UK vs US hotels - why the difference

[Darren Wheeler]

While I've been away I have stayed in a number of Best Western hotels and on the whole have been impressed with them.

For about $100 a night you get:

A decent room with usually a Queen or Twin beds
A continental breakfast thrown in at most locations
A pool, hot tub and small gym in many
A large TV with about 60 channels from ABC to Sci-Fi channel
Free high speed Wi-Fi
Free parking in a large, well lit lot
Friendly staff
Etc. etc. etc.

Now I know they are usually family-run and take a pride in the service they offer but everything just seems better for the price. To get the same in the UK, you'd have to pay at least double or even triple and still have to pay extra for things like Wi-Fi.

So why the difference. Is it because in the US no-one would put up with anything less or are we Brits a soft touch?

[Decker]

I would speculate that due to the size of the US a business person on normal travel can be away for weeks at a time on routine domestic work - unlike in the UK where the only people to do this are travelling salespeople/consultants. Consequently there is much greater demand for beds and this demand translates into more hotels, more competition and subsidised weekend rates. In addition land is cheaper and building materials are cheaper so new hotels require less of a capital investment. Finally road transport is a lot cheaper than air freight and pretty much everything they need for the hotel can be acquired without importing it.

That'd be my first guess

[Nottingham Nick]

I think that it is like a lot of things in life - it (the room) is worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it.

If hotels in the UK can fill a large enough percentage of their beds at current rates to make a profit, they will continue to charge the prices they do.

Nick

Reminds me of the question I asked myself earlier this month: why did some hotel in Cheltenham that claimed to be 4 star, but was little more than a glorified travel lodge think it was justified in charging £190 per night? I have to say, our rate for the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo this coming week is not that much higher for what will surely be a far superior product.

Not to mention that we had no running water during the 3 days we were at the Cheltenham hotel, but had to beg and plead in order to get a discount off the full price they were charging us. Pathetic.

From my own experience (which is not limited to the Cheltenham, ahem, dump), and talking with friends, you just don't get the same level of value for money for hotels in the UK that you get in most other places. I'm sure there are exceptions to that, but that is what we have found.

J

[ChuckC]

Hi Darren,
Very interesting question. FWIW one of my new favorite hotels is the Tower Bridge Hilton in London. But read on.

For a long while (until Marriott came along, roughly, in the early 1960s) the typical American lodging was either a twin of its finer British cousin -- places such as the Plaza in NYC and St. Francis in SFO come to mind, in the style of the Claridge, Park Lane and others -- or, a motor hotel, the latter coming about from the growth of the US transcontinental highway system in the same era.

Enter Marriott. They took what they knew about food (Marriott Hot Shoppes) and applied it to hotels, and the rest is history. Everyone in the business copied the Marriott formula, which is pretty much what you wrote above.

Marriott took the US lodging industry to the next step in the 1980s with the introduction of Courtyard by Marriott, a place where the traveling businessperson could get Marriott-style service and consistency (there's that word again!) without any frills, at a good price. When it arrived on scene CYBM per night charge was under US100 while full service hotels (Sheraton, Hilton and others now copying Marriott) were US125-US150.

Another huge player on the budget circuit for years was Holiday Inns, a place for businesspeople and families alike. For many years they were the only trustworthy lodging along the Intercontinental Highway system. They hadn't hit the cities as much, and that's where Marriott filled the void with a product that was below Claridge (many steps below Claridge) but well above Holiday Inns.

Today we see a proliferation of budget properties but also a trend toward boutique properties such as the "W" chain from Starwood, Hyatt Place and others. Here the emphasis is on personal lifestyle, whatever that is. I think what they're really seeking is the customer who needs to travel and can afford a luxury property but doesn't want to spend that much on a room. Frequently these places have a "happening" bar which may just appeal to certain business travelers (not that I know this for a fact, mind you!). The Marriotts of the world are busy copying this new formula, naturally, by adding elements to their existing properties (the "Heavenly bed" at Starwood, for example).

In many ways I find the Tower Bridge Hilton fitting this new formula. Wonderfully comfortable rooms with a modern edge, great people-watching bar area, but still workable for a businessperson.

Chuck-

Thanks Chuck for the history - very interesting.

On Darren's original question - I have pondered this before too. In the past I've had to travel within the UK and be subject to miseries like the Ramada, Loughborough (don't even go there).

I think personally it's a combination between cost of built / run as Decker says, supply and demand as Nick says plus a good slice of British complacency!

FWIW, I give the Tower Bridge Hilton a big [y] as well. Have made several visits and always get an exec room upgrade as hhonors gold, unlike some other Hilton properties in the UK.

As Chuck says, confortable, modern rooms with the overall feel being towards a boutique style property.

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
While I've been away I have stayed in a number of Best Western hotels and on the whole have been impressed with them.

For about $100 a night you get:

A decent room with usually a Queen or Twin beds
A continental breakfast thrown in at most locations
A pool, hot tub and small gym in many
A large TV with about 60 channels from ABC to Sci-Fi channel
Free high speed Wi-Fi
Free parking in a large, well lit lot
Friendly staff
Etc. etc. etc.

Now I know they are usually family-run and take a pride in the service they offer but everything just seems better for the price. To get the same in the UK, you'd have to pay at least double or even triple and still have to pay extra for things like Wi-Fi.

So why the difference. Is it because in the US no-one would put up with anything less or are we Brits a soft touch?

Simple answer is that they do it because they can. If we stopped using whatever chain, then prices would definitely drop. You need look no further than post 9/11, when plenty of good US folks were put off travelling to the UK.... huge drop in the number of hotel room sold and a consequent slew of good offers. Same happened in thatres.....