> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Visits can really cost - URL: https://www.smdp.com/visits-can-really-cost/ - Published: 2008-01-25T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T18:10:09.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Price of a hotel room reaches $275 a night according to report* CITYWIDE The beautiful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, the diverse array of restaurants whipping up award-winning cuisine and the seemingly endless opportunities to shop all combine to make Santa Monica one of the most desirable places to visit. It’s a quality experience that is clearly reflected in the hotel prices in the coastal Westside community. Overnight rates at the 35 lodgings across the city on average increased by 9.9 percent from last year, bringing the cost for one night’s stay at a little more than $275, according to figures released by the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). But despite the hike in the cost to stay in Santa Monica, the occupancy rate for these hotels and motels averaged at around 82 percent last year, according to CVB officials. “The business industry around us in the LA area, specifically in Santa Monica, has been good this year,” said Misti Kerns, the president and CEO of the CVB. “The movie business and the Internet business... has had a good year and we’re reaping some benefits.” With expensive price tags attached to accommodations at hotels like the Fairmont Miramar, Casa Del Mar and the Sheraton Delfina, finding an affordable place to stay in Santa Monica can be a challenging task at times. “The hotels on the beach are expensive because of the location and the view,” said Klaus Billep, the owner of Universal Travel System in Santa Monica. “Overall, the LA area certainly has enough choices and there are some good deals in Santa Monica.” For affordable lodgings, one might just have to look east. Billep pointed to motels and inns like the Best Western and some smaller lodgings scattered across Lincoln and Ocean Park boulevards. The Ambrose Hotel, located near St. John’s Health Center in Mid-City, offers rooms at a little less than $200 a night and offers a free shuttle service, Kerns said. “We like to see there be additional inventory of more affordable rooms, but just like anything you look at, whether it be local rents or property values... the rates will reflect what the market will pay,” Kerns said. “In our portfolio of accommodations, we are always promoting (all hotels).” “There is certainly a great amount of people that are looking for a hotel that is less than $200,” she added. The inventory of affordable rooms is expected to become more attractive when the new and improved Travelodge on Ocean Avenue opens in 2010. Owner Michael Farzam is proposing to consolidate the current Travelodge and the adjacent Pacific Sands Motel into one motel that will include 164 rooms and feature retail on the ground floor. Farzam, who also owns the Best Western Ocean View hotel one block north, is scheduled to pitch the project to the Planning Commission next month. The rooms in the three hotels average around the $110 range. The Travelodge and the Pacific Sands were both built around the 1950s. “Our vision is to really create affordable lodging in Santa Monica since it’s a much needed and underutilized niche (here),” Farzam. The Farzam family also plans to renovate the Santa Monica Motel on Lincoln Boulevard. The hotel rates spike is not isolated to Santa Monica. In Beverly Hills, hotel rooms average about $408, a 12 percent growth from the previous year, while in Marina del Rey, a region considered as the affordable alternative to Santa Monica, rates run about $177 a night, a six percent increase, according to the CVB. Occupancy rates for both areas averaged about 78 percent. In West Los Angeles, hotels run about $273 a night. “While we’re thrilled with our growth rate, we certainly haven’t gone as far as we can,” Kerns said. Kerns said she anticipated the occupancy rate will flatten out this year. Another hotel project in the pipeline is the renovation of the Shangri-La Hotel, which is expected to reopen this summer. The 69-year city landmark will reopen as a 71 room-hotel — an increase of 17 rooms — and rates will start at $325, according to Tehmina Adaya, the owner of the hotel. The hotel has been closed for about a year for renovations. “It’s going to be a different hotel,” Adaya said. “Hopefully it will stay just as charming.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 25, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012508.pdf?ref=smdp.com)