Happy Portugal Day to all of you!

[crazy canuck]

The cost of it - about 300k CDN total.

So, like $14.75 US?  Sweet.

Yeah, and they charge you the same as what they charge their neighbour.  They also love English speakers.

[crazy canuck]

When I sell properties there's no way I'd take less money than the highest offer.

Excellent.  But we moved on to the cost of vacationing there. 

[Berkut]

Not for Anglos, prices are multiplied by 2 or 3 for them.

Still inexpensive.

Who wants to live somewhere with a bunch of people looking to gouge you based on your skin color though? That's definitely a hard pass.

I hate to break it to you, but you will need to stay within your home territory.  Almost everywhere I know of charges out of towners more - including here.  Whistler even charges Vancouverites more than locals.

Huh, most every place I've visited had just one listed priced for things.

I mean, obviously if you are visiting a tourist destination, that prices is higher then normal, but that is for everyone not just "Anglos".

Yeah, what you are seeing is the listed price for you. 

If you think that is the price the locals are paying, well if that makes you feel better, I won't expend more effort disabusing you of that belief.

That isn't the question. The question is whether some specific group is being gouged.

And again, I've worked in plenty of tourist destinations. I can assure you we did not have different prices for "locals".  Indeed, most of the time I would not even know who was local or not - the USA is a pretty diverse place, so I would not even be able to just determine some customer was a Japanese tourist, for example. They might be an a Japanese person who lives in the US, for example. I wonder how people in Portugal make sure they gouge only the right people.

Locals just didn't go to tourist destinations.

Might be different in Canada of course - they might be a lot more tolerant of just straight out bigotry?

I don't think so though - I've been to Toronto plenty of times for example - even Niagara Falls. I am pretty sure I paid the exact same prices Canadians paid in both places. Especially since I would, for example, go to dinner with local Canadian friends sometimes, and they seemed to pay the exact same prices I did.

So it seems odd to me - I've worked in tourist destinations, and visited tourist destinations, so I suspect I have a pretty good handle on how pricing works.

Never seen any "We charge everyone 8.99 for the cheeseburger, unless you think they are "foreign" in which case, charge them 24.99".

[The Brain]

When I sell properties there's no way I'd take less money than the highest offer.

Excellent.  But we moved on to the cost of vacationing there.

When I rent out properties there is no way I'd take less money than the highest offer.

[Habbaku]

CC, can you provide some examples of when you've paid the "local" price vs. the listed price for out-of-towners and how significant that discount was? Restaurants? Auto shops? Major chains or mom and pops?

[The Brain]

Not for Anglos, prices are multiplied by 2 or 3 for them.

Still inexpensive.

Who wants to live somewhere with a bunch of people looking to gouge you based on your skin color though? That's definitely a hard pass.

I hate to break it to you, but you will need to stay within your home territory.  Almost everywhere I know of charges out of towners more - including here.  Whistler even charges Vancouverites more than locals.

Huh, most every place I've visited had just one listed priced for things.

I mean, obviously if you are visiting a tourist destination, that prices is higher then normal, but that is for everyone not just "Anglos".

Yeah, what you are seeing is the listed price for you. 

If you think that is the price the locals are paying, well if that makes you feel better, I won't expend more effort disabusing you of that belief.

That isn't the question. The question is whether some specific group is being gouged.

And again, I've worked in plenty of tourist destinations. I can assure you we did not have different prices for "locals".  Indeed, most of the time I would not even know who was local or not - the USA is a pretty diverse place, so I would not even be able to just determine some customer was a Japanese tourist, for example. They might be an a Japanese person who lives in the US, for example. I wonder how people in Portugal make sure they gouge only the right people.

Locals just didn't go to tourist destinations.

Might be different in Canada of course - they might be a lot more tolerant of just straight out bigotry?

I don't think so though - I've been to Toronto plenty of times for example - even Niagara Falls. I am pretty sure I paid the exact same prices Canadians paid in both places. Especially since I would, for example, go to dinner with local Canadian friends sometimes, and they seemed to pay the exact same prices I did.

So it seems odd to me - I've worked in tourist destinations, and visited tourist destinations, so I suspect I have a pretty good handle on how pricing works.

Never seen any "We charge everyone 8.99 for the cheeseburger, unless you think they are "foreign" in which case, charge them 24.99".

FWIW I don't think the Canadian system would be legal in Sweden.

[Berkut]

FWIW I don't think the Canadian system would be legal in Sweden.

I am trying to think how I would make that work.

I've run restaurants in tourist locations, and I've worked in them.

I mean, if my boss told me I had to make decisions on people background, how would I do that? Some people are *obviously* tourists, sure, but most tourists do not really look like tourists, and actually try pretty hard to not look overly clueless.

I suspect I would get that wrong a lot, and the very criteria CC and those who think this is how things work and should work would have to define would pretty much be completely impossible to differentiate from simple racism. I mean...if they don't speak English, should I assume they are tourists? Aren't very white looking? What exactly should I use so I can decide which price to charge them?

Would it be like a sliding scale based on how "Anglo" (or in the case of Canada/US/UK how "Not Anglo") they appeared?

Seems pretty fraught to me, but apparently CC and everyone else has this locked down.

And yeah, I am pretty sure any actual system would get you immediately fired and your business shut down for discrimination on the basis of race.

[crazy canuck]

CC, can you provide some examples of when you've paid the "local" price vs. the listed price for out-of-towners and how significant that discount was? Restaurants? Auto shops? Major chains or mom and pops?

