Temecula Hot Air Balloon Ride
With the California economy still in a slump and not enough jobs for all the people who want to work, what will the 2010 travel season bring to the beaches and bays of San Diego? Will you be able to find some deals this year? Foreclosures continue, yet, the hotel rates seem to be going up.
“It’s a mixed bag of deal-no deal,” said an industry insider who prefers not to be quoted, but who told us the hotel where he works is experiency low occupancy in 2010 compared to the average. “We thought Easter / Spring Break would be a bounce back of traffic, but it just didn’t materialize.”
What are hotels doing to survive? This hotelier said that his property is trying to maintain higher rates than what the occupancy rate typically would have go warranted in the past. “Labor rates and operating expenses are higher, so we’re trying not to reduce our prices too much.”
Will there be any deals during the summer travel season in San Diego? VisitSanDiegoHotels.com (VSH) has studied the market and discovered travelers have become savvy in finding deals–and they seem to be going for price.
“There’s a two-tiered system of booking,” said a VSH bookings analyst. “We see the budget travel bookings in which travelers are actually finding rooms in San Diego for around $50. While some can spend 4 days for $200, there’s another segment of travel willing to spend $250/night. Those travelers tend to come from Europe, India, Asia, and are willing to spend more for amenities and location.”
What should you do to save?
- Book weekday in the popular beach and bay hotels, but be alerted to the convention and meeting groups that can inflate the price of rooms in San Diego during week days.
- Consider staying in convention hotels with ample space and below average rates for the quality of rooms. Newer high-rise hotels have a tendency when they launch to lower rates if they’re not getting traffic. It’s all about the buzz for several years. If you can build it, then the repeat customer may return and pay more.
- Consider staying in rooms minus beach views. You can save $100 or more in the room that faces the other direction. If the beach is outside your door, that $100 can be well spent on meals, entertainment, and shopping.
- Keep checking the booking engines. The researchers find the deals, but it may take them time to discover the soft spots in hotels. With San Diego offering several hundred hotel options, the deals do exist. It just take more time, research and patience to find savings ranging from $10 – 150 per night.
- Think outside the box. Try something new. One of our favorite gems where deals can be had is Temecula, approx. 30 minutes from San Diego County beaches. It features wine tasting, balloon rides, and lots of entertainment at Pechanga Resort.
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