Hotel prices are going up$.$ We better plan fast." Ramesh and his wife were planning for their

summer vacation in Goa.

"Hotel Lobo in the Dabholim area has increased their prices to Rs$.5000$ per room per day. The five$-$

star properties have jacked their prices to Rs$.15000$ per day." Ramesh's wife commented after

checking up on the internet.

"Gosh, these guys are going bonkers. They tweak their software to increase prices so prospective

travelers can start booking fast artificially. Just wait a few days, and the prices will drop. The five$-$star

properties are well known for their strategies to keep the list prices high. That helps their brand

value. When you book with them, you usually get discounts of $30\%$ on those list prices. It is all

marketing."

"See here." Ramesh continued. He always thought his wife was an immature buyer who almost

always paid more for anything she purchased. On a couple of occasions, he had rebuked the local

vegetable vendors who overcharged his wife and was amused to note one of them say that "Ma'am"

was well known in the neighborhood for being a "generous" customer. Ramesh did not think that

was a particularly appealing description.

Ramesh had opened the IRCTC portal, which he knew his wife generally avoided. She thought it was

a Sarkari $($government$)$ portal that only referred to the cheaper hotels.

"Hotel rates here are in the range of Rs$.15002000$ per day. That is the standard prevailing price

for three$-$star hotels in Goa. Of course, these prices would go up five times during New Year's Eve,

but that is a different story. Many rooms here are still unbooked, which means a large unutilized

inventory that would help lower prices."

"These are all cheap, budget$-$type hotels. You can choose to wait for the prices to come down. The

prices would go up instead as the vacation time approaches. At the same time, the prices of airline

tickets would also increase, and we would end up throwing good money after a bad idea. Isn't this

what they say in English? Too clever by half."

"Ahh," Ramesh groaned. From his long experience with matrimony, he had known such discussions

generally went nowhere. It was better to pick up the pieces and live for the day to fight better battles.

"Please book on your own. Just take care that the cost of the hotel should not exceed Rs$.$

$5000$ per day." It is an example of:

Question $12$Answer

a$.$

"Typical" price

b$.$

None of the above.

c$.$

Upper bound price

d$.$

Usual discounted price