Sure.  A very good example is two blocks away from my house.  The most touristed spot in BC is the Capilano suspension bridge.

https://www.capbridge.com/

If you go there, you will pay 54 bucks, along with everyone else outside this area.  I get in for free.  Mrs. CC and I pop in when it is relatively empty of tourists - which these days is fairly often.  Nice place to go for a walk.

At Whistler, there is a locals discount from the posted price on everything from lift tickets to meals at restaurants.  The amount of the discount varies but is about 20%.

At my favourite spot in Croatia, after the second week, they gave me the local price which was not on the menu - I made up the difference in the savings by increasing the tip.

Might be different in Canada of course - they might be a lot more tolerant of just straight out bigotry?

Lots of businesses have variable pricing practices.  Some are based on grounds that are protected under human rights codes and are improper. Others are not.  You are lumping all variable pricing practices into the categorie of being bigoted which I doubt is accurate.

[crazy canuck]

FWIW I don't think the Canadian system would be legal in Sweden.

I am trying to think how I would make that work.

I've run restaurants in tourist locations, and I've worked in them.

I mean, if my boss told me I had to make decisions on people background, how would I do that? Some people are *obviously* tourists, sure, but most tourists do not really look like tourists, and actually try pretty hard to not look overly clueless.

I suspect I would get that wrong a lot, and the very criteria CC and those who think this is how things work and should work would have to define would pretty much be completely impossible to differentiate from simple racism. I mean...if they don't speak English, should I assume they are tourists? Aren't very white looking? What exactly should I use so I can decide which price to charge them?

Would it be like a sliding scale based on how "Anglo" (or in the case of Canada/US/UK how "Not Anglo") they appeared?

Seems pretty fraught to me, but apparently CC and everyone else has this locked down.

And yeah, I am pretty sure any actual system would get you immediately fired and your business shut down for discrimination on the basis of race.

I suspect your experience and knowledge is not as vast as you might think

[PDH]

In Big Sur the couple of gas stations have listed prices but locals get a discount if they are known.  Even with the discount, only in emergencies will a local get gas there as it is still astronomical, but when Dave borrows your truck and returns it without enough gas to get to town, you do what you have to.  Fucking Dave...

Now the tourists who fly into San Francisco or wherever and find that they need gas since there is no other gas for 70 miles on Highway 1 get to to pay the hefty amount.

[alfred russel]

FWIW I don't think the Canadian system would be legal in Sweden.

I am trying to think how I would make that work.

I've run restaurants in tourist locations, and I've worked in them.

I mean, if my boss told me I had to make decisions on people background, how would I do that? Some people are *obviously* tourists, sure, but most tourists do not really look like tourists, and actually try pretty hard to not look overly clueless.

I suspect I would get that wrong a lot, and the very criteria CC and those who think this is how things work and should work would have to define would pretty much be completely impossible to differentiate from simple racism. I mean...if they don't speak English, should I assume they are tourists? Aren't very white looking? What exactly should I use so I can decide which price to charge them?

Would it be like a sliding scale based on how "Anglo" (or in the case of Canada/US/UK how "Not Anglo") they appeared?

Seems pretty fraught to me, but apparently CC and everyone else has this locked down.

And yeah, I am pretty sure any actual system would get you immediately fired and your business shut down for discrimination on the basis of race.

I suspect your experience and knowledge is not as vast as you might think

Hell I once went to a small restaurant in Tokyo where they didn't have prices (or menus). You just went in and the chef served you what he wanted, and then charged what he wanted. It was understood that long time regulars would pay less than others. (a local guy took me there)

[Berkut]

The claim isn't that this sometimes happens, it is that it "almost always" happens.

So pointing out the singular times that discounts are given to locals doesn't really tell us anything other than it "sometimes" happens.

Given that I've provided counter examples where I can personally attest that this does not happen in plenty of cases, I think the claim that people routinely, in tourist locations, keep seperate prices for "Anglos" and non-Anglos, is pretty unsupported.

Hell, I get a discount at the local diner because they know me and like me and I am a regular. Has nothing to do with them charging "non-locals" 2-3 times as much as a matter of routine.

I am just glad most of the world is not as casually bigoted as apparently some places are, and am confident that I can continue to mostly successfully avoid the places that celebrate their contempt for "others".

[crazy canuck]

It seems that most people have experienced locals getting better prices. 

Consider for a moment that maybe your experience may not be representative of what happens in the rest of the world.

edit: your contempt for others is on full display, so yeah, best to stay where you are.  I should have just come to that conclusion when Duque told you to stay away initially.

[Barrister]

We went to Brazil 8 years ago for my brother's wedding (his wife is from there).  We wound up going to several touristy areas, but more in a 'appeals to tourists from other parts of Brazil' kind of way, rather than appealing to anglos.

What we were told, and what we noticed, is that yes if you go sit down at a restaurant that has fixed prices on the menu you're going to pay those fixed prices.  But a lot of shops the prices are much more negotiable, and we were told by my sister-in-law's family to always bring a family member with us to negotiate and get a better price.  Whether that's a lingering resentment to tourists, or just being able to speak the language, is impossible to tell.

[Duque de Bragança]

We went to Brazil 8 years ago for my brother's wedding (his wife is from there).  We wound up going to several touristy areas, but more in a 'appeals to tourists from other parts of Brazil' kind of way, rather than appealing to anglos.

What we were told, and what we noticed, is that yes if you go sit down at a restaurant that has fixed prices on the menu you're going to pay those fixed prices.  But a lot of shops the prices are much more negotiable, and we were told by my sister-in-law's family to always bring a family member with us to negotiate and get a better price.  Whether that's a lingering resentment to tourists, or just being able to speak the language, is impossible to tell.

You may be onto something.