What's up with the hotel prices?

I get the impression that I am being taken advantage of as a tourist. I understand that there is a relatively limited tourism season in the mid-west but great googly moogly, hotel rates nearly double in the summer months. And as if that weren%26#39;t bad enough, nearly double again on weekends in summer. But wait there%26#39;s more, the weekend is three nights long in Indiana.

Is this summer weekend price gouging limited to lodging or can the same be expected of restaurants, service stations and the like?

What's up with the hotel prices?

Indy does many conventions %26amp; you may find yourself competing with these for rooms. Also, race weekends will be difficult as well. Better rates can be found outside of the downtown area. As far as I know, restaurant rates do not change, but will be more crowded during conventions %26amp; races. Have you tried the Hilton Garden Inn? I checked their rates for a weekend in June %26amp; they were similar to winter rates. Others recommend the Columbia Club, but I don%26#39;t have personal experience with it as a hotel, only has a club. Good luck.

What's up with the hotel prices?

It probably is really a supply-demand thing. There are several major events during the summer months (such as Brickyard 400) that can drive prices up, and as shutterbug said, the conventions and trade shows are pretty steady. It%26#39;s feast or famine. Winter is slow and then it%26#39;s really busy during the summer months. There%26#39;s no gouging on prices that I%26#39;ve seen, though I will say that one restuarant -- Champions in the Marriott -- significantly raised its prices due to a major downtown event. I confronted the server about it (this was a couple of years ago) and he admitted that it was due to a big event in town. I had eaten there only days before and then the prices had gone up ridiculously. It%26#39;s the only time I%26#39;ve ever seen it happen.

Again, what days are you looking at in the summer? As my cohorts have mentioned, there are some key dates in the summer to avoid (Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 weekends in particular.) And it is true...many conventions plus nice weather equal higher prices.

I%26#39;m sure restaurants (and I know hotels) do raise their prices during the big race weekends. Those are money-maker weekends for the city. If you can find a city or town that doesn%26#39;t do this with similar large events, I%26#39;d be shocked.

I just checked kayak.com for July 4 weekend, and found several hotels downtown for around $100/nt. That%26#39;s not bad for downtown...actually, it%26#39;s pretty good. Also, if you are willing to be a little more flexible, you can try bidding on Priceline. I%26#39;ve gotten my sister a room downtown for $50/nt in the summer.

Let us know how we can help. As far as prices go, Indy is a reasonable city, even in the summer!

Thanks, I appreciate the input and suggestions. I%26#39;ve been looking further and further out of town but so far have found very little to my liking at a reasonable price.

I am aware of several available hotels that charge less than $100 per night regardless of the season. I have also read some particularly unsettling reviews of those same hotels right here at tripadvisor.com.

Price is not my biggest concern although it is not my smallest either. I do however expect a particular level of quality and service from a room in the $150-$200 per night range that seems far more the norm in the Indianapolis area.

Perhaps I am attempting to reserve a room too far in advance and not getting a rate that may be available closer to the date of my trip?

I think I may have found the place.

Quality Inn

150 Lovers Lane

Franklin, IN

There%26#39;s a rate increase for the season and weekend nights but much more reasonably so than I%26#39;ve been seeing elsewhere. There are a number of glowing reviews here at tripadvisor that date back a few years. This wouldn%26#39;t be my first choice based on proximity to my destination but not my last either.

If anyone has any comments or recommendations with respect to this particular hotel, I thank you for posting them please.

When I submitted the above post, the name of the hotel was automatically hyperlinked to different hotel.

the url of the tripadvisor page for the hotel I am considering is:

tripadvisor.com/鈥EVIEWS

Can%26#39;t speak for this hotel personally, but Franklin is quite a way out of the city. Some of us indigenous peoples could probably give you better insight about what%26#39;s going on with pricing and the best area to stay if you can post the dates you%26#39;ll be here and where you%26#39;ll be spending most of your time while in town.

I agree with HonkHonk. Franklin is about a half hour drive from downtown. Nothing to see or do at that intersection of the interstate except to check out the truck stops and cornfields. It seems it would be a bit of a waste to come to Indianapolis and stay in Franklin.

You must be looking at a weekend of either the races or Gencon (a large convention downtown.) Typical weekends in the summer are not 3 day weekends.

If you can be flexible on the weekend you are here, there are a ton of great deals on Kayak.com for summer weekends.

July 10-12: Westin for $109, Canterbury for $132, Columbia Club for $148, Conrad for $169. All very nice hotels in the center of downtown. There are small inns and b%26amp;bs on the Old Northside (Villa Inn, Looking Glass, Stonesoup...) Breakfast at the b%26amp;bs are included, and the Villa Inn was just named a 4 star inn by AAA. The rooms at the 3 inns I just mention are between $100-$225.

And, you can try Priceline this early. I was a bit shocked when I got a downtown Seattle hotel for $79 in June on a Friday night. The hotel website was $229. Be date flexible, and do a little bargain hunting... you will find something downtown.

The trouble is the dates are not flexible. We%26#39;re coming out for the brickyard 400 on the 7/26 and campingworld truck race on 7/24 at o%26#39;reilly raceway. So, we expect to spend Thursday thru Sunday nights.

I agree that half hour drive is less than desirable but I suspect raceday traffic is going to make any drive a long drive. It would be nice however, to be a little closer to town for sightseeing on the other days we%26#39;re there.

I had originally been looking in Brownsberg for it%26#39;s proximity to both tracks but prices there have skyrocketed in recent weeks and rooms are becoming harder and harder to come by.

*Note: My earlier comment regarding three day weekends was in reference to several hotels charging ';weekend'; rate for Friday, Saturday %26amp; Sunday. Increasing rates for two nights on the weekend I can understand but for three I feel like these hotels are at best taking advantage of tourists and at worst illegally price gouging.

That answers a lot. The Brickyard 400 attendance last year was nearly 300,000. The 400 and 500 races pretty much wipe out the hotels in the entire metro area and beyond. It%26#39;s like trying to get a hotel room in Times Square on New Year%26#39;s Eve. My best advice is to make your arrangements pretty quick before there%26#39;s nothing to be had at any price.