The Myth About Bargaining Hotel Room Prices

As a former hotel clerk, I know first-hand that it is complete bull that hotels will allow you to haggle hotel room prices. I've read the magazine articles that state that the economy sucks, blah blah blah, and hotels are competing for guests so they are willing to let you pay next to nothing for a hotel room since they don't want people to walk out. Guess what? This just ain't true, and I'll tell you why. I'll also tell you how you can really get a cheaper room at a hotel, and maybe a few extra perks.

Here's the deal- hotels have a RACK rate, which is their regular room rate. This is the rate you are quoted when you call or walk into their business for a room. If you have Triple A, are military or government, have AARP, a student, or traveling on business, there are discounts available, but hotel clerks are trained to not ask if you have a discount. Clerks have an average daily rate they need to fulfill every day when filling rooms, so they need to sell the rooms at the most expensive rate possible to avoid being reprimanded by management. This means a clerk will not go out of their way to get you a cheaper room, and actually has authority to charge you more for a room (charge above RACK rate) to make their average daily rate go up. This is actually encouraged by hotel management.

If you want a cheaper room, put simply, don't be a jerk. You will literally pay extra for it. If you walk in all bad ass and attitude, you will end up paying whatever your clerk chooses to quote you, and you're legally obligated to pay it since you've signed your registration card for that amount. Without even realizing it, you can very likely end up paying more for a room by being abrasive and rude to the clerk, who is mostly jacking up the room prices hoping you will leave and not stay there. If you take the rate, you pay the rate.

On the other hand, if you show some respect, your hotel clerk will often offer you free stuff, like bar vouchers, a room upgrade, or not charge you a pet fee. A hotel clerk's job is exceedingly stressful (I've been spit on, physically threatened, etc) and clerks appreciate a simple Thank You. Seriously. The nicer you are from the get-go the better rate you may get.

Booking online through the hotel chain's website will save you money as well. Online rates are always about 10% cheaper than the walk in or call in rate of the hotel that you're staying at, and the hotel has to honor the online rate when you check in even if it's way cheaper than they would have quoted you. But don't walk in to the hotel demanding the online rate. If you don't book online, the hotel cannot and will not match the rate. No arguing or threatening will change that.

Back to that bargaining thing. A hotel clerk is not able to go any lower than their lowest possible rate. Period. Even the front desk manager is not able to go under the lowest quoted rate. Don't argue the rate. If you threaten to go somewhere else, the clerk will gladly see you go. Hotel clerks do not get paid any more or less than their (meager) hourly wage regardless of how many rooms they sell, so quite frankly, if you're an ass they'd rather see you leave than have to deal with you whining the whole time you're staying. If the hotel's bottom line is $59.99, the clerk cannot go lower than that, and most often the clerk will be trained to not go any lower than $10 above that, since once again, the average daily rate has to be upped. Since hotels never post their lowest possible rate so the guest can see it, if you're told $75 is the lowest the clerk can go, you'll have to take it or leave it, because you can't prove they can go lower, and they don't have to.

Remember, a clerk does not have to honor any discount at a hotel. All the clerk has to do is quote you RACK (regular rate) and can even deny you discounts the hotel regularly honors. If you want your clerk to be nice to you and not charge you more, show a little respect and don't argue with them. A clerk doesn't care if you stay or go, they just don't want to get yelled at. If you threaten to call management, fine. But unless the clerk was found to be threatening you back or being abusive to you, when you do call nothing will happen to the clerk, because they are just doing their job. If you call and say the clerk wouldn't go down on their rates for you, management will tell you they're sorry to hear it, then turn around and give kudos to the desk clerk. Clerks are trained to make money, not give away free rooms. Period. They will not get in trouble because you are a grumpy penny pincher. Rather, they WILL get in trouble for discounting rooms.

Bottom line is, a clerk cannot and will not bargain your room. My favorite saying when people would argue rates with me is "Hey, this isn't an auction." If they threatened to go elsewhere, I pointed them in the directions of nearby hotels. If the price doesn't work for you, leave and try to find something else. Don't harass the hotel clerk because it will quite literally get you nowhere.