As a man who foresees a lot of travel in his future, I’ve become interested in ways to save on airfare, hotels, and so on. (I’ve also become obsessed with packing light, but that’s another story.) No surprise then that I was keen to receive the June issue of Consumer Reports, which contains eight pages of info on this very subject. Articles include:
- Hotels for any budget, which includes a description of the types of hotels and tips for finding a great hotel rate. Though the conclusions are online, the hotel ratings are not. (Well, they’re there, but you have to be a subscriber to see them.)
- 8 ways to land a great airfare, with tips on the the best ways to reduce fees when flying.
- Tips for staying healthy while traveling.
My favorite section is actually the sidebar that describes how CR saved $100 on a hotel reservation. The other theoretical stuff is fine, but this short piece shows how Tightwad Tod was quoted five different rates for the same hotel room.
From the article:
When reporter Tod Marks, who writes our Tightwad Tod blog, tried different tactics to book a room in Philadelphia for a recent Saturday night, the quotes he received varied widely.
[...]
On Hotwire, Marks found a room in a hotel whose description he liked for $109 per night. It turned out to be the Sheraton Society Hill. From there, he backtracked and sought the best possible rate for the same accommodations by calling the hotel and speaking with a clerk, trying the chain’s Web site, and using independent travel sites including Travelocity and Expedia.
Here’s a table that reveals the five different prices Marks was able to find from six different sources:
Image from Consumer Reports, June 2010 issue.
A little digging turned up the Consumer Reports blog post where they did a bit of research for the hotel article. If you’re curious (as I was), you can read through about a dozen comments to find a few tips (such as: travel out of season and negotiate with the manager).
Though I’m a huge advocate of negotiating, I’ve never bargained for a hotel room. I’m eager to give it a shot. Any tips for me when I decide to try?
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Hmm- I’ve never tried to bargain on a hotel room. How about offering to pay cash? I know hotels.com is supposed to be good too.
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Hotels are more than willing to negotiate if you stay for a longer term. For example, if you go on a business trip with a few colleagues to visit a customer for a few weeks you will have some leverage.
I have not had success in negotiating for short term stays.
In some cases large employers have corporate rates (which are much cheaper) in large cities. Typically all you need to do is ask for the rate or worst case show an ID badge. I don’t typically rely on this for personal travel – moral hazard – but I know less scrupulous people who do.
Next, call the hotel’s reservation line. Do not rely on their website. This is esp. true for rewards bookings. I once saved over 30% of my “points” in booking a vacation by calling vs. relying on the website. This allowed me to pay for the entire vacation using points vs. having to pay for a big part in cash. I also got a much nicer room!
Just one thing to watch for when you get rock bottom room prices – you often do not get any benefits with the hotel’s frequent guest program (no status, no points). So if you are missing that one last stay to make Platinum on Starwoods, booking your hotel via one of the cheapo websites above doesn’t do you any good.
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If you’re using Hotwire or Priceline, be sure to also check out BetterBidding.com. It could help you determine exactly what hotel you’re bidding on, which can be very helpful if the exact location is important.
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I actually got the best deal for an upcoming trip to NYC on the Hotels website. Other places were at least 25% more. It pays to look all over the place.
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“I’ve also become obsessed with packing light, but that’s another story.”
Oddly, I got this post back-to-back in my feed reader with Seth Godin’s “All you need to know…”, which links to a fascinating story about an ultra-lightweight backpacker, whose perspective on Stuff was pretty well in line with J.D.’s.
“After living perfectly well out of our backpacks for the past four and a half months, we get home and wonder, “Why do we need all this stuff?” The 10 pounds of gear in Ann’s pack along with 12 pounds in my pack was all we needed to live in desert heat or mountain cold, accompanied at times by rain, wind, snow, sleet, hail, and mosquitoes. Why should we need tons of stuff to live in the comfort of our own house?”
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Had one yesterday that matches #2 – called a major chain’s reservation line after checking 6 different websites all saying the same thing. She found me a 20% savings. Additionally, she suggested calling a few days beforehand and offering to fully prepay for the room, which can knock money off.
Couple other things – 1) AAA has great discounts (small fee to join if you travel and can amortize cost over multiple stays). 2) Sign up for rewards programs. Use AwardWallet.com to manage them all which automatically tracks your points for you. I’m cutting the flight cost in half for a trip to the West Coast in July by using rewards points earned two years ago for a one way ticket, and buying a separate one way return.
