Want free wifi and breakfast all in? Choose a cheaper hotel!

This super piece by Jonah Lehrer on behavioural economics on our frequent reliance on mental accounting as a cognitive short-cut reminded me of a bad choice made last week when I stayed at Jury’s Inn in Chelsea ahead of our Global Economy Enrichment Event.

I should have known better than to accept the offer of a £20 upgrade to an executive room which included free broadband internet.

For all I know the room on the 6th floor was no different to any of the two hundred below. New to the area and unaware of a friendly coffee shop that might have offered web access for a few quid, I mentally assigned the extra cost to a bill that was already in three figures and which I would not have to pay for another 24 hours - choosing instead the easy route to a more convenient existence. Then the hotel scalped me for a pretty sub-standard breakfast the next morning and my copy of the FT never arrived.

Revenge of a certain type has come in the form of a stinging review for fellow travellers on the Trip Advisor web site!

Back to the Lehrer article - it draws on a well-known experiment from behavioural economist Richard Thaler about the loss of money or a ticket (worth the same) on the way to an event and the inconsistent choices that many seem to make when asked about their likely response. If you are interested, the problem is posed in this article dated 2007 from the Washington Post.

One question to consider is whether the loss of a ticket or cash that on the surface has the same value IS equivalent? For example providing you have proof of purchase of the ticket, you might be able to claim another one from the venue.

I forked out £20 for a paltry room upgrade and some expensive web access .... and four nights later I spent the same on a ticket to the O2 to watch an evening of Premier League darts. Now that was worth it! Over 10,000 people at a darts match and a fantastic atmosphere from beginning to end!