Senior Travel: Economic Downturn - Hotel Price Downslide Print

The old adage says a pessimist looks at a half empty glass and complains because it is only half full. The optimist looks at a half empty glass and is thankful it is half full. That doesn’t apply today’s hotel industry, because half-full hotels reflect pessimistically bad economic times and lost business. News reports say that US hotels today are having their lowest occupancy figures since the frightening months immediately following the 9/11/01 attacks on the US. Occupancy rates in 2008 were down 18% from 2007.

Torn $20 bill
The deepening recession is causing many people to shorten their vacations or just stay home, and the outlook for the usual busy summer travel season this year is iffy at best.

For seniors who still have the money and inclination to travel, this can mean bargain room rates and other lower costs that have been grossly overpriced over the past several years. Paying $400 a night for a basic, no-frills room near New York’s Times Square, Beverly Hills near Sunset Boulevard or atop San Francisco’s Nob Hill may be, thankfully for we seasoned citizens, a thing of the past.

There’s a modest motel where we stay three or four times a year near the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. It charged us $60 a night in the early 1990s, including free breakfast; $120 in the early 2000s with only free coffee; and last year’s bill was $195 for each night with no free anything.

If the downturn in the national travel business will make those gotcha hotel prices retreat back to reasonable rates, then some good may come from it. So, seniors, if you want to stimulate the economy and also stimulate your budget, the time to make your spring and summer travel plans is right now!