Yes, You Can Save Money by Asking a Hotel for a Discount

Well, we finally have an expert weighing in on our discussion regarding asking for a discount at a hotel. Here's a comment left at my post titled A Practical Way to Save Money on a Hotel Room.

As a hotel desk clerk myself this is probably a good idea. We do not normally charge no shows, unless the entire hotel is booked, and especially if you come in late at night just try asking for a discount. I would rather sell you a room for a discount then have you walk out the door.

An empty hotel room is lost revenue for the business that can never be recouped. So, their thinking goes, why not offer a room at a discount? It's better to have a room rented out at a reasonable discount than to have it go unused for an evening.

Knowing this, you can use it to your advantage and simply ask for a discount. What's the worst that could happen -- they could say "no"?

Comments

[Curtis]

I ALWAYS do this when travelling. We make trips every 2 years to Florida and drive from Missouri. Wherever we stop it is typically late of the evening. Just by asking for a lower rate, I get it. It's never failed to save at least $10 and up to $25 on the rate.

This works the best at highway exits with several hotels next to each other. It's too easy for you to walk out the door and across the parking lot for them NOT to give you a discount.

[DwayneLattimore.com]

This is a good point well taken except for a few ideas that I think we're all missing here. Most people only travel during holidays and for special events going on invarious cities. Depending on where you're going, the hotels might always be booked and looking for a "deal" is futile. Good examples of cities like this would include New York, Los Angeles, Miami, etc.. These cities tend to stay busy all the time and the prices are pretty much non-negotiable! Even cities that aren't that popular have specific times of the year that they won't yield to bargainers! An example of this would be Louisville, KY which hosts the famous "Louisville Derby" for horse racing! On other days of the year, you might get away with a great deal, but during that time; no! Besides everything else, it still doesn't hurt to ask right?!

Dwayne