How to Book a Hotel.....

[Snook.fr]

Ok, Given the Stupidity raised in a Previous Thread, Please Find Below a little explanation on how to Book your Hotel room and get best value for your buck.

1. Priceline and Hotwire are what we call "opaque" websites in the sense that you do NOT know where you are going to stay PRIOR to Paying. You choose the Category (stars) and Location, but These sites will only tell you where you stay AFTER the purchase...This enables hotels to sell their last minute inventory and ensure they keep Brand Integrity.
You can find tips on Booking through Priceline at :
www.biddingfortravel.com

2. Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Lastminute.com, Orbitz.com, Hotelbook.com..... are considered by hotels as a 3rd party booking engine.
Most of these sites do NOT give you any Deals !!!! they ask for NET rates from the hotels (usually 30% discount) and then markup the rates by 33%.
It only gets interesting if you book a PAckage (Air+Hotel).

3. Hotels now tend to try to push clients to Book through their own websites (where they do not have to Give away 30%).

 

[Snook.fr]

Now, Here's how to get your best Value:

Lookup the above 3rd Party Sites, Lookup the Hotel's Website and CALL the Hotel.
Talk to a Reservation Agent, tell them you found this Price on the net and you would like a discount. If they say no, tell them they are paying 30% commission out of it and if they give you only 15% discount they would make more money.
If they still say no, talk to the Reservation Manager or the Revenue Manager (they will never let your business go away).
Worse Come to worse, they will give you the same rate but include an upgrade or Breakfast.....
The telephone is still the best negotiation Tool you have should you want to get the best deal for your buck.

If you are Pushy, you will get it. If you call often, you will get used to it and know exactly what to ask and when.

If you have any Trouble Booking A Hotel Room, PM me...
(only serious PM's will be answered...)

 

[Girth]

Nic Frenchy has posted some good info. I would like to add a link if you are interested in trying Priceline.

http://pub210.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingfrm211

This website is bullitin board of Priceline hotels and recent winning bids. The webmaster is a little tough on posters, kinda like the Soup Nazi on Sienfeld, but the information is very helpful. As an example the only 4 star hotel for the Toronto airport district is the Wyndham Bristol Place. By reading through the previous winning bids, and calling the hotel for current rates, you can take advantage of some great savings. I use this site across the US for a reference point and have saved hundreds of dollars on hotels.

 

[Snook.fr]

Girth, this is the link to the Site I already Posted....

 

[Girth]

yea, but I linked directly to the Toronto page, so there