The Economy is Affecting Hotels in Strange and Curious Ways
Travel Blog • Alexander Basek • 02.23.09 | 4:51 PM ET
Photo by How curious? People are going to Philadelphia—on purpose! (I keed, I keed. Please don’t throw any D batteries at me) According to the AP cities like Portland, Oregon, Philly and Palm Springs have growing tourism numbers—Portland even has hotel rates that are rising—as visitors take short-hop trips instead of visiting more far-flung destinations. Some of the visits are buoyed by cheap domestic airfares as well.
It’s an interesting phenomenon on two fronts. First, I hope that this is the end of people not going anywhere for vacation; people are leaving home during their time off, even if it’s to visit a place that’s nearby and famous for drug rehab or Cheez Whiz. Second, for hotels, a spate of satellite-style properties is likely in the cards. The Ace is already open in Palm Springs, for example, and rates at the Nines in Portland are at Crazy Eddie levels. As long as we don’t see any hotels with cheesesteak-themed spa treatments, I fully support this trend.