Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Resort strips out luxury with 'Survivor Package'
Source: Agencies |
August 18, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOR their one-and-only family getaway this year, the Billingtons checked in to a San Diego resort in the United States on Sunday with many of the usual vacation accessories - bathing suits, board games and golf clubs.
But they also brought flashlights, sleeping bags and an inflatable mattress because the pool-side room they booked for just US$19 comes with a tent where the beds normally would be. They even had to pack their own toilet paper.
While many of southern California's luxury hotels are battling a severe slump in business by offering extra services and more amenities, the Rancho Bernardo Inn is luring guests with the exact opposite - no frills and barely any basics.
Called the "Survivor Package," the hotel's deeply discounted promotion lets patrons trim its standard US$219-per-night rate on a sliding scale of deprivation, lowering charges with each amenity stripped from the room.
The most basic version: a room for US$19 with no bed, toilet paper, towels, air-conditioning or "honor bar," and only a single light bulb in the bathroom for safety. The next level up adds in a bed - sans sheets - for US$39 a night. For a bed plus toiletries and toilet paper, the rate is US$59.
Maureen Carew, assistant general manager of the four-star inn, called the promotion "clever marketing."
She said Rancho Bernardo's promotion drew 240 bookings at the US$19 rate and 116 at the US$39 rate.
Herman Billington, 39, a personal trainer who owns his own business, says it's the only vacation he, his wife and their two sons, aged 9 and 10, plan to take this year. "The boys get to feel like they're camping, and I get to go to the spa," said their mother, Erica Billington, 37.
Luxury hotels and resorts have fallen on hard times during the recession, as corporate travel planners shy away from lavish spending and consumers plan thrifty, if any, vacations.
Across the industry, occupancy rates have dropped about 10 percent, Carew said. The slump has pushed room rates down, with many of California's upscale properties adding a breakfast, a round of golf or extra night's stay for free.
The outlook for the rest of 2009 is bleak, according to Smith Travel Research, which predicts that US hotel revenue per available room will fall 17 percent by the end of the year.
But they also brought flashlights, sleeping bags and an inflatable mattress because the pool-side room they booked for just US$19 comes with a tent where the beds normally would be. They even had to pack their own toilet paper.
While many of southern California's luxury hotels are battling a severe slump in business by offering extra services and more amenities, the Rancho Bernardo Inn is luring guests with the exact opposite - no frills and barely any basics.
Called the "Survivor Package," the hotel's deeply discounted promotion lets patrons trim its standard US$219-per-night rate on a sliding scale of deprivation, lowering charges with each amenity stripped from the room.
The most basic version: a room for US$19 with no bed, toilet paper, towels, air-conditioning or "honor bar," and only a single light bulb in the bathroom for safety. The next level up adds in a bed - sans sheets - for US$39 a night. For a bed plus toiletries and toilet paper, the rate is US$59.
Maureen Carew, assistant general manager of the four-star inn, called the promotion "clever marketing."
She said Rancho Bernardo's promotion drew 240 bookings at the US$19 rate and 116 at the US$39 rate.
Herman Billington, 39, a personal trainer who owns his own business, says it's the only vacation he, his wife and their two sons, aged 9 and 10, plan to take this year. "The boys get to feel like they're camping, and I get to go to the spa," said their mother, Erica Billington, 37.
Luxury hotels and resorts have fallen on hard times during the recession, as corporate travel planners shy away from lavish spending and consumers plan thrifty, if any, vacations.
Across the industry, occupancy rates have dropped about 10 percent, Carew said. The slump has pushed room rates down, with many of California's upscale properties adding a breakfast, a round of golf or extra night's stay for free.
The outlook for the rest of 2009 is bleak, according to Smith Travel Research, which predicts that US hotel revenue per available room will fall 17 percent by the end of the year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
