Always Ask for a Discount
April 7, 2007
I just ran across a new site called Tricks of the Trade that collects and shares “nifty occupational secrets”. People who have gained inside knowledge by working in a certain industry share their tips with the world.
A recent tip from an anonymous hotel manager is a good addendum to my post Ten Ways to Ask for a Lower Price or a Better Deal. The hotel discount post recommends another way to save.
Always ask for a business discount. You may not have a business, but you work for one–and even if you don’t, how would I know? The worst that will happen is someone will say no.
Most motel and hotels have corporate discounts. Nobody tries very hard to find out how legitimate people’s business claims are, and most of us secretly don’t care.
So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. This tip could be especially useful if you’re staying for more than a night or two. The business discount could really add up if you stay some period of time. Thanks to Matthew Baldwin for putting this site together, I imagine it will be a great place to look for other money saving tips.
All posts by Ben Edwards
The example I have is a retail furniture store. Worked for chain of furniture stores for 7 years. The markup up is very high on furniture, just like other big ticket items, so the managers always had some leeway in price. Good tips. Thanks.
Asking for a discount works everywhere. I’ve asked for discount in furniture stores, flooring stores, auto-mechanics.
Barnes and nobles and most cellphone providers give business discounts too, although you need to be a legitimate business.
I like the corporate discount idea and will try that next time. I usually use AAA to get some sort of discount, but the corporate discount appears to be substatially larger.
Nice post, I use this method all the time when booking hotels. I always book my rooms under the government rates, usually significantly cheaper. Although I do work for the government, I am not always staying at hotels for government business. For example, I booked a government rate for a week on my honeymoon and saved roughly a couple hundred bucks.
I always used to ask for a discount when reserving rooms over the phone or through a travel agent. That seems like light years with the internet age. Now, I surf the net for the best deals. I have found that when I use http://www.reservediscountrooms.com I usually get the best deal. A few times I have asked for a discount after booking the room online and gotten it but never have I called the hotel after getting the info and been successul. The whole reason their in the online booking business is because they make the vig not dealing with a live person.
There are many really high-class hotels that offer very low rates to large corporate customers that are located close-by. I know of two such hotels in WI and SC where I travel on business. The normal rate that these two hotels offer are over $150 per night, but if you call and tell them you are coming to see [ENTER NAME OF BUSINESS HERE] the rate goes doewn to $89 and $109 respectively, and I am talking about seriously awesome hotels.