How to Deal When a Hotel Lowers Its Rates After You've Booked

January 14, 2009 at 9:56 AM | by Jenna | Comments (3)

Due to the state of the economy and, consequently, hotels scrambling to fill up rooms, rates are dropping all over the place — and chances are, you might fall victim to the dreaded "I-booked-my-hotel-too-early" situation. Yes, it's one of those times where the early bird doesn't catch the worm. If you've booked your hotel too far in advance, room rates may end up dropping between the time you've reserved your room and the time you arrive at the hotel.

But it's a'ight; that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to score the lower rate. You're not stuck with the rate you reserved!

Wendy Perrin, who writes the Perrin Post over at Conde Nast Traveler's Concierge.com, gave killer advice to a reader who had written in with the very same dilemma. The reader had booked a trip to the Ritz-Carlton Cancun several months ago — and rates have dropped significantly since then. The guest wanted to know how to do go about politely checking to see if he or she could score a better rate.

Perrin's response:

My guess is that, if you phone the hotel and speak with the reservations manager, you won't encounter any reluctance whatsoever to give you the best rate available. Reservations desks at the finest hotels want to be fair and keep you happy.

She also recommended that the guest phone the on-site reservations desk to confirm whether there is in fact a better rate or package than what was originally booked.

And if for some reason the hotel is not willing to give the guest the better rate, she suggests (duh): "have your travel companion reserve a room at the better rate under his/her name. Cancel your first reservation and use the second one instead." Not too complicated, but we wonder if this would actually work. Our experience is usually that hotels aren't willing to budge once they've gotten you locked in at the higher rate. Then again, we aren't usually staying at Ritz-Carlton Hotels.

Have you ever reserved a room only to find out later that they are going for less than what you booked? How did you handle it? Let your fellow hotel guests know here.

Comments (3)

Return to » How to Deal When a Hotel Lowers Its Rates After You've Booked

you just pull the ol' switcheroo. most reservations agents aren't really all that interested in you. i've made a second reservation in my own name and then called back during a different shift (calling third shift employees is best). i give them the confirmation number for the old rezzie and get it cancelled. everyone's happy, and i take the 50 bucks and blow it elsewhere.

the third shift thing (11pm - 7am ish) is key. if you ever really need something done that's a little against the rules, your average graveyard employee is the best resource. it's not that they're garbage employees, it's just that a little grease can get a long way when the power tripping front office manager isn't lurking in the shadows.

I have to agree too. You can get everything accomplished by following up at that later hour. Most customer services redeem themselves during that time slot.

In my experience Ms. Perrin is correct. Most reservationist will be willing to drop your rate to current BAR. I don't think it is beneficial to call around at the same hotel speaking to several different people. Speaking with the reservations manager on property or a sales manager will usually do the trick. The idea in hotels is to not get you to stay once but to get you to stay everytime you are in the area, again and again. Or to stay with the brand again. Hotels are in it to make money and provide hospitality. Not in it to take advantage of guests.

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