IRMA and price gouging

[gman2304]

Originally Posted By: MNgopher
So a hotel charging a non-discounted normal rate that would be charged any other time when not running a deal is now considered gouging...

Honestly, some people are looking too hard to find something to be offended about.

A search of hotels in Mobile finds this to be a higher rated hotel with plenty of other options available at a lower price point.


A 150% rate increase during a natural disaster is not a normal rate....hence the gouging effect!

 

[MNgopher]

150% increase compared to the normal rack rate or a special rate with terms and conditions...such as room availibilty...

I'll wait...

 

[JustN89]

Yeah... I'm calling [censored] on this. Looking up the Marriott in Mobile, I picked a few random weekends to view their rates. They are pretty solidly at $139/night at regular rates. Obviously, Marriott Rewards customers get a discounted rate, which would put them at $112/night for the same room. No where did I see an $80/night room listed.

Going from $139/night to $189/night may or may not be the most ethical thing, however it is FAR from price gouging or "screwing" anyone over. There's a lot of factors that go into keeping the hotel operating. Knowing that you will have a full house, and not knowing what customers will be bringing with them as they escape the storm (pets, for example), the extra $50/night may just be covering the added expenses that the hotel will occur over the next 24 hours. They will bring in extra staff, pay overtime, facilities will get heavier usage, and then they will more than likely have to increase the number of room attendants the next day in order to get everything cleaned and ready for normal operations again.

Not only do I not see price gouging, I don't think I see anything wrong here at all.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
It's no different than NASCAR race weekends, college graduation weekends, or any other large gathering of people in a location for an event. This is not unusual or to be surprised at. A hotel room that was $189 on Saturday pm was down to $89 the day after a race in Dover. And this was in 2002 when it happened with me. I stayed farther away the Saturday pm and stayed at the Holiday inn Express for $89 the Sunday night after the race. So, this is not unusual by any measure. If the prices were $250-$300 for a $80 room then it would be a much bigger deal.


Nope. There's a huge difference in that one CHOOSES to go to racing/sporting events. One does NOT choose to be a refugee fleeing a storm....

Happy B-day...

 

[bbhero]

Thank you for the happy b day.

It is the same function though as far as great demand goes.... And good bad or indifferent that's what ultimately matters. The reason behind the great demand does not matter... It really simply doesn't. Like I said before... If these room which were $80 a night went up to say $250-300-$400 or who knows even more then I would be more willing to jump on board with this idea of gouging. What makes gold worth more than say feldspar ?? It is a lot more rare. Why a Super Bowl ticket is worth sat $1000 at Tampa when the regular season price for the SAME EXACT seat was $200?? It's FAR greater demand for that same seat. No one complains about this... Again, the cause of price increase really is not an issue here. Whether we like that or not.And again, $189 is not such a massive increase when compared to what it t could have gone up to. In my area a Marriot goes for around $160 yr round or more.

 

[Andrew1972]

The price of hotel is set by a complex computer model of demand on rooms vs price. As the rooms are less available price goes up(e.g. Midweek). The street price of walking in may not resemble the computer pricing.

 

[Claud]

A very different culture to Europe, After the recent terrorist attacks taxi drivers, food outlets and hotels were offering their products and services for free to the victims and rescue services.

Better lobby your senators and congressmen to make sure no Federal aid is provided.

Claud.

 

[spackard]

FWIW, Mike Munger invented a word, euvoluntary, to describe such transactions.
http://people.duke.edu/~munger/euvol.pdf

 

[Claud]

Originally Posted By: spackard
FWIW, Mike Munger invented a word, euvoluntary, to describe such transactions.
http://people.duke.edu/~munger/euvol.pdf


Remind me of the movie "The Ballad od Cable Hogue"

Claud.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: Claud
A very different culture to Europe, After the recent terrorist attacks taxi drivers, food outlets and hotels were offering their products and services for free to the victims and rescue services.

Better lobby your senators and congressmen to make sure no Federal aid is provided.

Claud.


They're socialists.

 

[gman2304]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: Claud
A very different culture to Europe, After the recent terrorist attacks taxi drivers, food outlets and hotels were offering their products and services for free to the victims and rescue services.

Better lobby your senators and congressmen to make sure no Federal aid is provided.

Claud.


They're socialists.


Or compassionate maybe?

 

[OhOMG]

I have not yet seen any price gouging or increases due to the hurricane.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: Claud
A very different culture to Europe, After the recent terrorist attacks taxi drivers, food outlets and hotels were offering their products and services for free to the victims and rescue services.

Better lobby your senators and congressmen to make sure no Federal aid is provided.

Claud.


They're socialists.


Or maybe just not social Darwinist [censored]?

 

[gman2304]

Originally Posted By: OhOMG
I have not yet seen any price gouging or increases due to the hurricane.


Northern midwest guy, Welcome to BITOG....

 

[OhOMG]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
Originally Posted By: OhOMG
I have not yet seen any price gouging or increases due to the hurricane.


Northern midwest guy, Welcome to BITOG....

Thank you much. A sad day for our country.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
Thank you for the happy b day.

It is the same function though as far as great demand goes.... And good bad or indifferent that's what ultimately matters. The reason behind the great demand does not matter... It really simply doesn't. Like I said before... If these room which were $80 a night went up to say $250-300-$400 or who knows even more then I would be more willing to jump on board with this idea of gouging. What makes gold worth more than say feldspar ?? It is a lot more rare. Why a Super Bowl ticket is worth sat $1000 at Tampa when the regular season price for the SAME EXACT seat was $200?? It's FAR greater demand for that same seat. No one complains about this... Again, the cause of price increase really is not an issue here. Whether we like that or not.And again, $189 is not such a massive increase when compared to what it t could have gone up to. In my area a Marriot goes for around $160 yr round or more.


Again, one chooses to go to Tampa Bay games (unless it's me and you would literally have to put a gun to my head to go

). The free market is predicated on a sense of fairness and equity, not sheer, unbridled greed. You can't just do what you want based on some 1800's notion of robber-baron capitalism. That's where you get the Concrete Jungle [censored] of meat companies selling lard tainted with the remains of of a dead worker that fell in the vat. Because after all, people will buy it! You can't just do what you want based on purely financial motives, otherwise maybe we should sell people water to put the fire in their house out...

 

[AVB]

I have seen places that do charge for putting out house fires.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: AVB
I have seen places that do charge for putting out house fires.


If they don't pay the bill, does the rest of the neighborhood burn down too?

 

[Nickdfresh]

And BTW, price gouging is illegal last time I checked, and the FL Attorney General is conducting investigations. So the bonk economic rationales here are tantamount to calling looter scum entrepreneurs that had the gumption to go out and make money!

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
Originally Posted By: CT8
History dictates a month before the storm quantities are plenty and prices are low. Those unwilling to prepare are willing to pay the higher prices. Hurricanes unlike Earthquakes are seasonal.


Even the well prepared will most likely return home in the days ahead to find most everything they have worked for has been destroyed. Those willing to gouge them knowing what they will find when they do return home, are greedy oppurtunists in the worst way.
Yes.