Yesterday I ran across a post on a “social networking” site where a person actually said “I have never found a hotel under $88 that was any different from tent camping.” I am always amazed when I come across examples of arrogance-fueled ignorance. This would be one.

First off, on our trip and then in our month back in Chicago before we moved in to our new home, we spent 114 nights in hotels and never once spent $88 a night. In fact, we averaged $39 a night. Every night was an experience far better than “tent camping.” We only had two bad hotel experiences on our journey and one of those was the most expensive on our trip – $75.

Aside from the odd choice of $88 as the dividing line between real hotels and “tent camping,” it is truly absurd to think such a dividing line exists. Hotels do not exist in a dualism of good-versus-crap. Like most of reality, hotels exist upon a continuum of quality. There is no magic number, $88 or otherwise, where hotels start to become quality.

The other big problem with this person’s “argument” is the idea that price necessarily determines the quality of the hotel. Sometimes you do get what you pay for but often you are paying for unnecessary extras the hotel adds to appeal to guests’ vanity. Sure, you could stay at one of those hotels that charge $100-200 a night and what exactly are you getting? Brass and marble accents in the lobby? An extra pillow sham? Fancy little bottles of skin lotion? A robe you could buy for twice what it is worth? A mini-bar with items priced three times what they are worth? A pool that you can share with screaming children? Room service with $5 delivery charge and 18% gratuity added? A concierge who will steer you to whatever restaurant paid him the most to recommend them?

Another “service” the fancy hotels offer is doing laundry for you. They don’t allow you to do laundry yourself, you have to pay them to do laundry; per piece. Not dry cleaning, just regular washing and drying, can cost you over $10 for a load of laundry. At the “budget” hotels it’s $1.50 to wash, $1.50 to dry and you have control over it.

I remember one night that I was at a restaurant/bar across the street from a “budget” hotel where I was staying. A few seats down the bar was a guy complaining to the bartender about the 3-star hotel he was staying at next door. He was paying $129 a night and the hotel was charging him an extra $12.95 a night for Internet, which didn’t even work half the time, he said. Across the street I was paying $25 a night through Priceline. I lacked pillow shams and little bottles of smelly stuff, but my room was comfortable, hardly “tent camping.” I could stay for five nights for what he was spending to stay one; and I had free Internet. It worked just fine.

In short, the fancy hotels charge you more from the start and then seem to do everything they can to somehow extract more money out of you. They get away with it because people want to think that by paying more they are getting more and they want to feel like they are important. It’s like buying a designer label – it’s not better, it just allows you more bragging rights. Ms. $88-a-Night is just paying more so she can look down on others. I’d rather pocket the money; I hate braggarts and don’t want to be one.