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The Rate Game

Published Monday, July 21, 2008 by bloggerblognet22596 | E-mail this post

The travel industry is ripe ground to till for smart operators - from airlines to hotels to car or vacation rentals. It has long been a standard that one would pay more in season for anything from an airline fare to a houseboat rental. The smarter operators never said they charged higher rates at certain times, only that they were granting tremendous discounts for OUT of season bookings. Cheap hotels never had to say anything - they are simply always cheap as a rule. Expensive hotels had to have a game plan however to account for the tremendous swing in rates.

Presently, airlines are adding fuel surcharges, extra baggage fees, overweight bag penalties and are now even charging for you having the audacity to take one bag on your trip! All to be blamed on high oil prices - as well they should. But hotels have a new source of rate gaming themselves - the internet. Smart operators use it fully to their advantage, having many different rates for the different sites or ways someone might contact them to book a room.

What the consumer needs to do is educate themselves on the possible ways to save money. Simply realizing there are different rates for different sites is a start. Knowing whether to book early or wait to book last minute is a strategy some use to their advantage. Whether to even make a reservation or just take your chances is a choice one can make. The wrong choice will cost you $30-$50 per night. The right choice can save you hundreds on a four or five day stay.

Where you are going and when you travel will account for much of the decision. If you are planning to go to Hawaii in July, you aren't going to wait until June 30th to start looking for bargain fares and discount hotels. Nor are you likely to go there with NO reservation and assume you will just wing it. If you were going to the Grand Canyon in November, I don't think I'd book a room on a discount site and pay for it in April either. Rates will likely plunge after the high season ends, so this is a decision better put off until October.

Once you begin to understand the dynamics of rate plans and use the one that works with your needs best, you will learn to save money almost automatically. But if you are the type that isn't aware of what is going on in a given city, you may find yourself trying to get into New Orleans at the last minute only to find out the Super Bowl is in town. I doubt I need to tell you how much a hotel there will charge at the last minute but I suggest you should just bring it in bullion and forget the paper bills.

David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who has seen a drastic change in the hotel environment once the Internet became a fixture. He offers common sense, money saving advice about how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination 'specials'. His blog can be viewed at http://www.bookhotelscheaper.com