Room rates soften at Chicago’s top hotels

Chicago Hotel Reservations — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:03:18 +0000

Chicago — Visitors to Chicago this year are finding good deals on room rates at the most expensive hotels, booking information reveals.

Industry tracker Rubicon said average rates at luxury hotels in Chicago
are down 11.7 percent compared to the same time last year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

Rates for hotels classified as “upper upscale” are down 11.9 percent and overall Chicago hotel room prices have dropped 11.3 percent.

Rubicon’s report looked at approximately 56,000 hotel rooms in the Chicago market.

Nationally, rates for upper upscale hotels are down 10.9 percent in the top 25 markets, said Rubicon CEO Steve Swope.

“Demand is so soft as a result of the recession,” Swope said. “They’re continuing to fight for every bit of business that they can.”

How suite it is: Cream of the crop Chicago hotels have slashed rates nearly 12%

Chicago Hotel Reservations — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:59:15 +0000

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It’s a good time to get a deal on hotels in Chicago and nationally.

At “upper upscale” hotels — a category that includes such hotels as the Chicago Hilton, Westin, W, Hyatt and Marriott — average rates are down 11.9 percent. That is according to booking data compiled for the Sun-Times by industry expert Rubicon that looks at the first six months of 2010, compared with the first six months of 2009.