4th Of July Hotel Rates: Michigan Cities Among Midwest’s Priciest

If you’re traveling to Traverse City, Michigan, for the Fourth of July or anytime during the pre-Labor Day vacation period, take your credit card. The Lake Michigan shore city is the most expensive summer destination in the Midwest, according to a survey of the minimum rates travelers will spend to stay a night in a hotel at their favorite destinations.

For a night’s stay in a double room at the cheapest Traverse City hotels or inns, you’ll pay an average rate of $221, according to the survey conducted by ChicagoHotels.org. The same basic room would cost $207 and $194 per night in the second- and third-most expensive destinations, Geneva, Wisconsin, and Marquette, Michigan, respectively.

Other Michigan cities landing in the top 10 most expensive Midwest destination were Ann Arbor and South Haven. Cities in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota also made the top 10.

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To be considered for the hotel industry group’s survey, a destination had to have at least 10 hotels or inns, and only 3-star or better hotels were considered, and rates were considered for four-day weekends beginning Thursdays through Aug. 24-27. The rates were established in mid-June based on research conducted on the hotel comparison website Kayak.

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South Dakota's most expensive destination is Deadwood, ranking eighth most expensive overall in the Midwest. An average of $174 per night puts it in the Top 10. A couple of dollars more expensive is Chicago, which takes the seventh position on the survey.

Here are the 10 most expensive summer destinations in the Midwest. The prices shown reflect the average rate for each destination's cheapest available double room for the time period spanning July 1-Aug. 30:

1. Traverse City, Michigan: $221
2. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: $207
3. Marquette, Michigan: $194
4. Ann Arbor, Michigan: $192
5. South Haven, Michigan: $184
6. Madison, Wisconsin: $182
7. Chicago, Illinois: $176
8. Deadwood, South Dakota: $174
9. Des Moines, Iowa: $173
10. Detroit Lakes, Minnesota: $172

See the full results of the ChicagoHotels.org survey.

Photo of Traverse City, Michigan, at dusk by Mark Cameron via Flickr Commons