Making plans for vacations, whether business or pleasure, can sometimes be a big expense and hassle. Hotels are one of the most expensive parts of taking a trip, and it can be hard to find a good hotel for a decent price. However, there are a few suggestions out there that can help you with this problem. Part of the solution to finding an inexpensive hotel is to know what to say and ask. Here are a few tips for finding discount hotel rates.
Search Online
Shopping on the Internet can be the best place to find discount rates for hotels. One of the reasons for this is that there are many hotel reservation services that can help you find a hotel in your price range, show you what is available, and help you find deals on rooms. These sites also make finding a hotel room convenient.
Call the Hotel Directly
Calling the hotel directly instead of the 800 number can often help you get a discount hotel rate. The agents you speak to when you call the 800 number have no direct access to see the room availability of the hotel, and often are not able to negotiate. On the other hand, hotel clerks know room availability, discounts, and may even be anxious to fill vacant spaces. Talking to them may save you a lot of money.
Ask for Available Discounts
By asking about discounts or lower rates available, often you will hear about deals that you otherwise would not have known about. In many hotels, there are also discounts available for special groups such as senior citizens, families, frequent flyers, AAA members, etc. However, if you don’t ask, the hotel often will not offer the information, so always ask just in case. Hotels often even have a “fallback” rate, or a rate for travelers who are not willing to accept the quoted price.
Learn to Haggle
Though the art of haggling is becoming less and less needed in today’s lifestyle, hotel rooms are still subject to this negotiation. Know the terminology that goes along with the hotel reservation game. A term such as "corporate rate" can confuse you if you don’t know what it means.
Don’t Look Desperate
If you have not secured hotel reservations online and are actually at your destination, there is still hope for discount hotel rates. The key to this is not looking desperate. Hotel agents know that people who are tired and sick of driving or walking around are not likely to go to another hotel to look for a cheaper rate. Make sure you don’t look desperate, and inform the agent that you will check elsewhere to find a better deal. One tip that helps with this look is to leave your luggage in the car rather than bringing it in with you to talk to the clerk.
These are just a few tips for finding a discount hotel rate that can help you keep your traveling budget to a minimum. Part of this requires practice; after looking for cheap hotel rates a few times, you will soon learn how to find the best deals, and develop skills that will work like a charm.
By Janelle Walker