Promising the presidential suite for the price of a budget motel room, a hotel auction site called
OffAndAway recently began operating online.
Two nights in the Tata Suite at the Pierre in New York — list price: $40,000 — was the first to go up for auction at the Web site, which deals the best room in the house at each participating hotel. The room ultimately went for $938.25.
Unlike most auction sites, which list a base price, Off & Away starts a sale at zero with minimum bids of $.25, and continues for 24 to 48 hours, closing on the highest bid when time expires. To keep the noncommitted from running up the price artificially, the site requires bidders to buy “bid packs,” essentially chits sold in $10, $20, $50 and $100 increments and used to raise the auction price.
According to its chief executive officer Doug Aley, the financial commitment ensures only those serious about their hotel stay will bid for $20,000 suites normally patronized by the rich and famous. This way, high-end hotels generate revenue on rooms that would otherwise be visited only by housekeeping.
“We’d like to democratize the process a little and get other people to experience these amazing suites,” he said