Times article on haggling for hotel rooms

Obukit

The Times have a very entertaining article about haggling for hotel rooms today: -

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article5725550.ece

Hotels are desperate, we’re told: their rooms are empty because we’re all sitting at home in the dark, eating potatoes.

Ergo, they must be up for doing a deal, mustn’t they?

Like most of my compatriots, I’d normally rather pay over the odds than go through the shame of asking for a discount. But times are hard, we all have to dig deep, so I steeled myself and hit the phone to find out: Will hoteliers haggle — and is it worth the embarrassment?

As a reception manager for a chain hotel myself, I'd offer the following tips: -

• Always make sure you are speaking to the reception manager or someone from reservations AT THE HOTEL when asking for a discount - central reservations or normal receptionists can't normally discount rates.
• Know your chain. Travelodge generally sell rooms like airlines, so book in advance for best prices. Premier Travel Inn typically have set prices so little or no chance of a discount. Express by Holiday Inn run loads of different rates that are cheaper than the (misleading) "best available" quoted on their website, e.g. Leisure Saver rates and Two for one rates. Check these prices online and use them to haggle.
• Don't phone between 5.30pm - 7.30pm Tuesday to Thursday, or Saturday afternoons to haggle prices. These are the busiest check-in times and the person you speak to is likely to be more stressed or simply less willing to give a discount when they're run off their feet!
• Finally, be polite but confident. Hotel staff get people asking for discount all the time so it's nothing to be embarrassed about, however, if you don't sound certain we know and just say, "I'm sorry sir, but it's a fixed price" or similar. If you're rude you'll just get the person's back up, especially as people who are rude at check-in generally become problem guests later.
  
  Be realistic though - if the hotel is practically full on a Saturday night it's unlikely you're going to get a discount, because the rooms will be full anyway - although if the hotel has a restaurant you were planning on using you can throw in a dinner reservation as a sweetener to get more off .

Blue264

Obukit wrote: »

• Always make sure you are speaking to the reception manager or someone from reservations AT THE HOTEL when asking for a discount - central reservations or normal receptionists can't normally discount rates.

Good advice and I'm glad to see that you have agreed with my number one tip for haggling a rate.
I would love to know which chain you're from but I wouldn't expect you to answer that in public. I also recommend searching for some excellent rates in sunday nights as many hotels are at under 60% occupancy on sundays.

If I could be so bold as to add another point...
Don't make up some wild story about why the hotel should give you a huge discount. My best/worst was a guy who coppered up £12.50 on the reception desk and loudly informed me that if I didn't give his family a room including breakfast for 4 for that, they would re-enact the nativity in the hotle car park. Then his heavily pregnant wife appeared and told him to not be such a tight 'git' (not her exact words) and produced a wad of credit cards to pay for the room.