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I’d be more willing to call a hotel and negotiate rather than take a random hotel blindly in a discount hotel site that shows you the name of the hotel after you book.
I recently booked an Orlando hotel room through a name-brand discount hotel site (name withheld). I was assigned a place that had a reputation for cockroaches. (I knew this through researching the hotel online afterwards, plus I had a warning from a local resident.)
As the payment is nonrefundable I had to take the loss and book another room instead, which cost me twice as much money. I realize that is one bad experience stacked against thousands of good ones on that site, but I think it’s better to know what you’re paying for before committing.
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I have found consistently that the hotel website gives a better rate than expedia et al. I have never tried negotiating the prices. However, I usually plan my trips well in advance. That gives me time to look at email offers and such and wait for what I think is a fair price.
On another note, I use TripAdvisor exhaustively when planning a trip. Reading the reviews of the people that have stayed there has saved me numerous times. Nothing like reserving a hotel and finding out there is construction going on when you get there!
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I used airbnb and it worked out well.
It is not a hotel, but its cheap, close to transit and the closest place to where I needed to be. And its private enough for me.
http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8201
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I use Hotwire consistently for trips. I have one coming up tomorrow to Chicago. Used Hotwire for a 4 star on Michigan Ave for $90/night (tax included). I did notice when researching the price it fluctuates significantly on Hotwire. My guess is it goes up in price when people are most likely to book hotels. No scientific test just my best guess. So some days are better than others to book hotels online.
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Camping!
You might have a funky smell, but it would be cheap.
Alternately, maybe you could barter for reduced rates. My photography instructor has gotten free vacations at resorts in exchange for photography for their website.
Maybe if you could contact the upper management of a chain and see if they’d negotiate something with you. It never hurts to ask!
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My sister has a method for hotwire: Find your preferred hotel and get the address. Then plug that address into hotwire. You may end up with the hotel you want. (This seems to work better in big cities than in rural areas, presumably because there is more availability and competition.)
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I do alot of travel for both work and personal reasons. You will always find FOUR different tiers of prices:
- List price which you almost never pay (think full fare ticket on an airline)
- Online price which is what you pay through the major sites AND the corporate site. Most hotel chains have some sort of gaurantee that the published price on thier site is ALWAYS the lowest.
- Bid price is what you pay through something like Priceline. The catch is you don’t know where you are staying until you book. Its how hotels get around the “published” price limitation. Sometimes you get a good idea through a site like BetterBidding but if the hotel location or features is important to you, this is NOT a good way to go.
- Manager price is what you get from the manager. Just call and ask for a discount. Thats it. Sometimes they will say no but the manager can sell the room for whatever they want (these prices are also not published)
There are some things to be VERY aware of though:
- Look out for fees. Places like auction sites and especially Hotels.com LOVE these and they usually push the price equal to or ABOVE the price of the published rate
- Look out for conditions. These days, the chains like running their rates like airlines; you cannot cancel the lowest rates and you have to pay for the room at booking. This may be OK for your trip but you should be aware.
- Make sure the rate they give you at check-in matches the rate you expected and complain if it is not. If you prepaid the rate (see above) or used an auction site, make sure the room has been paid for at CHECK-IN
Hopefully this helps.
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Consider hotels that cater to different clientele. Some cater to business travellers and would be willing to drop their rates over week-ends. Other cater to tourists, and would be more likely to drop their rates during the middle of the week.
Are you a member of any associations? Teachers, certain unions, AAA or CAA, a travel agent, etc.? Whatever it is, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
I think hotels are more likely now to drop their prices, they have been hurt by this recession, too, and they need to fill their rooms.
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I remember as a kid (before online booking was possible/popular) vacationing and traveling with my parents. Their method was often to drive into town without any reservations, and to book a hotel that afternoon in person. My dad swore that was the best way to get a good deal because, similar to William Shatner’s logic in the Priceline commercials, by the afternoon the hotels would be willing to accept any price to fill a vacant room. I do wonder what would have happened if they had ever been unable to find a hotel with vacancies (although it seemed like we spent forever riding around in the mini-van, we always found a hotel). Has anyone else tried this strategy? Does it really work? Has the convenience and efficiency of online booking made this method obsolete? …also, maybe them being a young couple with four young kids in tow helped gain some sympathy and understanding from the hotel clerks, too.
