The things hotels still can’t get right
Airlines get grief for service shortfalls two years into the travel surge, but hotels are struggling too
Hotel problems are particularly frustrating because travelers are paying more for rooms on business trips and vacations. Hotel rates in the top 25 U.S. markets were up 9.3% year-to-date through May from the same period a year earlier, and several destinations have seen double-digit-percentage increases in average daily rates, including New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
Key takeaways
- Hotels are trying to do more with less as they face ongoing staff shortages, supply issues and high costs;
- Hotels think they can get away with fewer front-desk workers today because it worked during the pandemic, when travelers wanted fewer interactions;
- "You can’t go accelerating your prices way beyond 2019 and then give service that was below 2019 levels."
Get the full story at The Wall Street Journal