01-26-2016, 02:34 PM
(01-26-2016, 08:03 AM)plam Wrote:(01-26-2016, 07:48 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: Is it really a thriving business model (e.g. The former, not current, Waterloo Inn)? Or a vestige of decades ago, when you might have driven along highway 7, and decided that it was just too dark/tired/rainy to go on, and the "winning" motel was whichever one you stumbled, pre-GPS, upon first? Nowadays, there's no excuse for being unable to find the Delta in Waterloo (take Bridgeport exit, turn right on Erb, arrive).
Pre-GPS and pre-smartphone. I'll usually use an app to reserve a room before I get to a hotel. I can't remember the last time I asked about rack rates at a hotel. It seems like it would be more than 10 years ago. And that's in non-G20 countries too.
Plus, it's not like the 85 is on the way to a lot of places. This business model would have worked better on Route 66 for instance.
Having recently guided visiting coworkers to the selection of local hotels, they unanimously preferred hotels out by St Jacobs instead of in the city (i.e. the Delta Waterloo or whatever the Four Seasons is now) due to ease of driving to them and to the office (on the North side of Waterloo), and also because of a $15-20/night price difference.