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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I did exactly what Evelyn in #3 suggests for our trip to Boston last summer and got a great room for about 1/3 the published rate. It’s my go-to method now.
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@16: Lefty, I have only found that at the higher end chain hotels (Hyatt, Hilton, yours, etc.) Anyone at a two to three star hotel can and most definitely will negotiate with you (think Hampton Inn, Hyatt Place, Country Inn, Comfort Inn, etc.).
Further, these “nice” hotels are SO much more expensive once you are there. Charges for internet access, breakfast, rooms that don’t have a view to a brick wall, the infamous minibar, etc are all things you usually don’t see at a mid range hotel. I always advise avoiding these unless you are in an area where they are all that is available.
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I used Trip Advisor with great success when I traveled to Ireland and Scotland last year. Here’s my method:
1. get a guidebook or map and figure out the general lay of the land
2. go to tripadvisor and search for hotels in that city
3. use the map feature and price sliders to find something inexpensive in the general part of town I want to see (walkable neighborhoods – it’s important to me to be well located as I usually don’t rent a car)
4. read the reviews and take them with a massive pinch of salt
5. check prices via the lodging’s site, just in case there are deals there
6. book!
Since I’m single, I try to keep costs down by traveling with family or friends with whom I can share lodging. That kept my UK costs to $35 per night!
I just booked a spur of the moment trip to New Zealand, so this post is really great timing. I’ll also look into airbnb and vrbo to see if I can find a small apartment – but first I have to get my hands on a guidebook from the library!
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I’ve done what amy suggested–show up in the late afternoon and ask how much they’d charge me. I got a room at a very clean Howard Johnson’s in Albuquerque for only $39/night (compared to the rat-traps I had stayed in on previous nights, it was like staying at a Ritz-Carlton).
If you’re traveling to a popular destination and/or during a peak travel season–or staying more than one night, this might not be a viable option. But it did work for me.
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Meanwhile, I found on a recent (Febuary)trip to Pittsburgh, spending hours and hours online that all the prices were basically the same for the hotels that had overlap.
Totally not worth the time I spent, esp. since I ended up going with the one that caught my eye from moment one.
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Call the hotel’s direct line to get the best rate. Deal with the manager on duty if possible since they are ultimately responsible to fill up rooms.
Dollars Not Debt
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@52 I so totally agree with you. Fancy hotels for conferences (especially in DC) are always a huge pain because they nickel and dime everything, which is an extra hassle when I have to process reimbursements (and until recently didn’t get reimbursed for things like internet). Mid-range hotels where everything is inclusive are much nicer. And they’ve never charged me for parking when I didn’t bring a car, or racked up huge minibar charges when I didn’t buy anything because their automatic charger in the minibar is malfunctioning.
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We couldn’t match the prices for hotwire or Priceline. We weren’t allowed to go that low. Don’t know how they did it.
If you don’t want to use a 3rd party (and there are reasons not to), call the hotel directly to negotiate. Some hotels will still send you to the 800#. The hotel will have more access to discounts and the one I worked at we were expected to raise our numbers for direct reservations.
Always ask if there is a better price. Then ask again. We started high for two reasons. Because we could and because it gave us room to negotiate.
Be polite, friendly, and respectful. This should go without saying, but people aren’t. They apparently didn’t realize I had a $100 negotiation window. If you were rude, I didn’t negotiate. I could also upgrade rooms for no real reason, or tell you we were full.
Don’t travel in the summer on a weekend without reservations! To many people came in during the wee hours crying because they had been driving hours with no vacant hotels. There was NO place with rooms. I don’t live in a travel destination, there wasn’t anything going on. It was just the summer season.
If you have reservations, especially 3rd party (ie, hotwire, etc) make sure you call to confirm everything. If you are going to be late, CALL! If you don’t arrive by a certain time the hotel can rent your room and keep your money. Read the fine print at the travel site, it’s all there. Same with day of arrival, if you are arriving in the AM you will need to book the room the night before and communicate to the hotel what will be happening.
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I love the onebag.com and the bundle wrapping. Changed my outlook completely on packing for business travel.
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I also like to bring my hotel with me (RV)
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Check out hostels and bed and breakfast sites for GREAT deals, particularly since you might be traveling alone or with just your wife (gets a bit harder when traveling with children). Some B&Bs are much, much nicer than hotels, include breakfast and give a more “local” feel than big hotels. My husband and I stayed in Boston at a B&B for about 60% of what we would pay for a hotel, and the place was stunning, an old brownstone with antique furnishings, a grand piano, and very clean.
Hostels vary wildly in the US, so it may not always be a good place to go for a business trip, but if you travel to Australia or Europe, hostels can be a great deal and often offer private rooms with a private bath in addition to the sardine-can type of accommodation.
Lastly, check craigslist for short-term housing options. My husband had another week-long business trip in (oh-so-expensive) Boston, but he negotiated with a condo owner on Craigslist and stayed in the owner’s condo for half of what he would have paid for a hotel in the same area. We got the idea because we used to rent out a guesthouse on our property in central Tucson for $45/night including tax, and we received a variety of visitors, from vacationers to business owners, and I can testify to the cleanliness of my place — I used q-tips to get into corners, and cleaned every window/light switch/appliance every single time someone left. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of people renting extra rooms, guesthouses or their own places on craigslist (we’re currently negotiating free rent for pet care this summer after we sell our house, which means we will be DEBT FREE by the end of the summer if all goes well…hurray!).
