Staying in a Firetower Lookout......

[Different Socks]

Can someone please explain to me why they charge such high prices for staying in a place that has no heat, no water, and sometimes no stove?

$75/night in Shasta-Trinity NF with no water, no cooking facilities, no electricity
$65/night in Willamette NF with no water
$50/night in Mt. Hood NF with no water or electricity

If the accommodations are much more rustic than staying in a cheap motel, why charge so much for it when you have to hike, drive or ski so far just to get to it and use?

[Bucherm]

They want to deter people from using them, or at least make sure that if you trash the place they have money to recoup loses.

[Different Socks]

They want to deter people from using them, or at least make sure that if you trash the place they have money to recoup loses.

I've been in alot of towers in several different states. They often don't have much to them to begin with so what would there be to trash?
Not to mention the fact that many hut systems have a better setup and actually charge much less.

[Bronk]

The simplest answer is because they can. The Len Foote Hike in is outrageously priced for what it is, but there are still people willing to pay it. As long as people are willing to pay $75, that is what they will charge.

[hunter121]

Great site. A lot of useful information here.

[Spokes]

They want to deter people from using them, or at least make sure that if you trash the place they have money to recoup loses.

I'm not so sure about the "deter" thing. In the Pacific Northwest fire tower rentals are encouraged and the fees used locally to help maintain and preserve them as historic properties.

Check it out:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/recreation/rentals/index.shtml

Most of them look really nice.

[Fiddleback]

The simplest answer is because they can. The Len Foote Hike in is outrageously priced for what it is, but there are still people willing to pay it. As long as people are willing to pay $75, that is what they will charge.

Yup, it's Economics 101. Sellers, in this case renters, are willing to provide their product at a price that buyers (rentees) are willing to pay.

FB

[shelb]

Yup, it's Economics 101.
FB

Supply and demand...

[JAK]

Ranger Gord knows alot about fire towers and stuff...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVw7XECH5eM