If you are traveling for pleasure, be it seldom or frequently, there are probably a lot of tips and secrets to obtaining accommodation deals that you've never had a chance to learn. Lots of leisure travelers stick with internet bargains at an unknown hotel when they could be dealing with their favorite hotel directly and get a better price. Many seasoned business travelers, performers on tour and hospitality industry workers know the secrets to getting a fantastic deal at any hotel, whether they are taking a last minute trip or have planned a trip for months in advance. Don't settle for a measly five percent discount for AAA or senior citizens any more! Use these methods to obtain a comfortable hotel room (even at a five star accommodation) at a truly reasonable price.
Booking in advance:
1.) If at all possible, try to call the actual hotel (or what is called the in-house reservation line) rather than a national or corporate number. Many popular hotel chains offer these national reservation lines in order to make the reservation process more uniform and streamlined. While this may be more convenient as they run 24 hours a day and you need know only one number, there are many things these national reservation lines cannot do for you. The first is to tell you about the hotel you will be staying at. Only an in-house reservation clerk can tell you how big the pool is, request a specific room, or give you an idea of their restaurant's menu and local attractions. The second thing national lines can't tell you is why a hotel may be full. What you will never find out from the national line is that there is a huge college graduation in town and on your particular weekend every hotel for miles is booked solid. An in-house reservation clerk can tell you if the hotel is holding a block of rooms for a particular function, whether rooms are likely to open up, and if worse comes to worse, where the nearest decent hotel with rooms is located. The last thing a national reservation line cannot tell you is anything but the rack rate of the hotel. An in-house reservation agent can tell you which deals are available (provided you ask for them) and which weeks there are likely to be special rates. For all these reasons, it's worth taking ten minutes to locate the local hotel number in the phone book or online to reach the in-house reservation clerk.
2.) Make sure you let a clerk know the reason you are coming to the area. Many reservation agents are now trained to ask the reason for your trip, but if they don't ask, make sure to tell them! Almost no one has to pay the rack rate any more. Because of more business partnerships and contracted rooms (local businesses guarantee a hotel they will buy so many rooms a year in return for discounted rates), almost every reason you can think of guarantees you a significant discount but you must ask about it. If you are coming for work, see if your company has worked out a deal with the hotel you are staying at. If you are going to the hot local attraction (i.e. a ski resort, beach or concert hall) see if the hotel has a rate for that, because many do in order to encourage guests to stay at that hotel rather than their competition. If you are coming for a special event or conference, even as small as a family wedding, ask if their is a block of rooms set aside for it or a discount for attendees. Even if a discount isn't already in place, many reservation managers will scramble to create one when they find out there is a possibility of getting a group. Most hotels have bereavement and medical rates, if you need to stay near a loved one in the hospital or attend a funeral service. It may feel odd asking for these rates, but most hotels will be happy to help, knowing you will return in happier times if they can make you comfortable in your time of need.
3.) If there is a free vip membership, join it, even if you don't think you will use it that often. Frequently, just enrolling in these programs opens up significant discounts and perks, even if you never stay at that chain again.
4.) If you are thinking of booking with a discount travel site, do your research first. What these sites don't tell you is that you are paying a commission on top of the actual room rate they obtained from the hotel AND the hotel is ALSO paying the site a commission for booking the room. If you come up with a couple of prices from these sites (and they must be legitimate, a good reservations clerk knows the going rate for these sites) you can usually bargain with the hotel for a little bit better deal so that the hotel doesn't lose commission revenue to the booking site. The price will usually end up somewhere between what the actual room rate would have been and the price the booking site would have charged you, but sometimes this can be upwards of twenty dollars a night!
The strategies for last minute stays are a little different, but just as effective (and sometimes even more so) than the above mentioned methods.
1.) Try to call ahead, even if its just from the parking lot of one hotel, to a couple of area hotels and ask their going rate for the night so that when you walk in to the front desk, you will be prepared with a few comparison prices. The front desk clerk has a good idea of both their competition's prices and their current vacancies, but if you let the clerk know that you have this information as well, the clerk will work harder to keep you.
2.) Before you walk in, do a little drive around the hotel and see how many cars are in the lot. This is especially effective if it is later in the evening. When you talk to the front desk clerk, tell them you notice that they are not full tonight, and you are trying to decide whether to stay or move on, and could they work out a deal with you? This requires a little tact, but not much. Most clerks will be happy to sell you the room and are pleased to work with the customer rather than see them walk away. Just remember, there is usually a threshold that the average desk clerk can't go beyond without permission from a supervisor. Respect them when they say that they are giving you the best rate they can do, and if it isn't low enough, you can still walk away. Usually these clerks are telling you the truth.
3.) Still let the clerk know the reason you are traveling. Many times a hotel employee needs an "excuse" to give you a better rate than rack rate and if you give them a reason for you visit, they can help you get a better rate.
Regardless of whether you book in advance or are a last minute traveler, if you find yourself staying at the same hotel repeatedly, even if it's only once a year, cultivate a good relationship with the hotel staff. Most of the time, a clerk used to your requests and needs will fill them and at a better rate without you even having to ask. Hopefully, with these quick tips you will be able to enjoy a comfortable and frugal hotel stay more frequently than ever, even during rough economic times.