The Good Side to a Bad Economy - Accor’s Hotel Formule 1
Sure, you’ll be paying a lot more for your airfare in the coming year. $140 barrels of oil will see to that. And the dollar is down, so going virtually anywhere outside the borders of the U.S. will lead to an unfavorable rate of exchange. The Euro continues to make the Dollar look like a skinny, glasses wearing weakling standing in the corner of a boxing gym. Many people are opting for trips nearer to home. But wait…
There is a good side to the down economy; at least as far as budget travelers are concerned.
Some destinations are awash with new hotels aimed at budget travelers. Some of these, like Accor’s brand, Formule 1 Indonesia, are chains.
Why? Budget hotels are cheaper to build and furnish. Therefore, the profits from the initial investment come about more quickly. These factors make budget chains attractive to investors in uncertain economic times.
But why not just flop in some run down guest house?
Many of these new budget hotels are in prime areas. The above-mentioned chain has a hotel within walking distance of Jakarta’s Blok M. For a walk in rate of $30 (cheaper if you call ahead), visitors get a basic, brand new room that is a notch above a guest house, and a central location.
So, you see, this economy is not all bad.
I've been giving this very topic a lot of thought lately. I was thinking more about lodging stateside..but I guess it applies abroad as well with fuel costing more and airlines threatening to cut routes seems like there would be less demand for hotels everywhere which should, hopefully, drive costs down - but the relationships between municipalities and business organizations can get pretty complex (hotels/tourism boards etc subsidizing flights) who knows, maybe these groups will subsidize more airline seats and lodging stateside will continue to get more ridiculously expensive.
At any rate, thanks for the tip on the Formule 1 chain....good stuff
Ahh!! This is something good like the hotels like Accor’s brand, Formule 1 Indonesia, which are awash with new hotels aimed at budget travelers.