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It's not. Apparently people think that price gouging is just charging more than they're willing to pay. They don't know that it has a more specific meaning.
Price gouging refers to when a business takes advantage of people by charging exorbitant insane prices.
Examples using a generic date of Monday Sept. 20th:
Asheville NC - Cambria at $276 with tax; Kimpton at $335 with tax
Chattanooga - Spring Hills Suites at $269 with tax; DoubleTree at $219 with tax
These hotels are twice what they were not that long ago. A Westin we stayed at for $98/night (pre-tax) in a middle/large midwestern city in early June is now $189 pre-tax and it is an older property with mixed reviews, not an elite example of that chain by any stretch.
Price gouging is when someone runs up prices of necessary goods during a time of emergency. In most places, it has a specific legal definition. So unless right now you're talking something like hotels raising prices to take advantage of people fleeing from an active giant wildfire or hurricane, it's not price gouging; it's the free market at work.
Apparently people think that price gouging is just charging more than they're willing to pay.
I certainly do think that. When you read the horrible reviews of many expensive big-name hotels for what they are charging especially.
quote:
Maybe back in the day this was a four star hotel. It is in some serious need of remodel. Pealing wallpaper and paint. Stains on carpets and furniture. Does not add up to $407 a night standards. The phots on there website a defiantly from their hay day. For a ********** I was deeply disappointed.
Front desk unresponsive via room phone • Toilets are old and overflow easily • Damp bed sheets • Slow and spotty internet • Guests are kicked out of the pool area before sunset • Food prices are out of control. ($36 for Cheerios and a Latte)
The ******* has gone down, Ghetto, waisted 300$. It smells like a run-down retirement home, our room had the molding tapped to the wall to keep it from falling. The pool has broken fixtures hanging on by the electrical wires.
Staff at check-in was not friendly or helpful at all, actually rude!! Property was very outdated. Musty smells in hallways. Toilet did not flush well, shower handle was broken and vent inside the shower was dirty. Was too pricey for what they had to offer. Definitely the worst hotel stay i ever had. Don't go there!!!
Air conditioner was not working,** when I spoke with the front desk they told me the whole building was out but the hallways had cold air.
**Atlanta in July - no A/C in a place charging $215/night with tax.
This place is downright shabby and yet they are charging full rates and representing it to be a nice hotel. The hallways look like a rundown tenement. The rooms are spacious but things are broken and they come dirty, as if they were not actually cleaned after the previous guests left. The balcony door was bolted shut so could not be used. Housekeeping service was requested but never came. Not once. It's literally the hotel equivalent of a slumlord operation. I will never use this hotel again.
Don’t even think about taking the stairs because they look like the background for a horror movie. The hallways look like they belong in government housing. The appliances in the suite were disgusting and there’s tons of reviews about this place having be’s bugs so we were nervous to put our luggage anywhere in the room. The bathroom had chipped paint and rust. The balconies were inaccessible, which is a good thing considering how unstable they looked, but that should be fixed. The cleanliness in the pictures are all lies. The place is gross and you shouldn’t go.
It was mold in the room. The room was nasty and got moved to another nasty room. Marijuana smoke through out the hotel. Employees were rude and high off marijuana. I’ll never visit that place ever again.
{sorry about the poor spelling and grammar on the quotes... I left them verbatim}
Last edited by smittydore; 07-21-2021 at 09:57 AM..
But, again, as she told you, "price gouging" has an actual legal definition. It's not whatever you "certainly do think" it is.
Since I am not in a court of law, the legal definition make no difference to me. If you want to call what these disappointing formerly nice back-in-the-day properties have turned into, failing to live up to their brand names while charging ridiculous rates... then go ahead and call it something else.
Some terms that could be possibly used in lieu of "price gouging" include:
But, again, as she told you, "price gouging" has an actual legal definition. It's not whatever you "certainly do think" it is.
The legal definition is only relevant to legal action. I haven't seen anyone calling for attorney generals to prosecute hotel and restaurant owner for high prices. The popular definition is whatever people want it to be and most consider it to be charging much higher prices without an underlying basis in cost to rake in high profits. And that definition is suitable for consumer boycotting and social media shaming of those businesses.
The legal definition is only relevant to legal action. I haven't seen anyone calling for attorney generals to prosecute hotel and restaurant owner for high prices. The popular definition is whatever people want it to be and most consider it to be charging much higher prices without an underlying basis in cost to rake in high profits. And that definition is suitable for consumer boycotting and social media shaming of those businesses.
But in many (most?) states, when you accuse a business of price gouging, you're accusing them of illegal practices, regardless of whether or not there's going to be legal action. If you aren't suggesting what they're doing is illegal (which it's not in this case), then it's best to use a different term.
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