Like so many things in life, planning can really save money. I hate bargaining with hotel clerks, so I really prefer to go with places where I can get a taste of local life and help the local economy.
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I travelled thoughout Europe, Australia and America cheaply by staying in private rooms in hostels.
They usually have a private bathroom (if not I won’t stay there) and the facilities are great usually including a kitchen, common area, sometimes a games room. The rooms have televisions and are clean.
I have saved thousands over the years doing this and now can treat myself to the odd weekend away.
I also plan in advance when I want a weekend away and do a price war with a few hotels in the area.
The way I do this is I pick three or four hotels in the area that I would love to stay at, email them all saying that I was looking for a reservation on this day and what was their best price, I then go back to all the hotels and see what they can offer that matches. I went away for the weekend recently and ended up getting a three course dinner, full buffet breakfast, free parking and a massage for $173- for the night in a resort about two hours from where I live. Awesome!
By the way, this takes a bit of time to arrange and may not be practical for everyone, but if you have a specific destinaton in mind and it isn’t a holiday date, you should be able to add in lots of extras for a good price.
Oh just a further note, I find you usually get a better deal if you can find out the email address of the local hotel, rather than their national help line.
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@52: JakeIL7
I agree with you about that.
And most of those upper tier chains are corporate managed hotels.
Whereas most of the mid to lower tier hotels are all franchise managed which is why the revenue management rules/employee empowerment rules are more loose.
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1. Sign up or a hotel chain’s loyalty program and accumulate their points.
2. Hotwire.com is usually the best rate.
3. If you plan to stay long term talk to the manager of the hotel directly, they can give you very good rates. In NJ your tax will be refunded if you stay 90+ days continuously in the same hotel.
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I run the front desk at an independently-owned boutique hotel. We discount ALL the time. A genuine customer with a great personality will always receive a discount over someone who asks, “What is your best rate?” or “Can you do any better?” In fact, we rarely offer discounts to anyone who asks for one.
We actually avoid guests who pay in cash, for many reasons, so offering cash payment won’t ever get our guests a discount. We happily discount $10-40 per night for anyone staying 5+ nights, even on dates when the rate is “non-negotiable.”
Our clerks are very savvy and can tell when a government employee is in town for personal reasons but asks for the per diem rate. Likewise, a corporate rate is only offered to those who have set one up in advance.
The “lowest available price” is almost always going to be available through a hotel’s website or by calling the hotel directly, as little to no commissions are paid on these reservations. Expedia, etc. are typically higher because these sites usually charge 10% plus a flat fee per reservation booked. Hotwire and Priceline DO offer lower rates than the hotel’s published rates, but only because the hotel has too many rooms sitting empty and would prefer to bring in $50 per room rather than bring in $0.
In our case, we would rather let rooms sit empty than compromise our rate integrity (which was explained in an earlier comment.)
If you walk-in and we know we won’t be able to sell all the rooms that evening, we’ll quote a discount from the start. However, during our high season and on weekends that we’re sold out, we see people get burnt by this strategy all the time. I personally make hotel reservations in advance whenever I travel.
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… and, of course… if you’re traveling for book signings, there’s always the option of staying with readers so long as they’re not scary…
in that vein, there’s also sabbaticalhomes.com (I’ve used sabbatical homes), academichomes.com , http://www.homeexchange.com , http://www.couchsurfing.org , http://www.globalfreeloaders.com and probably others I haven’t read about in news stories ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/greathomesanddestinations/28swaps.html http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/outings_travel&id=7396797 )
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My experience with hotels in Russia: When arriving late at night, you can pay cash at the front desk, substantially below the normal rate, on condition that you leave relatively early. The hotel staff then keep the money and don’t register you. They’re in fact stealing from their boss, who isn’t there anyway late at night. Under communism, it was considered normal to steal from the state (hotels were state owned), and that habit hasn’t disappeared, not even in private hotels (though you mainly find this practice in hotels that are still state-owned – especially local government owned hotels in smaller cities). Funny to see in the other comments that this is quite common practice in Las Vegas as well when it comes to upgrades.
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When bargaining, play hard bell.
Make it sound like you could care less whether you stay at their hotel or not.
This usually works.
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I usually use http://www.biddingfortravel.com to make educated bids on priceline. I typically get about 40-60% off of the lowest rate on the hotel’s website and have enjoyed great discounts everywhere from Nashville to Berlin. I highly recommend it.
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@Airica: What is a genuine customer with a good personality, and why does asking for a good rate automatically mean you won’t get one?
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I am in total agreement with you dude..
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I’ve never had any luck trying to negotiate with a hotel in the U.S., on the other hand with hotels in South America and Asia paying cash, I have a 100% success rate. However, I generally don’t prebook hotels for my trips abroad and negotiate as a walk in. If I need to pre book for asia, I like to use agoda.com.
Hostels with a private room/bath also save a lot of $ and provide you the opportunity to mingle with other guests and generally get more insight and tips from the hostel owners/manager.
For U.S. hotels I use biddingfortravel.com to assist in priceline bidding. I also enjoy hotel alternatives like airbnb.com and B&Bs.
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In the summer, the cheapest rooms I can find are in university residences. We’re going to Montreal, and staying at UQAM for $70/night (with kitchenette!).
Priceline beat my government rate for a hotel room in Ottawa by $50/night.
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