Hoping to keep its 119 rooms filled, Hotel Erwin on Venice Beach is offering an unusual promotion for its countercultural clientele: an Ink and Stay package that includes $100 toward a tattoo and a bottle of tequila to numb the pain.
Down the coast at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, guests who get the Hard Rock and a Hog deal can roll through the All-American City on a Harley Davidson motorcycle that comes complimentary with a two-night stay.
But for hotel perks, it's hard to beat the deal offered at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where your stay comes with a free rental of a Mercedes, Porsche or BMW convertible.
As the U.S. hospitality industry struggles through one of the worst financial crises in more than 20 years, hotel managers are moving beyond the usual discounts and offering a wide range of creative promotions to attract business. Some deals offer big savings for guests, and others are simply meant to generate publicity.
If this all sounds desperate, it's for good reason. Occupancy rates nationwide have been hovering at below 60% this summer, the lowest levels since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Hotel revenue per available room has dropped nationwide by nearly 20% this summer, to less than $60, the steepest dive in 22 years, according to industry reports. Even worse, hotel analysts don't expect the industry to rebound until 2011 or later.
Experts blame the slump on a "perfect storm" of conditions, including the recession, an increase in new hotel openings in the last two years and a dramatic drop in business travel as corporations cut budgets.
Promotions and package deals have long been a staple of the hotel industry, particularly during slow periods. But industry experts say more hotels are relying on them to survive the recession. Not only are the deals more common but many are more creative than ever before.
Take for example, the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles, where summer room rates were tied to the high temperature in downtown Los Angeles. Under the Beat the Heat deal, if the mercury peaked at 87 degrees, a room that normally costs $119 would be $87. The deal expired this week, in time for late autumn's cooler temperatures.
At the Westin Los Angeles Airport, it's $199 for the first night, but the second night's rate equals the last two digits of your birth year. (Generation Xers born in 1967 pay $67 for the second night.) Guests must be at least 18 years old to reserve a room.
