Saving money on a hotel
Goosey and I recently stayed in a hotel. When you’re trying to pay off debt, this may seem wasteful but it was worth it to us. However, we were able to save some money. Here’s how I ended up with a 30% discount, with no hardball negotiation involved.
The room at our hotel showed a price on the web of $89.99. We live in the “middle of nowhere” in the Midwest so this is a middle-of-the-road room.
- I called up the local hotel and ask for the rate on the room. It was $89.99 just like the website said.
- I asked if they had any available discounts. She asked if I was a AAA or AARP member. I’m not a member of either.
- I then asked if they had “corporate rates”. She asked what company I worked for and I told her. She hesitated as she didn’t know if they offered a discount on their suites. She asked her manger then offered me the room at a $69.99 rate. The company I work for has a local presence and probably pays for a lot of out-of-town travelers staying in these hotels. This may have helped.
So, I ended up with a 22% discount, just by asking!
On top of that, we were given a smoking room instead of a non-smoking room as I requested over the phone. When we found this out, I immediately went to the front desk to ask for another suite. I was told that they were full and couldn’t help me. At this point, I asked one more question: How about a discount? She immediately gave me another 10% for a total 30% discount. I was seriously considering leaving if they didn’t give me a discount but it never came up. I didn’t have to threaten, all I had to do was ask.
So, what did I learn from this?
- I didn’t need the AAA membership to get a discount. We used to have AAA but used it so little that we canceled it this year. It can be useful but we decided that it wasn’t useful enough for us.
- Just asking really helps. There were no hardball negotiation tactics needed here. Just throw out the words “corporate discount” or “how about a discount” and see what happens.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount even if it is a personal stay. If they offer you a discount because you belong to a company, they can obviously afford to give you that discount. What they are hoping for in exchange is a chance to give you a pleasant stay and to get repeat business. From their perspective, it is an investment.
Before I called the hotel I did a bit of research and came across this guide to staying in a hotel for a discount. Some of the techniques listed here made me a little uncomfortable but it is interesting to see what could be done and how things work from a supposed insider perspective. It helped give me the confidence to just ask.
Have any other tips? Honk below!
