For travelers the deals aren’t that plentiful this spring season when booking hotel rooms in California. With a fantastic winter snow season and plenty of sunshine at the beach, plus a low valued dollar on the world market, locals are having to compete for rooms with travelers from other nations. Add to that the rising price of gas that Californians aren’t accustomed to which makes the drive market even closer to home for millions living near the largest inventory of hotel rooms, and you have a situation in which low to mid-range hotels are commanding decent prices–and are selling out on weekends.
For travel writers, the deals aren’t as plentiful either. Destination management organizations that once sought writers to tell their story are now having a tougher time getting rooms for the writers, who are competing in the 2.0 web environment in which everyone’s a photographer, a writer and reviewer with a story to tell.
And finally,hotels in the mid-range ot luxury have increasingly marketed their products to the world business market. On a recent stay at Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, for instance, we saw the place filled with a business meeting of Tyco employees from around the globe. When filling out a survey that asked about any problems, I told them I was unable to access the swimming pool during its open hours because of a corporate event that took up the venue. Of course I never heard back from “the manager” who supposedly sent out the survey. It probably got thrown into the email trash folder.
So all in all, if you are looking to save this year on travel and hotels, the best advice is to book early (like a week or two ahead, minimum) for weekend getaways.
More advice and information about California hotels and resorts is on its way soon. There’s still more to tell about the hotel situation along the coast as summer approaches.