Yes, Hotel Room Rates Are Up. But It Isn’t Price Gouging.
Skift Take
Travel sticker shock is giving way to anger for many consumers. But the inflation data suggests that most hoteliers have raised prices in-line with their rising costs rather than capturing excess profits.
Summer travel season is in full swing and we can already hear the complaints: "It's outrageous what they're charging for a hotel room these days!" The narrative goes that greedy hoteliers are taking advantage of pent-up vacation demand to gouge desperate travelers. But this is a myth and far from the reality of the hotel business today.
It's true, the average hotel room in America went for $150 a night in May, a 13 percent hike from 2019. But that gain doesn't account for inflatio
