Excerpt from Bloomberg
'Life is Short' Mantra Drives U.S. Hotel Prices to Record Highs
American travelers are raring to go, and rising hotel prices aren’t stopping them.
For evidence, see what Miami hotels are demanding on the weekend in early May when the Formula 1 racing series comes to town: The 1 South Beach is requiring four-night minimums at just under $4,000 a night, while the Hampton Inn in the city’s Brickell neighborhood is charging more than $400 a night.
“The pandemic has reminded people that life is short,” said Jan Freitag, senior vice president at lodging analytics company STR. “They want to splurge, and they have a lot of pent-up savings. If a market has a leisure appeal, then the hotels in that market are doing well.”
Rising prices aren’t scaring off leisure travelers. The average daily hotel rate rose to $149.38 last week, according to STR. That was the third-highest mark ever, behind the week ending March 19 and the week after Christmas in 2021.
Jordan Weede, a 30-year-old from Atlanta, recently booked three nights at a hotel in New Orleans for $2,000. The University of North Carolina basketball fan surprised his dad with tickets to the Final Four on Saturday, when the Tar Heels will take on rival Duke.
The semifinals of the college basketball tournament will be played in a packed arena for the first time since 2019, and fans embracing the moment have been paying up to be there.
“I didn’t spare any expense,” Weede said. “I’d rather spend the money on experiences.”
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