The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘supply and demand’

In all my time living Up North, both before I moved to Cambridge and on my return with Paul, I had never been to the Jorvik Viking Centre on Coppergate in York.  This museum and tourist attraction has been open many years and has become a favourite with the many tourists who queue up everyday to get in.

Yesterday as we finished off a trip into town for lunch we passed the Jorvik Viking Centre, only this time, on the spur of the moment, we went in.   We paid our entrance fee of £8.50 each and I also gift aided that fee so an extra 28p in the pound could be reclaimed by the York Archaeological Trust who own and operate this museum attraction.

We entered down some stairs and then went into a room with a large video wall for a quirky introduction to what lay ahead.  After that, we were gently carried around (Disney style) in seats that travelled through the recreated sights, sounds AND smells of York 850 – 950 AD.  Climbing out of the seats we then had the opportunity to wander through the museum itself where a number of artefact’s and information points were scattered around for you to read up on the history of the Vikings and what part they played in York.  It was actually quite interesting and our only minor complaint was that it is quite small and we were left feeling that the £8.50 entrance fee was a tad excessive.  However I suppose the old supply and demand rule kicks in and given they always have queues, you can understand why they charge so much.  Of course having allowed them to claim the tax back on our entrance fees, we do now of course have the right to re-enter the museum free of charge for the next twelve months.

Pryordurkin rating. 4 stars.

I’ve just being watching the news report that London’s congestion is back to the level it was before charging was introduced.  Is anyone actually surprised by this or am I the only one?  What we have now, is the same level of traffic, only this time, it costs the poor motorists more to grind their way through the capital.  Apparently, Transport for London, insist that without the congestion charge in place (according to BBC News) we would have hit gridlock by now.  Again, am I the only one who thinks this argument just doesn’t stand up?  Surely traffic congestion is by its nature, self regulating and actual gridlock day by day, a completely unlikely event. The Supply and demand analogy comes to mind.  Who in their right mind would actually ‘drive’ in a ‘gridlock’ every day.  It is not possible, so I suggest people would regulate themselves by other means.

Stop talking about congestion charging and get real.  It only delays normal ‘market’ forces and people (because they are generally clever, you know), will find another way.

What I have never been able to figure out in Hotels that provide mini bars in rooms, is why the prices charged are so prohibitively expensive.  It has over my working life always puzzled me, why this particular aspect of the capitalist society is immune to the normal supply and demand principles that apply to pretty much every thing else.

However at last I have found a hotel that breaks this rule once and for all, albeit in a very strange and frankly annoying way.

I arrived back at my hotel for the evening and as you will see in an earlier review, settled down to watch a bit of mindless television with a glass of wine.  I noticed in the mini bar a small 25cl bottle of white wine, checked the price and thought £3.95 was extortionate but given my current state of dress, worth taking.  It was only when I was recounting the previous evenings meal in the hotel restaurant that I remembered I had been served the same 25cl bottle of wine at £5.55.  So in my mini bar, I could buy (albeit only 1 was stocked and this is important to remember) the same bottle of wine as I had in the hotel restaurant the previous night for an extra £1.60.  OK you might think I paid a premium for the use of the restaurant.  Fair point, for now.

However this evening I wanted to stay in my room and started leafing through the short room service menu.  This time, the same bottle of wine was again priced at £5.55.  I had a choice.  Ring reception and tell them to re-fill my mini bar, where I could then take said bottle for £3.95.  Or, I could ring room service, likely to be answered by same people, and order a bottle of the same wine from the room service menu and pay £5.55.

This was an annoying option in it’s own right simply because it had no logic.  However things got worse.  Feeling a little peckish I decided to order up some food.  Like many hotels now, there is a tray charge (£2.50 here) and that itself winds me up. However it is just about (with a strong wind) justifiable on the grounds they have to carry the food upstairs.  So I browsed down the new menu, and noticed many of the exact same dishes as were served in the restaurant, only this time they were more expensive.  An example (not a good one as it shows my taste but hey, I’m working class), Benn & Jerry’s ice cream.  Served at £5.00 in the restaurant for a little tub (they don’t even try to add value these days), but on the room service menu it was £6.00.  Outrageous.  Not only were they charging £2.50 for the tray charge to bring it to my room, but the cost of the food had mysteriously gone up by 20% as well.  How can this be.  Is it me.  No logic to the pricing structure, except one that is based on the assumption customers are stupid and there to be ripped off while tired and relaxing in the hotel.  I am very tempted to stop coming to this hotel on these grounds alone.  That all being said I quite like this hotel.

The hotel accomodation is fantastic. Clean, smart, stylish and fresh from a recent refurb.  The service is generally friendly and attentive.  The lifts work (not like the Holiday In Regents Park) and the place is popular with business people and cabin crew alike. Not many tourists thank goodness.

The hotel is next to the Bloomsbury centre, where a range of (chain) restaurants and shops seem to do a roaring trade.  So instead of room service or visiting the hotel restaurant, along with colleagues I will often dine out.  Around the area there are also a good many Italian and Greek restaurants, some of which are very good indeed.  Failing all that the Waitrose shop in the Bloomsbury offers you the chance to just buy some basics and prepare your own meal in your room.

Anyway, give it a go and see if you can figure the wine pricing structure.  If you see me, I’ll be the guy asking stupid questions at the bar.

Pryordurkin rating. 3 stars.