The Weak Dollar? Some Don't Worry
When paying $720 a night for a hotel room, what's a little currency imbalance?
LONDON, Oct. 11, 2007— -- A flurry of activity swirled about the concierge desk at the Ritz Hotel on a recent Tuesday morning. With the U.S. dollar at its weakest point in a generation against the British pound and London prices astronomical, this must have something to do with finding a favorable rate of exchange for visiting Americans or a place for bargain shopping.
But no, the buzz is all about last-minute requests for tickets to a tour of nearby Buckingham Palace, the final day it will be open to the public until next year. And guests are saying, "Don't worry about the price."
That's in sharp contrast to travel industry surveys, including one recently from Cheaptickets.com. For the first time they show Americans increasingly choosing destinations other than Great Britain because of the weak dollar and high prices.
But at the Ritz, "It's business as usual," says Michael De Cozar, the concierge, who is in his 35th year of catering to the needs (and whims) of the hotel's guests. And some business: A standard room is $720 a night and the most expensive suite is $10,000 a night (breakfast not included).
Rates at other London luxury hotels are similar. But even in this time of an uncertain U.S. economy and the high cost of going abroad, there are Americans willing to pay for luxury and pampering and famous brands.
"Certainly," says Stephen Boxall, the Ritz's general manager, "we are concerned about the pound." How much higher can hotel prices go? "They are reaching a plateau where they tend to flatten."
The 133-room Ritz sits next to Green Park on Piccadilly. Now family owned, it was opened by the legendary Cesar Ritz in 1906. Its original French Chateau design and Louis XVI interiors have been completely restored.
Forty-five percent of the guests are Americans. And if the price has had an effect, says Boxall, it is that "Americans used to stay here three or four times a year, now, more people are traveling once a year," but the percentage of Americans sleeping at the Ritz each night hasn't changed; they are still willing to spend.
