People...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ps.com...
There is a supermarket in my town (also a college town) that pays
about twice as much per hour. They don't have problems finding good
employees, and it is a pleasure to shop there - even though they are
not cheap.

We would love to pay our employees $16 per hour. Heck, I'd like to
pay myself that much!

We are in a strange spot regarding our prices (and, thus, our ability
to pay more). Many who stay with us request "the cheapest thing
you've got" but -- after hearing so much about us now -- they expect
the world from us.

These high expectations can lead to real problems. I always feel
guilty giving someone "the cheapest thing we've got" knowing that it
won't live up to their expectations (or what they've heard) of us, but
the flip-side is that I can't afford to give them the coolest
honeymoon suite for $69, either.

It's a real Catch-22. We find ourselves ever more busy -- we're now
running 80+% occupancy -- but we're scared to death to raise our
rates, due to our competitive position. In fact, we haven't raised
rates since we bought the hotel in 2002 -- that's five years of
holding the line on rates -- but in the meantime we've added service
after service.

This has severely limited our ability to pay our employees more, since
we're being ever more tightly squeezed by energy costs (up 35% in five
years!) and tax increases. Eventually the pressure will become
impossible to bear, and we will be forced to raise rates -- but surely
at the expense of occupancy.

The issue is not occupancy but revenue per day. A full hotel paying bugger
all for the rooms is not much use nor is holding out for premium rates with
the hotel empty.

My experience of US motels is that at the budget end (ie less than $70) all
they seem to offer is a bed, variable television, possibly free internet,
ice and a donut and coffee for breakfast so the opportunities to add revenue
from customers is limited.

Similar establishments in Europe tend to have restaurants and shops attached
which gives additional revenue from residents or even from local trade and
can make a big difference to the top and bottom line numbers, to the extent
that revenue per day can be 50% on top of the room rate. But then there is
not the plethora of fast food outlets sucking the customers away.

On Oct 9, 7:13 pm, "S Green" wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message

ps.com...





There is a supermarket in my town (also a college town) that pays
about twice as much per hour. They don't have problems finding good
employees, and it is a pleasure to shop there - even though they are
not cheap.

We would love to pay our employees $16 per hour. Heck, I'd like to
pay myself that much!

We are in a strange spot regarding our prices (and, thus, our ability
to pay more). Many who stay with us request "the cheapest thing
you've got" but -- after hearing so much about us now -- they expect
the world from us.

These high expectations can lead to real problems. I always feel
guilty giving someone "the cheapest thing we've got" knowing that it
won't live up to their expectations (or what they've heard) of us, but
the flip-side is that I can't afford to give them the coolest
honeymoon suite for $69, either.

It's a real Catch-22. We find ourselves ever more busy -- we're now
running 80+% occupancy -- but we're scared to death to raise our
rates, due to our competitive position. In fact, we haven't raised
rates since we bought the hotel in 2002 -- that's five years of
holding the line on rates -- but in the meantime we've added service
after service.

This has severely limited our ability to pay our employees more, since
we're being ever more tightly squeezed by energy costs (up 35% in five
years!) and tax increases. Eventually the pressure will become
impossible to bear, and we will be forced to raise rates -- but surely
at the expense of occupancy.

The issue is not occupancy but revenue per day. A full hotel paying bugger
all for the rooms is not much use nor is holding out for premium rates with
the hotel empty.

My experience of US motels is that at the budget end (ie less than $70) all
they seem to offer is a bed, variable television, possibly free internet,
ice and a donut and coffee for breakfast so the opportunities to add revenue
from customers is limited.

Similar establishments in Europe tend to have restaurants and shops attached
which gives additional revenue from residents or even from local trade and
can make a big difference to the top and bottom line numbers, to the extent
that revenue per day can be 50% on top of the room rate. But then there is
not the plethora of fast food outlets sucking the customers away.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


When I am looking for a place to stay, all I care about is a good
night's sleep and a clean shower. I do not need a TV, gym, room
service, massages, restaurants and all the other fancy things that are
sold as "hotel staying experience". Is there really a demand for all
this stuff? I can't imagine anyone spending time in the hotel except
for sleeping. I am usually happy with places like Motel 6 for under
$30, unless it happens to be noisy or dirty. They are rarely that way,
but I have found some that were. On the other hand, I also stay at
high-end hotels (out of necessity, not desire). I am sure they must be
nice, but I never spend more than an hour of my waking time there to
find out what the fuss is all about.

When I am looking for a place to stay, all I care about is a good
night's sleep and a clean shower. I do not need a TV, gym, room
service, massages, restaurants and all the other fancy things that are
sold as "hotel staying experience". Is there really a demand for all
this stuff?

Yep.

I can't imagine anyone spending time in the hotel except
for sleeping. I am usually happy with places like Motel 6 for under
$30, unless it happens to be noisy or dirty.

I haven't found a motel for $30/night worthy of kenneling my dog since
the 1980s. In fact, I've found a lot of $99/night motels that made me
want to puke.

This is one of the main reasons we thought we could succeed in the
lodging industry, despite our lack of experience. Almost every motel/
hotel/B&B we'd ever stayed in -- at ANY price -- sucked.

The last five years has vindicated our business model. (Which read,
quite simply: "Eliminate everything we hate; add everything we like.")

On the other hand, I also stay at
high-end hotels (out of necessity, not desire). I am sure they must be
nice, but I never spend more than an hour of my waking time there to
find out what the fuss is all about.

Lodging decisions are almost always made by the woman of the family --
which is why massage therapists and work-out rooms are important.
Most guys are like you.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"