When supply and demand becomes gouge and pilfer

by Scott Carmichael on

January 20th will be a pretty big day for any business in the Washington DC area. It probably doesn’t matter whether you are selling doughnuts or special inauguration plates, people will be heading to DC in the millions ready to buy whatever it is you are selling.

With that many people, it is only logical that many of them will plan to stay the night, so naturally that drives the price of accommodations up a little. However, it appears that most hotels in the area have taken “a little” to a whole new level, way beyond what they usually do for special events.

Take for example the Crown Plaza Hamilton, a fairly basic 3 1/2 star hotel in the downtown area. This hotel normally charges between $85 and $100 for a standard room. Care to guess what they want for a night in a standard room during the inauguration?

That’s right, $1000 bucks. And not just anyone can get that rate, you’ll need to reserve at least 3 nights to get that “special rate”.

In their defense, they are by far not the only ones cashing in on this event, even suburban 1 star hotels are charging a staggering $699 a night (compared to their usual $59 rate).

Dry and uncomfortable in your hotel room? Bring a humidfier!

by Scott Carmichael on

While strolling through the aisles of the local Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday (which is a bad idea this time of year), I came across this fantastic little ultrasonic humidifier.

The Air-O-Swiss “AOS 7146 TRAVEL” is a tiny box, with a water bottle screw thread on top. Instead of relying on a gallon sized water container, you simply attach a regular water bottle to the top of the unit, plug in the power adapter, and it instantly starts blowing out nice humid mist.

The humidity (or lack of) in most hotel rooms has always bothered me, and I’d often wake up in the middle of the night with a dry throat, so this device just went on my Christmas list.

The AOS 7146 costs $59.99, but most people will probably have a large stack of 20% off coupons for Bed Bath and Beyond lying around, bringing the price down to a very reasonable level.

The unit comes complete with an international power adapter with foreign plugs as well as a travel bag. At just 0.7lbs, it is small and light enough to accompany you on your next trip, and hopefully make things a little more comfortable. If you don’t have a store in your area, you can order it on the Bed Bath and Beyond web site,

That hotel room coffee maker has more uses than you think

by Grant Martin on


It’s so crazy, it JUST MIGHT WORK. Alton Brown from the Food Network’s Good Eats has a much better use for your hotel room’s coffee maker than for making weak, disgusting brew: use it to make oatmeal.

His recipe? Put two packets of oatmeal, honey and jam packets into the carafe, then put a tea bag in the filter. Run water through and you have a magic oatmeal concoction in no time!

Now, I’m not a big breakfast person nor a large fan of elaborate schemes to save $3, but this plan is too ingenious to ignore. I’m trying it on the road next week.

[via wikihow]

Average room in Manhattan? $320/night

by Iva Skoch on

Manhattan has never exactly been a bargain destination. Over the last decade though, it has become virtually impossible to find a modest and affordable hotel room. Even the “average” chain hotel room–that would go for about $60 anywhere else in the country–goes for $200+ here. Take the Holiday Inn downtown for example. If you were to stay there tonight, it would cost you $179-264, according to their website. Needless to say, there is no champagne awaiting your arrival.

The reason for the steep price hike? Shortage of rooms, according to this New York Times article. Cheap dollar has brought in thousands of tourists with money to spend. But local entrepreneurs in New York are not simply waiting around for the dollar to rebound. New hotel developments will add approximately 3000 rooms to the Manhattan market in 2008. Apparently, it would need at least 10,000 rooms to satisfy the demand.

Whatever happened to charging for hotels by the hour? I mean, how much sleep do you honestly need in New York?

Staying in a hotel? Bring your own drinking glasses

by Martha Edwards on

I wouldn’t call myself a major germaphobe or anything, but like most people, I like to know that the things I eat and drink are somewhat hygienic. So this video really grossed me out — you too? I usually bring my own Nalgene bottles with me when I travel to drink from and thank goodness I do. Bleh.

What’s living in your hotel room?

Click… if you dare.