General Lodging Discussion

Re: Priced Out of Galveston

old dawg — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:27:01 GMT

You put your finger on the problem. Your motel is the only real game in town that provides what surely must be an expensive extra amenity. Your pet probably is not one of those that trash rooms and apply cat poop to the corners under the beds, but I'm betting that there are plenty that do. Your motel has no competition to speak of, from the sound of it. They are charging what they think the market will bear, and that's what they all do. In any town. If enough people like yourself will refuse to pay the price and go somewhere else, you can believe that the price will come back down for sure.

But, you do have to realize that the motel catering to pet owners is a specialty, and they are not going to be popular with anybody else who knows that they do allow pets. I, for one, would never rent a room in a motel if I knew they allowed pets in the rooms. They probably have long ago discovered that fact and are gonna try to make up for their low occupancy rates by gouging the paying customers. I just wonder what kind of occupancy rates they do have during the busy season.

Anyhway, I couldn't agree with you more. The only way we can keep prices down on the stuff we can live without is to just flat refuse to pay them. Good luck with Corpus or wherever.

Re: Priced Out of Galveston

fishhead — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:09:14 GMT

Yes, but like I said before, we've come to Galveston every year during the holidays for several years and this is the first time that the prices are this high. And it's just this one motel. I appreciate your input, but I really don't think the price increase at the motel has anything to do with the Dickens on the Strand. I've known about that Dickens festival for years. In spite of that, we've never seen Galveston super crowded during the Christmas holidays. That's one reason we always enjoyed going there every year at that time. There are exactly three pet-friendly motels in Galveston. As far as my husband and I are concerned, we really only like one of the three because it's more comfortable and quieter than the others. That's the one that has increased its prices so terribly. They went from charging $89.99 a night during the Christmas holidays to charging $139.99 a night at that time. That's a HUGE increase. There may be pet-friendly beach houses or condos for rent, but you start getting into more money and we really don't want to spend an arm and a leg for our holiday vacation. I wish someone could explain why that one motel has seen fit to implement such a huge increase. Demand maybe?

Re: Priced Out of Galveston

Dixie — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:30:15 GMT

I'm pretty sure there are a few pet friendly hotels here. I'm sorry you are having such a problem... This might be do to the Dickens on the Strand festival.which is a huge event around the holidays. good luck to ya

Priced Out of Galveston

fishhead — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:23:18 GMT

My husband and I are nearing retirement and we love Galveston, coming at least twice a year every year bringing our pet with us to stay in pet-friendly lodging. But this year, we were dismayed to discover that our usual lodging, where we've always stayed during the Christmas holidays, has almost doubled in price. We don't understand the degree of increase, especially since there doesn't seem to be much going on in Galveston during the Christmas holidays. Plus, we checked other comparable hotel prices during that same time, and they're much more reasonable. The only problem with them is they don't take pets. Even with our senior discount card, our favorite hotel is much more than it was, and we think it's unreasonable to have to pay that, so we're just going to another Texas coastal town. The prices are much more affordable, they offer many attractions, great dining and it's just a bit further. We do love Galveston, but we have to draw the line somewhere. Maybe other people are willing to pay those exorbitant rates, but the motel is just not that much better to us. Anyone else running into this?