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How to get a great hotel rate
With a little effort and these tricks, get a price you won't lose sleep over
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Know what you want. Is it important for you to get the lowest possible rate at your destination? Is it important to find a reasonable rate, but at a decent hotel with some minimum level of service? Or do you want to stay at the most fabulous and fashionable property in town, but not pay top dollar for that room? Your expectations greatly affect the rates you'll pay. Let's face it: If you're trying to find a $50 room at a five-star property, chances are you'll be looking forever! So figure out what's most important to you; then you'll know where to look and where to book.
Be willing to work. You must take the time to do research. Check rates online at the third-party booking Web sites, such as Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz. Also check meta-search Web sites, such as Mobissimo and Kayak. Call your favorite travel agent to see what he might dig up. If you know you'd like to stay at a particular hotel, check its Web site, call its main reservation line (usually an 800 number) and call the property directly. You may find that the Web site is offering an online special, or that an agent at the hotel can view unpublished rates. All this may seem like lots of work, but what's a couple of hours if you save lots of money?
Buy in bulk. Guests qualify for special group rates in two situations: (a) they will be booking lots of rooms for one stay, or (b) they will be booking many individual stays over a certain period of time. If you think you might fall into either of these categories, call the hotel's sales office to see if you qualify for a lower rate. For example, if your extended family is hitting the beach for a reunion, a resort might very well offer you a discount for booking a large block of rooms. Some properties extend group rates to guests booking as few as five rooms at a time. Or maybe you visit the same destination regularly, and you know you'll be staying at a certain hotel many nights each year — you don't have to be a business traveler to be considered a frequent guest. It never hurts to ask for a deal in these circumstances.
Think off-peak. Visit Las Vegas in the summer or Hawaii in the rainy season. Or plan your trip for midweek instead of a weekend. At some hotels, certain months of the year or days of the week are especially busy, and rates will always be high at those times. If your schedule is flexible, call the hotel and ask the agent when business is slowest. If you can avoid traveling at peak times, you can stay at some pretty amazing properties for surprisingly low prices.
Understand yield management. Yield management is a fancy term for guessing how many people are going to be staying at the hotel and how much they'll be willing to pay. When hotels practice good yield management, their rates are constantly fluctuating. For example, if you call about a visit a year away, the hotel may assume they'll be full at that time, and they'll quote you a high rate. Similarly, if you're calling to make a last-minute booking and the hotel is close to selling out, they'll also quote you a high rate. It's sometime in the middle that things get fuzzy: Hotels may worry that they won't fill the rooms at the rates they've been quoting, so they drop their prices. Here's what I do: I make my reservation well in advance, and then call back on a regular basis to check the rates in case they have dropped. If the rate is lower, I'll simply book a new reservation and then cancel my old one (provided there's no cancellation penalty, of course). There's no rule against this!
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