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Twice each
year we complete a detailed review of
www.Hotels-near-Airports.com
and
www.HiwayGuide.com
Twice each year we
undertake a detailed canvas of the hotels we list to: 1. assure that the information we
present to you, our web site viewer, is as accurate as possible, and 2.
establish the current trend of room offerings by the lodging industry.
It has always been difficult to get
accurate information from many of these hotels. And, there are even occasions
where the responses to our questions are deliberately deceitful. Most of these
properties do try to gives us an honest assessment of their offerings and a
few even take it upon themselves to contact us when they make - or are about
to make - significant changes in their offerings.
While, since '9/11', the lodging industry had been under financial
strain. things are back to
'normal'. Room rates are two to three times what they had been in many areas in recent years
and many of the hotels in the most popular locations are completely booked.
Hotels in the Great Plains have changed their rates only minimally while
properties on the two coasts have seen significant ramp-ups in rates. While this is great for the hotel owners, it is not what
we would
like to see.
We have also noticed some continuing trends in
the industry that affect you.
continued in column 2 |
continued from column 1
1. Fitness
facilities are now the norm among hotels rather then just appearing in
a few. This is probably a reflection on the current American desire to improve physical
health and wellbeing.
2.
'Wideband' Internet connections
have seen a huge increase in the number of hotels offering these services.
Most of these offerings are 'wireless' which requires a minimum installation
investment (running cables in a preexisting structure is very, very expensive
as well as disrupting to the guests). Sometimes, the 'wideband' offering is
free to the hotel guest. Usually it is not. Sometimes it is free only if the guest
opts for a more expensive room. One thing we have noticed is the the more
expensive hotels charge for it (as much as $10 per day!) while many of the
less expensive hotels offer wide-band free of charge. Now figure that one!
3. Free
Breakfasts have become very common in the economy and mid-range
hotels. There is a wide variance in what these hotels consider as 'breakfast'.
At the bottom end, breakfast is coffee and doughnuts or bagels. At the deluxe
end, breakfast is a full, cooked-to your-order, meal. The latter offering is
usually cited in the hotel's overview page; the former is rarely ever
mentioned.
4. Inside
Swimming Pools are more common. Several of the hotels managers we have
queried have expressed the opinion that, as people have become more conscious
of the dangers of laying in the sun, there has been a simultaneous upswing is
the quest for inside swimming pools. They also have seen a reduced need for
large pools which are also considerable more expensive to maintain. |
