Slog - Comments on Hotel Deathwatch http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch It’s a bad time to build hotels, according to a story in today’s NYT. High gas prices, more expensive airfares, fewer flights, and the advent of the staycation are keeping down occupancy rates. But the cranes are still going up. The industry now has about 6,000 new hotels, with nearly 800,000 rooms, under development, a 27 percent increase from last year, according to Lodging Econometrics, a consulting firm in Portsmouth, N.H. About 2,000 of those hotels are already under construction, and construction is scheduled to begin on many more in the next year…. But perhaps more telling is the number... Copyright 2008 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:28:15 -0800 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:06:57 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by rjh Strictly anecdotal, but my son works at the Marriott Waterfront, and they were trying to find a hotel room for a couple (as a courtesy since they were full) a few Saturday nights ago. Everything in Seattle, Bellevue, Seatac, etc., was full: They found exactly one room, in a cheapo hotel in Kirkland, for $160.

Yes, it's the height of tourist season, but this was also a weekend, when there is very little business travel, particularly in the summer. So there seems to be quite a bit of demand.

]]> rjh http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090446 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090446 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:37:11 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave yeah, 2 weeks ago was nuts. there was nary a hotel room available, seriously.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090523 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090523 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:04:05 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Just take the light rail to Sea Tac and get a hotel there - and you can get a B&B in most Seattle neighborhoods for a fraction of that.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090533 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090533 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:06:47 -0800 Comment by Slim Please stop saying "staycation", oh and "veepstakes".

]]> Slim http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090645 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090645 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:00:11 -0800 Comment by Greg So when are condos going to get turned into apartments? When?

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090648 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090648 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:01:14 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden @ 4) You're right, "staycation" is a gay word, but it serves a function. "Veepstakes," on the other hand, is repugnant and should be discarded.

@5) Most of the new housing going up around town--especially 3-6 story buildings in neighborhoods--are apartments. Even many buildings originally proposed as condos are being built as apartments.

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090669 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090669 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:10:51 -0800 Comment by Cornichon 1 Hotel's hotshot restaurateur, Stephen Hanson, is featured in today's Restaurants & Institutions magazine. Twas Hanson who named the hotel's restaurant..."Ocean." Obsessive-compulsive guy should have checked first. "Oceanaire" is just up the street, "Earth & Ocean" even closer.

]]> Cornichon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090794 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090794 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:14:26 -0800 Comment by K Yeah, well, that doesn't explain why hotel prices in such hot vacation spots as Walla Walla or Richmond BC are through the roof.

]]> K http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090861 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1090861 Boom Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:37:08 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Check out the bar at the new Arctic Club Hotel--it's fantastic!

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1091059 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/hotel_deathwatch#c1091059 Boom Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:06:57 -0800