Thanks for sharing your views..These are some more tips:
To find a deal on a hotel room, be thorough, be flexible, and know where to look and what to ask. The steepest price a hotel charges for a room is the rack rate (the hotel's standard price for a room sans discounts), and your goal is to get well below that inflated figure with package deals, off-season rates and savvy bargaining.
Instructions
1.Plan your vacation well in advance and during the off-season, or midweek when hotel rates are far cheaper--up to 50 percent-- due to less demand. Call the hotel and ask for the exact day its off-season rates start. Timing is everything.
2.Call the hotel and ask about package deals, promotions and special discounts for seniors, military, students, corporations or American Automobile Association (aaa.com) members. When you're quoted a rate, ask if less expensive rooms are available.
3.Book your room via the Web: Many hotels offer discounts for commission-free online transactions.
4.Ask if kids stay free if you're traveling with your family. Find out if the rooms have kitchens or kitchenettes--you'll save a bundle by preparing your own meals.
Warnings:
If you're staying at a hotel longer than seven days, haggle for one free night per week or ask about weekly rates.
Beware of hidden costs. Taxes, surcharges, resort fees and "incidental" fees tacked on to your bill are common and rarely mentioned until you check out, so be sure to ask if there are any extras charges on the agreed room rate. If they are tacked on without your prior approval, refuse to pay them.
As a former Hotel GM I can honestly say that many Hotels are up to negotiations on an individual basis. If the Hotel is less than 1/2 full and there is not a chance for a sell-out, many desk clerks are instructed and encouraged to sell rooms at a large discount in order to get "Heads in Beds". Why not discount $50 but still get $109 for a room that without giving a discount, you lose the patron to the hotel next door to you. Your best chance for a discount is to know what the Hotels around you are charging, then you can use this as leverage.
Going to NY next week. Planned to stay with friends, but it seems that they may be backing out last minute. Great hotel search websites available. Thank you.
Why isn't Hotels.com listed? Are they not so good to work with or are the other sites listed better?
There are actually a lot of good hotels in certain places. You can actually ask people who have been to such places and asked them about the hotel they've stayed. Ask about the pay, how the hotel was, how were they treated, was it clean, and all other things. A great forum like this could really help you pick one. If you are really in a hurry, you can search for a hotel through Plaza Travel. Good Luck!
If you want to get the latest promo codes and deals directly from the hotels, try http://lasvegas.im/tweets-hotel. These promo codes are updated constantly by the hotels.
Check out http://hotelpricehunter.com It instantly searches over 30 of the largest travel sites including Expedia, EBookers and Booking.com to find you the cheapest deal on hotel accommodation. ..
Check out http://hotelpricehunter.com Their search engine instantly searches over 30 of the largest travel sites including Expedia, EBookers and Booking.com to find you the cheapest deal on hotel accommodation on the internet!
Also, http://best-travel-prices.com is an amazing hotel and cheap flights comparison site. It searches and combines availability results from all major travel sites at once.
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
