Why Now is the Perfect Time to Book Hotel Stays!

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Book Hotel Stays!

Any time the economy is sluggish or questionable, it’s a great time to start booking travel (at least the hotel stay component of your trip).
A perfect example of the questionable time is during the holiday season for the next year. When the retail sales numbers start coming in from Black Friday (the shopping day right after Thanksgiving), forecasts are made as to how the Christmas shopping season will turn out for stores. If Black Friday numbers are down, businesses start projecting how much lower their holiday sales will be for the entire season.
Other questionable economic times include the time periods leading up to presidential elections, since there will likely be changes to economic policy, taxes, and more.

Hotel occupancy (especially for chains) is closely tied to the state of the economy because of travelers. In times of economic security, more people plan vacations and travel for leisure. In lean times (or the fear of upcoming lean times), families often postpone vacations.
Even many businesses cut back on corporate travel unless absolutely necessary when the budget needs to be tightened.
What does this mean to travelers like us who are trying to save money on the overall cost of our family vacations? It means now is a GREAT time to book your hotel stays for the next year! Uncertainty is always a good time to ask for discounts, especially in businesses that have a lot of discretion about how much they charge, like hotels.

How to Get Deals on Your Hotel Stays

When booking travel, check online booking services first so that you have prices for comparison. However, DON’T BOOK your hotel online!  Instead, call the hotel directly to negotiate and book your stay. Ask for a lower rate, and talk to a manager if the reservations person doesn’t have authority to change prices (although they usually do).
Explain that you would like to stay at their hotel for whatever reason (closest to your vacation spot, good experience there in the past, etc.) but that the current prices put it just out of your budget. Ask for a discounted rate or name your price and see if they accept.
Be smart though – don’t ask for a discount during a time you know they’ll likely be booked solid at full price, like Christmas vacation, Spring Break, or during a conference.
If they can’t reduce the cost of the hotel room, you could also ask for other comps to make the stay more affordable. Some examples are passes for free breakfast at the hotel restaurant or free or reduced parking charges if you’re renting a car.
Here is a HUGE hidden hotel cost you can ask to have waived: resort fees. Even many hotels that honor free rooms in exchange for hotel points still charge a resort fee that can be anywhere from $10 per night to $40 per night. That can really add up! Ask what the resort fee is, and request that it be waived or reduced.
MOST importantly: Ask them for a guarantee of the discounted price in writing. This means that they won’t change the price on you after making this verbal deal (just in case business starts looking up). Some hotels will require you to pay for your room in advance to secure the discount, or at least hold it with your credit card.
Not traveling for a while? That’s okay. As long as you have the guarantee on the rate, you should take advantage of the hotel industry’s slump right now to book your vacations for a little later.  What if the hotel won’t lower the price? Be pleasant, tell them good day, and call the next hotel on your list!

Scared to Ask For Discounts?

I know a lot of you will read this post and think, “What a good idea, but I could never ask for a discount. It would be TOO embarrassing!” I can relate, because everyone has to start out somewhere on their journey to negotiation. And you should view it just like that: a negotiation for the best transaction that benefits both parties.
You’d never dream of a business person going into a deal without negotiating the best deal, right? You shouldn’t either! There is a huge difference between seeking value and just plain being cheap. As a patron of the hotel, you’re trying to give them your business at a rate you can afford. They also want to fill all those empty rooms, even if it means for a lower-than-advertised rate. Remember the age-old advice: Ask and you shall receive!

The original post, Sluggish Economy? Perfect Time to Book Hotel Stays! {Recession Series 2008}, was published on March 19, 2008.
Here’s the original post:

The fear of a recession is causing a lot of people to change their habits. Some people, including me, would say it’s already here. Shopping is slowing, as evidenced by February’s retail sales being down by 0.6%. Major companies, such as auto manufacturers are scheduling “vacations” from production this year. Travel is slowing down across the country as airlines are taking more planes offline and cutting available flights.
So what has this got to do with hotels? Everything! According to the Wall Street Journal today, the hotel industry is also facing a slump. In its article Hotels Face a Reality Checkout, the WSJ talks about two reports which project hotel revenue will drop throughout 2008 and 2009.
What does this mean to frugal travelers like us? It means now is a GREAT time to book your vacation! The uncertainty around the recession has a lot of businesses fearful that their low revenues will continue to drop, making it the best time to ask for discounts.