In reply to Jeffro.

One reason you wouldn't pay $200 for a theme is because you don't need it for your business. If you have a hotel or school, you need a niche theme or a different website solution altogether, so your options might be:

1. $50 - $100 from ThemeForest or another shop that makes all types of themes and doesn't specialize in hotel or school themes. The features may or may not be ideal because the maker may or may not be totally familiar with the industry. The theme may or may not receive improvements because the focus has shifted again to making another type of theme.

2. $200 for a hotel or school theme from a provider that specializes in those types of themes. That's their focus so they probably understand better what will be useful to you and are more likely to bring improvements to their niche products because that's the only kind of product they have.

3. Solutions not using a pre-made WordPress theme almost always cost significantly more, maybe $1,000 or more. I'm not familiar with the hotel or school industries so this is just a guess.

I'd look strongly at the $200 option if I was in the market for a niche theme. It's probably only a little more than the themes from people who don't focus on the niche when compared to alternative solutions. A hotel will probably be willing to spend more to have a nice website than the cost of sheets for one bed. Likewise, a school will probably be willing to spend more than the cost of a few desks for one room.

As a maker of niche WordPress themes, what Dumitru is doing with AcademiaThemes and HermesThemes is super interesting to me. I hope he shares more about his experience with this "high price" model. WordPress people tend to compare WordPress solutions to WordPress solutions but real-world customers usually compare all solutions, whether WordPress or not. That's the whole picture.