Airline Hotel Travel Discounts

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Unlike the airlines, hotel inventory continues to grow even during the recession because properties planned two or three years ago are now gushing from the construction pipeline. The result of the growing supply and falling demand? A frenzied round of price cuts, promotions and value-added offers.

Five of the leading global hotel "families"—Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott, and Starwood—last week announced rich, prime-the-pump promotions for their respective frequent guest plans. Hilton, for example, is offering double points to members of its HHonors program for every stay until April. The HHonors program permits "double dipping" (earning points and frequent-flier miles for each stay), so many Hilton properties are also offering sextuple miles for guests who participate in Delta's SkyMiles plan.

Meanwhile, to build occupancy at its hotels and resorts on weekends, when business travelers are scarce, Marriott properties in the United States, Canada, and Latin America last week began offering rates that include free breakfast for two adults. And when value-added deals just won't do, hotels are slashing rates. One example: The new Fairmont Battery Wharf in Boston. Facing stiff competition from another newly opened luxury hotel (the Mandarin Oriental) as well as Boston's existing deluxe digs, the Fairmont Battery Wharf has literally cut its rate in half. Prices usually start at $299 a night. Until April 15, however, $299 will get you a two-night stay.

Here's another example. Need a romantic getaway for Valentine's Day? How about a night high up in the Roman hills at the lavish Cavalieri hotel? It's part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection now and rooms are going for just 222.50 euros, quite a discount from last Valentine's Day, when the hotel was called the Rome Cavalieri Hilton and I priced accommodations at 650 euros.

If there's a caveat to this unprecedented series of travel discounts and bargains, it's this: There is no single best source to score the deals.

To find the lowest airfares for any particular route, you'll probably have to cross-check the airlines' proprietary websites against third-party booking services such as Orbitz.com and traditional brick-and-mortar travel agents. (In general, however, Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to fly; Saturday stays and seven- to 30-day advance purchases are required for the lowest fares.) Hotel chains usually reserve the lowest room rates and the best promotions for their own sites, although Quikbook.com offers great rates at independent properties in large cities. And it never hurts to call direct to the hotel and see if you can score a better deal at the last minute.

One final thought: If you spend hours doing research, you can almost always save an additional $30 on a fare or another $10 on the nightly room rate. But is that really a cost-effective use of your time? Over the years, I've found the "best" price is the one that balances a fair fare or room rate with the time it takes to find it.

The Fine Print…
About the only time you'll pay premium prices for travel in the next few weeks is in Washington for next week's presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, and for the Super Bowl in Tampa on February 1. And even the Super Bowl isn't drawing the crowds it did in 2001, the last time the game was played in Tampa. I found rooms at a major chain hotel 20 miles from Raymond James Stadium for less than $120 a night.

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