Anyone else notice that hotel rates have ed about 20% in the last quarter? Throw on the tax that and we are talking about some real cash!
When I travel (for my company) I try to be somewhat modest in the places I stay but also use the various rewards programs whereby you can earn points.
For the most part you could stay in a Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express for under a $ 100 a night. That is becoming increasingly more difficult and near impossible in major metropolitan areas.
I know about priceline, hotels.com and all that stuff but I really like to ac ulate the points so I can stay for free on vacation.
People who want to do vacations this summer are not just going to get a smack in the face from fuel prices, they are going to be suprised at the hotel costs as well.
1) Hotel taxes for every arena/stadium/convention center/downtown development have become popular.
2) Energy costs are stratospheric -- heating/cooling/laundry/etc
3) Health insurance costs for employees are spiraling out of control.
4) Hotels will sock it to business travelers before they do leisure travelers, because businesses are more willing to pay. The airlines have done this for years.
I rented a great hotel in Padre as soon as the semester is over. It's gonna be glorious.
Bargains can still be had if you explore enough. I find that I usually can find a good Best Western for about $58 to $70. I also find that there are a lot of differences between sites. Fairfield Inns and Hamptons are nice but so are Best Westerns.
It's been going up since Katrina hit. The hotels got used to charging premium prices because of demand and demand has continued to stay up. It bugs me too.
Well like I said, I want to stay where I can ac ulate frequent stayer points. A buddy of mine has started doing the Comfort Inn properties which I may explore and replace Holiday Inn Express with. I am mad at Holiday Inn Express as I was going to stay in Burnet (yeah, yeah I know) using points. I canceled the same day but their policy is 24 hour notice. I got them mixed up with Marriott who lets you cancel the same day up until 6:00 pm.
Anyway, long story short, instead of taking my points to pay for the night I didn't use, they hit my credit card for $ 131.00. For a Friday night in Burnet!!
Hampton Inns are usually pretty nice but Fairfields are less consistent. Most are clean but some are a little shabby because of age.
The Katrina issue is a good point. There are less and less options of the chains I use in Houston when I travel there (except for their high dollar places).
Best western is good cheap.
Business Travel at Marriott and Hiltons have been steady for me at about $159-199 a night depending on the city I am staying in.
If you are traveling for business make sure you are asking for the corporate rate these are usually cheaper than their regular rates. With some research a good deal can be found.
It depends on where you are going. Hotel rates are always higher in many locations than others. San Antonio has always been very low on the lodging ceiling scale, but it's going up. Government per diem rates are based on locality, because hotel rates fluctuate so drastically between cities. For example, you are not going to find any hotel, not even a Hampton, Fairfield, or Holiday Inn Express in the Washington DC area for less than $100 a day; the lodging ceiling in DC for this time of year is $180/day and most hotels charge that to the penny. The season has a lot to do with hotel rates, too. Hotel rates are higher in DC during cherry blossom season than later in the summer.
We just had a large group visiting our office stay at the new Hampton Inn in Schertz and the government rate for there was $85.
So, there are a lot of factors that enter into it. But, still, your best bet for personal travel is to keep checking the internet sites. I have gotten some fantastic deals for Las Vegas, Atlanta, Charleston SC, and for Galveston by being diligent and checking it every single day when I'm planning a trip. I got a great room at the Imperial Palace in Vegas two years ago for an average of $68 per night (the rate varied the three nights of our stay). That's unheard of. We paid the amount for three nights that many people pay for a single night. (And because they had a glitch on their website, the guy at the Imperial Palace asked me to go through the confirmation process so he could watch it as I did it...and he gave me free tickets to a show for helping him.)
Yea back when I did a few TDY's they would gouge the govt. What I hated was they made YOU get a credit card in your name haha. yea it said U.S. Govt official use only
on it but if it was late YOU got the bill not them lol.
They gave me a hard time once about breakfast cause the hotel had contiential (cold). And I had to have eggs so I went somewhere else. They made me pay for breakfast... bas s lol.
BTW if you want cheap vacation. I stay at the Port A best western a lot. On weekdays off season 53 bucks a night. There is also one on North Padre that's good getaway.
Not too shabby.
Negotiate.
I use Hotwire.com. It gives better rates than any other site I'm aware of.
Call them and throw out a price, speak to the mgr, etc. They all have these deals they can do as long as occupancy is below 80%. That, according to a friend of mine is the threshold that deals stop.
Actually they screw people on the corporate rates as well, let alone government rates. I travel about 8 months out of the year right now for work.If you are traveling for business make sure you are asking for the corporate rate these are usually cheaper than their regular rates.
The best things to do:
1. Internet user's best rate on their web site
2. Call and deal
I use Best Western and the Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, etc.), they've got a great points to airline miles conversion rate.
Most of my travel involves me staying somewhere anywhere from 3 days to 6 weeks. I'll call and talk to a manager, and usually talk them down pretty low. You can call around and get rates here and there to negotiate with managers.
I did an install outside of College Station where I got the Best Western manager to match the local Motel 6 price of $29.99, down from their best web rate of $69.99 a night.And I got to pocket the other $55 a night from the hotel per diem.
I plan a TON of travel for my boss and the guys in my office. Thankfully I work for a big company so I can throw the name and my boss's le around a little. For the hotels we use a lot, I call and set up to meet with the manager in charge of corporate sales, we negotiate a permanent rate so I can get that rate any time I book a room. I usually like to go and have lunch with the person, helps with negotiations.
Many of my counterparts across the country do the same so wherever I travel or my boss travels, we get a good deal. The hotel I'm staying at in Sacramento this weekend I'm getting $70 off the regular room rate because of our corporate rate. I had a guy come into town yesterday and needed a last-minute hotel for 3 days near LAX, everywhere was sold out but my hotel of choice down there got him a room (and cancelled a couple people's reservations to get him in there) at our pre-negotiated corporate rate.
I can usually find a nice parking garage for like $10-20 per night.
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