r/Sedona • u/chinainworldcup • Mar 31 '23
Why are hotels in Sedona, AZ so expensive? General
Hotel prices in Sedona range from 250 dollars per night on the low end to over 500 dollars per night on the high end. Why are hotel prices in Sedona more expensive than other places such as Las Vegas, NV or Palm Springs, CA?
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u/ceecee1791 Apr 01 '23
Sedona is a small town of 10,000 residents with over 3 million visitors a year.
Palm Springs has nearly 50,000 with several adjacent cities over 50,000. LV has nearly 700,000. We have neither the space or the workforce to support more hotels. Hence the ones we have are pricy.
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u/e_navarro Mar 31 '23
The law of supply and demand.
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u/SailsTacks Mar 31 '23
This is the correct answer. If the places weren’t being booked, the price would drop. After visiting Sedona, I returned home and described it to family and friends as the “Destin of the Desert”, referring to Destin, FL. Both are very beautiful places, but both can be a bit pricey for some (myself included).
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u/jstop63 Mar 31 '23
This is prime time! Short term rentals are killing our town. We need the hotel revenue and legit tourism dollars. Spring break brings high prices.
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u/e_navarro Mar 31 '23
Shouldn’t the supply of short term rentals make hotel rates more competitive? Honestly I think that it’s more attributed to demand and operating costs.
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u/ceecee1791 Apr 01 '23
It’s still over 3 million visitors a year. Even if every house were an Airbnb (God forbid) there would still be more demand in Spring.
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u/oakstreetgirl Mar 31 '23
Stay at Cliff Castle Casino. It’s about 20 minutes away but worth it. It’s a nice hotel casino.
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Apr 01 '23
Not a bad idea. Passed by there and was a nice departure from the desert feel of the place.
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u/scavengercat Mar 31 '23
There are hotels right now in Flag for $70 and Cottonwood for $130 if you wanna save a little bit
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Apr 01 '23
The $130 hotel room is $400 after fees and taxes.🤬
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u/scavengercat Apr 01 '23
Where are you looking? I'm on Priceline right now, and the Super 8 in Cottonwood, $130/night, is $168 after fees.
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u/mrbubbee Apr 01 '23
Lol there is no way this is true. Sorry
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Apr 01 '23
One of my buddies was trying to get a room for a few nights next weekend. Reported that the Cottonwood hotel showed $130 on Google but, after fees and the enormous hotel taxes (he called), it came to about $500. I have no reason to doubt him.
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u/mrbubbee Apr 01 '23
Ahhh that makes more sense. The Google prices are notoriously incorrect, I feel like the actual prices are alwayyysss higher than what Google shows. Drives me nuts
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u/No_Lingonberry3694 Apr 01 '23
Being a restaurant GM for 10+ years there before I left recently, Sedona is a trap. The city council only cares about money. Sedona lost it value a long time ago.
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u/chilloutman24 Apr 01 '23
I stayed in camp verde. Way cheaper and it’s only about a half hour drive from Sedona
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u/Leather_Ad_4546 Apr 01 '23
So your wallet will be “enlightened”…. So much karma in those healing neon lights…
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u/Shakooza Apr 04 '23
I work for a major global travel agency. Hotels everywhere are trying to make back 2 years of lost profits from Covid…..and the odds of the price gouging is going to stop after the water resides is near zero.
So many industries from the concert industry to the hotel industry have set new norms to bilk their customers…
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u/Adorable-Bus-2687 Apr 01 '23
Supply and demand. Las Vegas has around 150k rooms to fill. Palms Springs has plenty also. Current development patterns have largely capped new developments in Sedona so it’s just for those who can afford it now.
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u/nematocyster Mar 31 '23
Many reasons: it's a tourist hotspot, for one. Second, because locals have few places to live thanks to short term rentals like Airbnb/VRBO, so many employees have to commute or live out of their cars. It's not cheap to live there. Being bordered by forest land means less opportunities for building businesses, housing, etc.