Yesterday I was booking some hotels in Europe and the Middle East, and when I first made a reservation I made a common mistake.
In the US I’m so used to just making reservations for one guest, since the cost for single and double occupancy is almost always the same. However, that’s often not the case in Europe, the Middle East, etc.
For example, booking the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, the single occupancy rate for a night was ~$209:
Meanwhile the double occupancy rate was $236:
In other words, you pay a premium of ~$27 per night for the second guest.
We’re not used to this in the US, and on the surface I’m always kind of miffed when they charge extra for the second guest, since it’s not something I’m used to.
That being said, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. Shouldn’t all hotels charge extra for double occupancy?
Ultimately when you’re paying for a hotel you’re not just paying for the square footage you’re taking up, but also for the public facilities and operating costs. And there’s no denying that on average two guests take up more of those resources than one guest, be it use of gym equipment, the pool, electricity, water, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that hotels switch to a la carte pricing like low cost airlines, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me to charge for a second guest.
Of course the hope isn’t that they keep rates the same and simply add a charge for a second guest, but rather that they lower the base rate and then add a charge for the second guest to balance it out (I realize that’s not usually how it works in practice — I’m being theoretical here).
Anyway, I know this is a bit jumbled, but the more I thought about it, the more I can understand hotels charging for an extra guest.
How about you — are you opposed to hotels charging extra for double occupancy? Theoretically would you rather see hotels lower the cost for single occupancy and charge extra for double occupancy to balance things out, or do you prefer the rate to be the same regardless of whether you have one or two guests?
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