges for self parking.
Sep 28, 2019, 6:27 pm
#73
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Sep 29, 2019, 9:54 am
#74
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Read MORE carefully....the Springhill and Fairfield also charge for parking.....this thread is like that game of telephone....you write something and people twist it...just like history, the bible, and everything else...except this isn't even a fraction as complicated.
Sep 29, 2019, 10:20 am
#75
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As noted above though, the main issue is if the parking charge existed when the reservation was made, in which case you should be able to fight it. Searching "parking" within the TripAdvisor reviews, there are a few reviews from the last few months upset about a parking fee they were unaware of, so it may be a recent change (and 1 person said they were even charged for parking on the street).
Edit: interestingly, if you go to the TripAdvisor pages for the RI, SHS and FI, the SHS and FI both show "paid public parking on site," whereas the RI just says "parking," leading me to believe that the charge for parking there is a recent change.