Booking Hotel Rooms:
Getting the Best Rate

ABOVE: Favorite relaxation spot at the Nautical Inn.

Here's how to make sure you get the best discount you can: First of all, call around to the hotels you're interested in, ask for the reservations desk and find out what their "rack" or normal, everyday rate is. Ask if they offer a corporate discount. Make note of these amounts. These will be your starting points for negotiation.

Now, call back to these hotels and ask to talk to the sales department. Do NOT negotiate these rates with reservations or with the front desk. If the hotel isn't big enough to have a separate sales department, then talk to the front office manager or the General Manager (GM). In a larger hotel the reservations department is not authorized to set custom rates - sales is.

When you talk to the sales office, be as exact as you can in your figures. Let them know how many rooms you expect to need for how many nights. For example, Aunt Suzie and Uncle John will come in Thursday and stay thru Sunday. Aunt Margaret can't get here until Friday nite, so will only need her room for two nights. It helps to kind of plot this out, to be aware of the number of rooms you'll really need. Obviously you can't be exact, but the closer you are, the better. Your final result should read something like: Fri night 3 doubles and 5 singles, Sat night 12 doubles and 14 singles, Sun nite 1 double and 3 singles. That way the hotel knows what rooms to reserve on what day.

Then begin to negotiate the rate with the sales person. Because you've got the rack and corporate rates in mind, you have a starting point from which to bargain. If they won't go lower than the corporate rate, then move on to another hotel. By the same token, unless you're planning to rent 1/2 of the hotel, don't expect to get 50% off. For example, if their rack rate is $119.00, and their corporate rate is $99.00, then you should expect an offer anywhere between $79 - $89. Keep in mind that if your group visit or wedding is during a busy "hotel time" (conventions, school events, etc.) there is less room to negotiate on the rates. Of course the more rooms you rent, the lower the rate.

Also remember that most hotels quote the rate for a single (1 occupant) room. One item that you might work into your negotiation is that your families will pay the single room rate, even if there are more people in the room. Keep in mind that if you negotiate this as part of your deal: most hotels are not allowed more than 4 people (adults) in a room because of fire code laws."

Next page: Confirming and Making Reservations