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I worked for a large hotel chain for ten years, the one with the large red “M”, and let me tell you that bargaining usually will get you nowhere for most of their locations.
One of the things that they preach is rate integrity. Meaning that if you can book the rate either through corp. discount, hotel website, 800#, or hotels.com type discount then that’s the rate you get.
But to call the hotel and try to negotiate will get you nothing. The desk staff and reservationist are not empowered to negotiate and mangers, if they are following the rules, will stick to rate integrity and just parrot the rate that you can book via one those outlets.
There are no “secret rates”. If a Front Office Manager were to “make up a rate” and discount something outside of the hotel’s revenue management strategy, they would get flagged the next day via various reports that track such things and probably would get a stern talking to from the GM.
This hotel chain, at corporate run locations, would rather go down with empty rooms then sell tons at discounted priced rooms because it cheapens the brand.
If the location is franchise managed then things are far more open to negotiation as each management company will do things slightly different.
“How about offering to pay cash?”
A major hotel chain location will never give you a discount for paying cash.
Their CC merchant fees are negotiated at a national level and the fees are figured into the prices of rooms.
“AAA has great discounts”
AAA is usually a bad deal. Because let’s say the rack rate is $200 a night. A location may give you 10-15% off for AAA. But that’s 10-15% off of $200.
While at the same time, they are selling rooms at a Best Available Rate of say, $159.
And usually AAA will not even be offered if the hotel is almost sold-out.
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I also frequently see the: lowest price at our site guaranteed! Though there are catches like it must be EXACTLY the same room (such as smoking/nonsmoking).
I would like to counter Jake’s point @2. I work for a government contractor. I qualify for the corporate or government rate when I travel for work. However when I travel personally I am allowed to use the corporate rate (though not the gov’t rate) for both hotel and rental cars. If you work for a company with corporate rates it can be useful to check with the corporate travel people.
As an aside, we also have an agreement with various vendors. For example when Office Max had our office supply contract we had a special member card that would get us discounts on their merchandise which were pretty significant.
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In my opinion, hotels are the biggest ripoff. They are way over priced. I only paid for a hotel once, and only because my girlfriend didn’t want me driving until 3 in the morning.
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@amy (#15)
My family did that too, and we got caught once and wound up driving all night. It was awful (and I wasn’t even driving) and now I’m paranoid and always come to town with a reservation in hand.
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oooh love this topic. I actually work in this area of the hotel industry. “Best Rate Guarantees” are a constant debate in the industry — I’m curious about what GRS readers think of this:
Do you care if a hotel guarantees that their best rate is on their website?
What if the hotel then offers a lower rate but only through an “opaque” sales channel like Hotwire or Priceline?
And, are any of you using travel agents (not websites – but people)?
As a consumer, some additional tips:
* Sometimes by clicking through sites like Kayak to get to the hotel’s actual website, you will bring up an “internet only” or “promo” rate that would not have been an available option had you just gone to the website directly.
* Always check out packages and promos — but be sure that packages actually provide savings, unfortunately – they often don’t.
* Even if there is a price difference of $20-30, I always choose to book with the hotel directly, saves a lot of hassle with changes, billing, etc.
* The “Best Available Rate”, is usually the label applied to a level of rates at a hotel – it does not actually mean that this is the best rate available. It is akin to asking for the invoice price of a car. So when someone tells you “our best available rate is $200″ you should definitely ask if there are discounted rates, packages, promos, etc.
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I’ve had luck negotiating rates in person at the hotel a couple of times. The best negotiation was on a two person, two day stay, I got the price knocked down by $30/night.
After showing up at 11:00pm, I talked to the manager. My proposal? No room cleaning and price match the hotel down the road.
The manager’s initial reaction was no. I politely mentioned that from the cars outside, it was easy to discern that the hotel was about half full.
To both parties benefit, the manager accepted.
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@ 7.
My sister-in-law had a similar experience except hers didn’t involve cockroaches. After she booked and then researched the hotel she was given she found it to be in an lesser desirable (higher crime) area of the city. She called the company and basically told them, this will not work for me and was able to switch her reservation to another hotel. So if you have a legitimate concern, it may be worth it to give them a call if you’ve already booked.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to book without knowing where I was actually booking for exactly those types of problems. Plus, if we’ve had a really positive experience at a particular location we are revisiting, then it might be worth it to us to pay a little more by booking that specific hotel again directly.
