How To Get The Best Deal At A Hotel

*bump*

hey its good advice

This is good advice!

Thanks for the *bump* to make me aware of it as well...

Whenever I'm on some cross-country beatnick/gypsy driving tour,
I have found that the later into the night
it is when you start asking roadside hotels
for prices,
the greater the discount they may offer;
since they need
to meet a daily "bed count",
rather than money level.
So I usually get great rates (oh, 30-60% off)
if I first ask
the desk person
if that's the company's policy.
Works most of the time with the mid-major chains,
not a Hilton thang tho!



[Edited on Mar 21, 2005 by DapperGatsby]

I used to be a maintenance engineer at a chain hotel, This man speaks the truth.

*bump* For the prom travellers.

*meep*

Another tip that works if you're going to be in the area for a long time -- like more than two weeks at a time, or more than 50 days spread out over the course of the year. Email the hotel and ask to establish a negotiated rate with their business travel sales manager.

Hotels like guests that stay for weeks at a time because they're usually empty on the weekends when all the business travelers go home. I talked a $300 a night hotel down to $105 a night by explaining that I was essentially going to move in for a month. (The joys of business travel.)

But anyway, yes, Keith is right, it never hurts to ask.

great thread. i work at a Marriott Hotel, and agree with most eveything said thusfar, except for the local calls thing, those are free.

add: dont call me, the night auditor, at 3:15am and ask for a reservation...cause no matter what date you as for, we're prolly sold out or the computeris tied up running the nightly audit, or some other excuse... i wanna go back to napping.

[Edited on Mar 31, 2005 by clydeftones]

I can haggle at the hotel? Sweet!

Now if only I had a place to go.....

I never go to hotels or have a reason to, but I'm sure I will eventually and this will come in handy, so thanks

This is awesome. I could have used this thread a few years ago
I don't have any advice to add, except I hope everyone reads this. And I hope no one's naive like me. And always ask if they have discounts for extended stays, because (and I learned this the hard way) they don't offer you that kind of information.
Ok, now I feel dumb.
But good thread!

I was a night auditor for a while, too. I would addend this to "Just don't call me about anything, really. I couldn't do much for you if I wanted to, and I don't, so..."

This thread is so damn handy. You rock Keith.

This thread is awesome! Thanks man.

good advice i had to find this after reading stiles mechanic primer

How can I get the cheapest rate online?

Or should I go to the area I'm interested in and drive around looking?

How about bribing people for perks? Like room upgrades?

www.kayak.com
And get an account, so you can save your searches (great for airlines too)

Also, always try the hotel's own website; sometimes they have the cheapest rate that even the search sites can't find...

If you are in Vegas, try the $20 Trick. It's always worked for me

i have a question.

If you have a lousy experience at the hotel, is it worth writing an e-mail?