Hotel Room Prices Are Always Negotiable
Hotel room prices are always negotiable. Sometimes the price you are offered for a specific room depends upon who you are talking to, what questions you ask, and how persistent you are. I was reminded of this once again when booking a hotel room for an out of town weekend activity.
My wife was calling different hotels gathering hotel pricing and availability, asking all the usual questions. The hotel we eventually settled on had quoted her an initial price, but applied a $30 corporate discount because of the company I work for. When I called back to reserve the room, the person gave me the same initial quote, but when I asked for the corporate rate from my employer, she indicated no corporate rate was available.
After a short discussion, the corporate was magically found and the discounted rate applied to our reservation.
What information had I given that may have helped convince the second representative to look harder for the discount?
- Reservation Line vs Direct : When gathering information, write down where you got the information. Sometimes different rates and discounts are available from their reservation line versus calling the hotel directly. When quoted a specific discount and you need to call back later, call the same number again to have the best chance of getting the same deal.
- Name of Representative : Always ask the name of whom your speaking with, AND introduce yourself. Being able to give a coworkers name instills confidence that you aren’t just making up the price you are asking for.
- Original Price and Discounted Price : Having specific information again adds weight to your credibility.
When the second representative indicated she could not find a corporate rate from my employer, I was able to tell her we had called about an hour previously and spoke to a specific co-worker who was able to find a corporate discount of a certain amount. She put me on hold for a minute, and when she returned to our conversation she was able to give me the discounted rate I had previously been quoted.
How about you Clever Friends, have you ever had a hotel room discounted rate disappear when you had to call back later?
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Brought to you courtesy of Brock
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Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
I’ve never thought about directly calling hotels to attempt a cheaper rate. I didn’t even know that was possible!
Definitely possible, I do it all the time!
I booked a room and got a good discount by asking for the Senior rate (in my 50’s). I had seen on the website that they had something called the 55 Plus Club. Once I said that exact phrase he was able to lower my rate by another $20. Use the websites to narrow down your choices, then call and talk nicely. Never accept the first number they give you. Also, a suite is often only a few dollars more than a standard room so go for it!
Great Tips, CDW, thanks for sharing!