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Major Discounts for Top Hotels?

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    On occasion, I find myself wanting to get away mid-week in my own city. Just grab my laptop, and a bunch of work, and hole up somewhere for a couple of days. More and more, I find that the luxury and comfort of hotels can't match staying home, so when I do stay at hotels, I'm usually only happy at top-of-the-line hotels. However, for a hole-up for a night or two type of getaway, I would prefer to pay heavily discounted rates, as I can go anytime, including nights where a hotel has very low occupancy. The problem, however, is that most top of the line hotels do not register with priceline, hotwire, etc., and if there is a secret to getting the same type of heavily discounted rates, I would love to hear it! For example, I can find a "four star" hotel in my city on priceline, and occasionally get it for a $50 or $60 bid -- that's for a $180+ a night room. So what is happening to the $400 or $500 rooms on the nights when there is low occupancy, and how does one get a simliar level of discount?

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    Some of my best rates have come from corporate discounts. My company has a travel department which pre-negotiates better rates that employees can use for personal travel. It's hit or miss, but sometimes there are real bargains.

    If you have one or two hotels that you like to stay in a lot, you should really call up the managers (or the Corporate Accounts directors) directly and explain to them your situation. If a hotel is willing to negotiate corporate rates for a large company that promises to give them a certain amount of business each year, there's no reason why you can't do the same thing as an individual -- especially if you are willing to stay at off-peak times.

    Also, if you do work for a large company, you should definitely call their travel department. A lot of people who work at big corporations have access to hotel discounts that they aren't even aware of.

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    Thanks, forager. I like the idea of calling up the corporate accounts director or manager directly and trying to become a sort-of corporate client of one (although volume-wise, that is quite small). Unfortunately (in this case only), I work from home, and travel entirely for pleasure, so I don't have a corporate connection into the world of air and hotel travel.

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    Sorry, when you said that you, "just grab my laptop, and a bunch of work, and hole up somewhere for a couple of days," I just assumed that it was so you could get away and do some work in peace and quiet.

    Still, I don't see how it could hurt to call up the manager of your favorite hotel(s) and see if they'll give you a discounted rate if you plan on giving them let's say 10 off-peak nights in 2008. I be shocked if a hotel manager wouldn't play ball with an offer like that. You'd be doing them a favor. At least, that's how you'd have to look at it.

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    Since you like to go mid-week and in your hometown, just show up to the hotel you're interested in and ask the reception clerk (face-to-face) if the hotel is booked that night. If not, then ask for a good price right then and there for a room.

    Generally, hotels would rather cut their losses with a paying customer, even if it's at a greatly discounted rate, than have an empty room for the night.

    One time, out of curiosity, I just walked into the Waldorf Astoria and asked if I could get a room. The hotel was dead that day. They quoted me a SUITE for $129!! (Of course, they could never, ever advertise that sort of deal!)

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    If you're set on the Priceline route, take a look at Bidding for Travel. It's a forum for those who have found tricks to trying to beat the priceline system and get the best hotels possible.

    In fact, you can occasionally get accepted bids at five-star hotels. However, I believe it doesn't always work reliably.

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