Is it unreasonable for hotels to raise prices on holidays?

To explain such a problem, we should first introduce a core theory in microeconomics-supply and demand theory.

Expensive sometimes does not represent the general value of something, but because of the "short supply" in supply and demand, it is often manifested as "rare things are expensive".

For example, when the French emperor Napoleon entertained guests, the tableware of the guests was almost all silver, and only he used aluminum bowls. Some people may think that Napoleon is the emperor. How can he let the guests use their own silverware and aluminum bowls? But the fact is that in the Napoleonic era 200 years ago, there was a long history of smelting gold and silver, and silverware could be seen everywhere in the court. At that time, people had just learned to extract aluminum from bauxite, and the technology was very backward, so aluminum bowls were very rare. Napoleon used aluminum bowls to show his dignity.

In a competitive market, the relative scarcity of supply and demand determines the price of goods. When holidays come, people's demand for travel will increase, and at this time, hotel beds will be in short supply. The price of hotels will naturally go up. When the off-season comes, the demand for beds will drop, and the price will fall back at this time. This phenomenon of self-regulation between supply and demand through price and competition is what Adam Smith called the famous "invisible hand" in The Wealth of Nations.

And economics also gives the definition of "demand":

The demand for goods refers to the quantity of goods that consumers are willing and able to buy at various possible price levels within a period of time.

Then holiday hotel beds are in short supply, and we can also say that this phenomenon is a manifestation of "demand". Naturally, some people think that it is unreasonable to double the cost of holiday travel. Of course, they will also choose to travel when the travel pressure is not great.

But in our society, there are always a large number of people who are willing to spend seemingly "unreasonable" goods at various possible price levels (no matter how many times) on holidays (for a period of time) because they are willing and able to buy (not bad money).

The "irrationality" at this time just shows the rationality of the market.