$855 a Night? Can We Talk? | nytimes.com

Average daily hotel rates in the United States are expected to drop 9.7 percent for the year, to $96.43, according to Smith Travel Research, which tracks the industry. That would be the steepest year-over-year decrease since Smith began tracking hotel data in 1987. To fill rooms, hotels are offering special sales on their own Web sites, turning to third-party sites like Expedia.