@ 2.
My mother qualifies for a government rate on hotels and her HR person has told her that she is free to use it for personal travel. It’s worth checking with HR before just assuming it’s a no-go.
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My mother negotiates at hotels. Always, always, always. So do my Israeli girlfriends I used to travel with (a cultural thing, I guess.) Things they would do:
1. Do their research first, and know all the rates advertised everywhere.
2. Call several hotels of the same quality/general location and ask them their rates.
3. Ask them if they can “do any better than that” i.e. the rate they quote you. Mention if they advertised a lower price somewhere else. Mention if their competitor is offering a better rate for a comparable room. Mention if you saw a better rate advertised but it expired yesterday. Tell them how much you like their hotel and service. Then if they insist that the rate is what it is, politely thank them for their time and tell them you will go stay at Competitor Hotel X instead.
(The success of this strategy always depends on how booked they are, of course. And depends on your comfort with smiling and just walking away/hanging up. All negotiation does, of course.)
4. If you are already staying at a hotel and notice that they are advertising a room rate lower than what you are paying, complain.
5. If anything goes wrong during your stay (door falls off hinges, you see a cockroach, a nude man comes knocking at 2am, etc — yes all true things have happened to me) complain and say that you are shocked that this would happen at this hotel. This hotel had such a reputation for quality and you are gravely disappointed. You may never stay here again! They will probably comp you something/reduce your room rate. (Note that you can’t make stuff up and you have to bring it the staff’s attention when it happens, not after the fact.)
6. I have been told that at v. nice (i.e. expensive) hotels you can sometimes get a room upgrade if you discretely bribe the desk staff. Quietly mention this is a very important night for you, and discretely slip them cash. And don’t be cheap, we’re talking $50 or $100.
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HOTWIRE! We have used Hotwire several times and have never been dissappointed. Last month we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hilton Head Beach Resort for just $79.00 per night.
The only way this will not work for you is if you have a specific hotel or resort in mind that you really, really want to stay at, because you don’t know for sure what hotel you are getting until after you pay.
Otherwise, you know the star rating, the general area and what hotel groups are in each star rating ahead of time. Sometimes, you can narrow things down and make a good guess at the hotel you may be getting if you compare area, amenities and star ratings on another site, such as Trip Advisor. For example, we were looking for a four star hotel on Hilton Head. By searching on Trip Advisor, we found that there were only 4 hotels on Hilton Head with a four star rating. After looking at each of them, we discovered all were ocean front and that we would be happy with anyone of them.
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i’ve managed to get fairly inexpensive rates a few times.
walk in and ask how much a room is, and say you have a voucher for a half price/free/whatever bonus stay at *hotel up the road* but this one is more convenient for you. ask if they can throw in some sort of bonus (i usually got for the free breakfast buffet and free internet) and you’ll stay there. or ask for a discount on the room price. if they say no, leave and go to the next hotel and do the same thing.
this is hard to do if there is only one hotel in the area, but i usually stay in high-hotel-concentration areas.
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I travel quite a bit and I use Hotels.com for a few reasons:
1. Hotels.com rewards – after 10 stays you get a free night. I travel a lot and this has been a huge discount for us. We are staying at the Ritz in San Juan for free!
2. Hotels.com charges in US dollars. If you are doing any international travel this saves you any exchange rate fees and fluctuations. This has been an enormous benefit.
3. Hotels.com usually (READ THE FINE PRINT) is refundable. This has has saved us numerous times and has allowed us to book a cheaper rate if one comes available.
My only complaint with Hotels.com is that you have to pay for everything up front. I pay off our credit card every month so it hasn’t been an issue but if you don’t have the cash on hand, this may not be the best solution.
Of course, always do your research. Even though I use Hotels.com a lot, if there is a better deal to be had with another site or directly with the hotel, then I will go with the better deal. For some reason, and maybe it is just my luck, Hotels.com is usually the same or cheaper than other sites.
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Not really on the topic of hotel rooms, but NYT has slide show of how to pack 10 days worth of clothes into a carry on bag. I found it to be useful information from a seasoned traveler (i.e. flight attendant).
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/06/business/businessspecial/20100506-pack-ss.html
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Look for youth hostels first! They are cheaper than any hotel bargains you can get.
