The Easy Way To Negotiate a Cheaper Hotel
There are so many methods to get a good price on a hotel stay these days that no matter how good a deal you get, it’s typical to fear that you missed a better one.
The most apparent way to find savings is to compare prices and inventory among common booking sites. But if you go a little further, you’ll discover a plethora of methods to get “hidden” rates, generally on extra rooms that hoteliers believe they won’t be able to sell at full or even publicly discounted pricing.
But if you’re looking for a quality, well-located hotel — maybe even one with a little style — our approach should come close to getting you the greatest value imaginable.
1. Get the lay of the land
Log on to a standard online booking site, enter your dates, tweak the parameters — particularly those involving cost and location — and browse through your options, paying attention to user ratings, cancellation procedures, and if all taxes are included. Make a list of your preferred choices.
2. Price check
The next thing you have to do is to search the prices of the prices of different hotels. For example if you are in Singapore, you can check different hotels and their prices. You can then choose the best boutique hotel in Singapore according to your affordability and choice.
3.Seek hidden rates
Play around on getaroom.com if you want a peek into the realm of unpublished deals. That website, for example, provides flash bargains that expire quickly and rooms at “hotels inside hotels.”But things become strange when the website encourages you to “call for hidden unpublished pricing!”
4. Look for a package deal
Package deals will not work if you have already booked a ticket or are going on a longer, more involved vacation. If you want to save your money, you can buy a travelling package while being in your country. The package includes the travel expenses, accommodation and transportation charges. The complete travel packages are usually much affordable as compared to travelling on your own .So, buying a package is better if you want a budget friendly trip.
5. Go opaque
Ominous bargains provide some of the steepest savings off regular prices. You get to choose a star level and a large geographic area, and then either bid or select a discount rate. Only after your credit card has been charged do you learn where you’ll be staying – often a soulless chain, but never, in our experience, a bad location.
6. Make the call
Call the location you’ve chosen (by Skype, to save money). Tell them you’re ready to book their hotel through, and ask if they’ll offer you a discount for booking directly with them. Hotels often pay booking companies a 20 to 30 percent fee, so they should be willing to share the difference with you.
Sometimes this works, sometimes this doesn’t — it all depends on who answers the phone and how much power they have; with smaller establishments, always request to talk with the owner or manager. (If it’s simpler or if your phone and English isn’t the hotel’s strong suit, you may also ask for a discount by email),
7. Last-minute adjustments
This third step is only applicable if you have a cancelable reservation, which is commonly the case with lower-cost hotels. In theory, you could return every day to hunt for better discounts.
You may also monitor it on other websites that give you alerts when prices drop, but let’s be sensible here. As your departure date (and cancellation deadline) approaches, check out one of the many last-minute discount websites and apps.
