Downtown hotel prices in large cities in North America have basically gone through the roof over the past 10 years. I first noticed this in 2012 when I wanted to stay in Portland, Maine and couldn't find anything over $300 a night in the downtown. I ended up staying in a Super 8 out by the Turnpike, which was grossly overpriced at $150 a night. It just got worse from there, except there were some bargains during Covid in 2021. Now I consider myself lucky if I can find a room in a large city downtown at less than $300 a night. The suburbs and small markets aren't much better, they're cheaper, but still overpriced for what you get.
To think, when I started traveling for work in 1979, I stayed in the Lord Salisbury Motel in Salisbury, MD for $18 a night. It was a bit of a dump, but relatively clean and secure. I would have stayed at the Holiday Inn next door, but that was $25 a night, which exceeded our per diem allowance. As my career progressed and I started earning more money, I sometimes stayed at nicer places and paid the difference out of pocket. Also, the per diem allowance went up, and for most of my career, it was pretty adequate most of the time.