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I book all my hotels on Priceline through “Name your own price”. I’ve stayed in 4 star hotels in New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Indianapolis for less than $50 a night. You need to be patient when using Priceline, as the closer you get to your travel date, the cheaper things become. I’ve never had a bad room with Priceline and have even gotten upgrades from the hotels at times.
None of the other sites I’ve used have been able to come close to Priceline’s deals. Even though I miss out on rewards points and other such hotel promotions, I’d rather stay in a $200 room for $50 a night. The savings are much better than anything you’d get in free nights with most of the chains.
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Personally I use a travel agent for all of my travel. That travel agent is my mother, but after seeing what she does I would recommend using a good travel agent to anyone.
She knows the hotels in each city, so can make sure you are staying somewhere near where you want to be, or in a hotel that has features that are important to you. She is used to bargaining with managers (if that is something you don’t want to do). Because she repeatedly books with her favorite hotels in popular cities she has relationships with those managers and can get you an even better deal because the manager knows she will continue to send them business. Travel agents also work on commission, so all of this work is free to you.
Working with a travel agent makes everything so easy for me, that even if my mom were to retire or leave the business, I would not hesitate to find another agent rather than looking at discount online sites.
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a few conventional (and unconventional) accommodation suggestions…
http://www.airbnb.com/ -> economical, local accommodation
http://www.istopover.com/ -> If you’re comfortable staying at a stranger’s home while traveling, iStopOver is a service that connects travelers with locals renting rooms—at rates well below local hotels.
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I use hotels.com to book. They have rebates via the Entertainment book, and sometimes offer a straight 10% off. If you use the rebate coupons, when you stay 10 nights in a year you get 1 free. (This was a lot better last year when your free night was valued at up to $400–we stayed in an amazing hotel. Now it’s calculated based on the average value of your 10 nights!)
I pick the cheapest hotel that is user rated at least 4 stars. If it’s a Hilton chain, I book via hilton.com to retain my VIP status. Otherwise I book through hotels.com.
If you find a cheaper rate for the same room on any public site, hotels.com will refund the difference up to your date of travel. So CR could have gotten that money back if it really was cheaper on the hotel’s website. (I’ve never seen this, and have checked many, many times.)
For our upcoming Portland trip, I used this method and we’re staying at Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Portland Airport for 3 nights for $263.57 total, including taxes. This doesn’t include the rebate–I’ll get money back after the stay.
I use Hotwire for rental cars, but for hotels they only give you a “class”, and I’ve been in some really crappy “4-star” hotels, so I avoid sites like Hotwire for hotels.
-Erica
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I rolled into flagstaff last night and booked a room by picking a place that looked interesting in the guidebook we had by walking in the door and asking what they had available. Maybe I could have found something cheaper online, but I wasn’t even sure flagstaff was where we were headed until about two hours before I get there. It’d also have been a challenge to check five different websites from the road through the Navajo reservation. These sort of tips are more likely to help when you know exactly where you’re going and how long you’ll be there.
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Club Quarters is a chain that may be of interest to some folks. They’re a membership-based chain in large cities with locations right downtown in safe locations. The rates are very low for what you get.The organizations that join are usually public agencies and non-profits. Employees of member organizations and their families can take advantage as well.
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I think hotel industry is one where they really appreciate returning patrons.
I would try negotiating a price by sticking out my loyalty. As in, “HEY, I found a better price for a similar room in the same part of town, but I really like my experience with your chain of hotel. Do you have a deal that can give me a better price?”
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“Their method was often to drive into town without any reservations, and to book a hotel that afternoon in person. My dad swore that was the best way to get a good deal because, similar to William Shatner’s logic in the Priceline commercials, by the afternoon the hotels would be willing to accept any price to fill a vacant room. I do wonder what would have happened if they had ever been unable to find a hotel with vacancies…”
I’ve done this many times and have negotiated in person. Always got an amazing rate…until one time when a friend and I drove from Vegas to San Diego (this was many years ago before I lived here in SD.) We checked a map and went straight to Hotel Circle.
Unfortunately, something was in town that weekend and EVERY HOTEL was booked. The only hotel that had something available was a Hilton with a suite for $350/night, and they weren’t willing to come down on the price because they knew they had the only room in town and someone else desperate would snap it up.
