Urban Survivor, SoCal

Air travelers quickly adapted to the concept of brown bagging their lunch aboard jets. Will hotel guests adjust as quickly when asked to bring their own towels and sheets? It's either a great new concept to beat the recession, or else one California hotel just had all its furniture repossessed and they're not fessing up. San Diego's Rancho Bernando Inn Golf Resort and Spa is calling the promotion "The Survivor Package." For $19 you get a suite with no 42-inch flat-screen TV, no wireless, no AC, no bed, no towels, no toilet paper, no lights, no nothing. What exactly do you get? Floor space. The inn, boasting a recent $25 million renovation, typically rents the same room for $219 a night with full amenities including breakfast for two.

Battered by falling numbers in the current peak season, SoCal's luxury resorts have been throwing in free spa treatments and rounds of golf lately in a desperate attempt to lure guests. By saving on amenities, Rancho Bernando guests rest in the lap of luxury, unloading their cash at the spa or knocking around the fairways, taking luxury vacations that otherwise may not have occurred. The Survivor Package, available August 16 through September 17, let's the guest name the price, deciding which amenities they're willing to forgo. A level up from the basic package, you can add a bed without sheets for $39, and the next level up at $59 gets you the toiletries.

According to Reuters, a recent forecast found that hotel revenues are presumed to fall 17 percent by year's end. However, Rancho Bernando's brilliant marketing strategy curbs those numbers. As of Sunday, the promotion racked up 420 reservations, including 240 at the $19 rate and 116 at the $39 rate. Meaning cha-ching, 420 more potential spa and green fee receipts, which are the bread and butter of luxury resorts. With literally zilch in overhead, even the room bait with its $19 price tag slides over to the profit column. As the old axiom goes, better to make 50 percent of something than 100 percent of nothing.

At any rate, I'll see you on the links.

Photo courtesy Fevi in Cayman via Flickr