We ended up driving all the way out to Alpine. Even all the hotels out there in the boonies were booked. Past 1AM, we called a friend and he arranged for us to stay in his RV. His family was super nice about it even though it was so late.
Another time I didn’t book in NYC and ended up crashing on a friend’s futon because the only hotels that were left wanted over $400 per night!
Ever since those two experiences I have planned in advance. There is a recession now, so I don’t see that happening, but since it’s happened to me twice, I don’t risk it any more.
-Erica
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One thing about the government rate: hotels know there is a maximum amount employees who are there on business will be repaid for lodging.
The government rate at almost ALL hotels in the geographic region will be exactly the same.
The rate will be the per diem rate.
It’s not always the best price.
That said, I am always on orders (the nature of my job) and I’m not afraid to use them to get a better price (car rentals too) when I can.
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When we go to Vegas, I search hotel plus flight costs together on Travelocity and Southwest Vacations. If that doesn’t get me the cost I have in mind (less than $600 for 3 nights plus plane tickets), I start searching online for specific hotels in the area and call to ask what is the best they can do.
This has gotten us some spectacular deals ($18 on a Friday night at the 4 Queens once).
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Recently, we have to book a hotel in Paris. We struggled to find a hotel well situated, not too expensive, etc.. The information on websites and the information we had by calling the hotel were sometimes different.
We finally deal with a travel agent and we had a very good price and the hotel looks very nice. And it was easy! I would not hesitate to do business with an travel agent again. Although it may cost a little more…
Furthermore, in our case, it is only 2 nights. We will spend the rest of the trip at our friends house. That is the most economical solution!
; )
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Others have mentioned it, but one more time, sign up for all the rewards programs. This might not get you a cheaper rate but it will get you more perks, like free breakfast, newspapers, internet (which can run $15/day), and a gym pass. Also, negotiate with the reserv. line people. Ask for upgrades or free stuff. Sometimes the hotels will give discounts when you also use them for booking local attractions.
JD, tell them who you are and that you have a blog with tons of readers. Offer to give them a review if you are comped you a few nights. do this through the manager at the hotel the day you arrive. Give them your web address and have them check it out.
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I swear by Hotwire. I’ve probably used them at least 25 times, and only ever gotten one bad apple. Just make sure to always get at least a 3-star hotel (the one bad experience was a 2-star fleabag). I usually end up with something better than expected. One time I paid $50 for a standard room in Vegas and ended up getting upgraded to a 3-room suite!
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Very interesting discussion! DH and I don’t sweat hotel costs much since the majority of our travel over the past 10 years has been by car and we’ve been staying, for our long vacations, in condos that are members of our timeshare association. (six nights for $250? good deal!) On the rare occasions we’re heading somewhere for just a weekend, we find the nicest-looking place with a reasonable rate, and book it.
Not sure if J.D.’s anticipated travels are business-related or personal/leisure. If the former, his destinations will mostly be cities. I would advise establishing a relationship with an inexpensive hotel group like Choice. They have a ton of locations and are reasonably priced, often provide a breakfast, and will not raise any red flags with the IRS as business travel appropriate.
If it’s personal/leisure travel that’s coming up there are many more variables to consider. I think the biggest way to save there is probably in ground travel versus air, and next biggest is researching off-the-beaten-path lodgings. It all depends on a traveler’s tolerance for uncertainty. You have to be able to laugh off the auberge in France with a shared toilet down the hall and a chicken coop under the window.
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I am a big fan of Priceline’s name your own price. Last weekend I was picking my daughter up at college and stayed in Tigard, OR (outside of Portland) in a 3-star (Priceline’s rating) hotel for $40 per night.
It probably helps that I’m not terribly picky. If I were paying full price I’d probably stay at a bargain chain hotel (like that place where they’ll leave the light on for you). And I’d be perfectly happy with the quality. But with Priceline I’ve ended up in classy hotels I would NEVER consider if I were paying full freight — and for the same price. I start out with a high star level and low price and then tweak my bid until I get a bid accepted.
On Priceline you can be pretty specific about what parts of the city you will consider. The one time I was disappointed with Priceline results was when I got a downtown Portland hotel at $40 per night and learned after booking that I would have to pay an additional $15 per night for parking. (In a mostly empty lot!) $15 doesn’t seem like much if you’re paying $120 a night for the room, but at $40 per night it’s a huge percentage increase. I would never have bid $55 per night. I learned my lesson and now stick to the ‘burbs when picking neighborhoods to bid on.
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after reading other’s comments, I wanted to add:
I wanted to second the recommendation for a travel agent – they can do amazing things. People at my company use them for “difficult” travel situations and they routinely work magic. Hotel rates plunge, direct airline flights magically appear, etc. etc.
And two – yes, staying in hostels/shared-bathroom hotels has worked very well for me when I travel internationally. Negotiating also works well in countries where people are used to bargaining. Especially the Middle East, there are some very nice hostels/shared-bath establishments were you can get good rates if you stay for several nights and negotiate.
And last, never underestimate the potential of camping out. Especially when traveling in the US. This country is filled with campsites and they are usually $5-20/night, clean, and give an interesting look at the countryside.
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I have found that picking up a copy of the hotel discount coupon guide at a state rest area provides the lowest prices. Obviously this applies to road-trip type travel more but it is worth comparing.
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I love to travel and stay in hotels 10-15 nights a year, I’d guess.
I research the hotel I want, then go directly to their site. If there is an online discount, I book; if not, I will call and see if there are any promotions they might be running (or just to check and see what they are quoting on the phone). I call the hotel directly if possible (not an offsite reso system) so that I can speak to someone who actually works the desk. I get the person’s name in that case. Whether online or on the phone, I indicate if I have any room requests, and let them know if I’m a return customer or if it’s a special occasion trip.
On check-in I explain that I spoke to person X on the phone (if applicable) and made some requests, were those in the system? I make polite conversation, and may ask if there are any new upgrades or specials available. To me, it’s about getting the best room possible for that base rate.
More often than not, this system gets me a price I’m happy with, as well as a room upgrade (even something small, like a higher floor or better view). I am always sure to thank the person who helped me and sometimes send a follow-up letter if the stay was really great.
An old boss of mine told me he never accepted the first room he was given, no matter what. He’d check in, see his room, call downstairs, and ask for something better. He said that the first room you’re given will always be the worst room the hotel can get away with; there’s always something a little nicer. (He was a very high-maintenance guy.) This might be true but I just never want to go through the hassle.
Side note: for years I heard about the $20 trick in Vegas. Apparently you slipped the clerk a $20 when checking in, and you’d get a better room (next grade up). Finally I just asked a clerk at the Mirage if that was normal, or even allowed. She explained that “everyone in Vegas can accept tips” and said it was done on a regular basis.
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Wow the variations in hotel quotes received makes me scratch my head. What else travel-wise can we negotiate??
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These are all great comments, but I agree with Cely
There’s always the $20 slip. Where you slip the front clerk a $20 and get an automatic upgrade.
You may want to try slipping a $50 bill at a five star hotel. You can get a nice upgrade to a suite. Just be specific on what suite/view you want
I always found that walk ins land better deals than people that make reservations
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I’ve used Priceline several times. You can choose the type of hotel you are looking for (2 to 4 stars) and the area, so unless you have your heart set on a specific place, you should do fine. Even though they try to encourage you to offer at least 60% of the list price, I’ve offered as low as 40% and had my price accepted. The key is to begin a couple of weeks before you need to stay, make your offer, and if it’s turned down, a week later you can try again. Often your offer will be accepted on the second try. I’ve even been upgraded to a better hotel. Also, the package deals (air plus hotel) on Expedia and Travelocity are usually much cheaper than booking separately. Last year I went to a convention, and was able to get a better deal on Expedia, than the special reduced group rate that was offered. Does anyone have any particular strategies for air fare? It seems that there are no real bargains out there. I need air for the Dominican Republic in January and right now the flights are over $500. All the sites I checked are the same.
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I always use travelocity to read the reviews, then I pick a hotel and call directly. I’m not too concerned about getting the lowest price; I am more interested in a safe hotel in a convenient location — I think we save at least something by being in walking/short drive distance of where we want to go, and by packing a lunch and some breakfast type options. As we’ve gotten more comfortable (and older) we’ve also found that we really like staying in nice hotels… the amenities are worth it to us, even if we are paying more. It’s part of the vacation!
I did have a surprise recently — I had to call only a day ahead to arrange a place to stay for a funeral. I said to the clerk, “I’m coming to [the town] for a funeral.” She immediately broke in with “we have a bereavement rate…” which was about $30.00 less than the on-line rate I was looking at…
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