Hotel Industry Troubles Help Business Travelers

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The Blind Buying the Unknown

Third-party travel sites such as Priceline and Hotwire have long offered "blind" buying of hotel rooms: You state the price you want to pay or are offered a low nightly rate, but you don't know the property you're booking until after you pay. Until recently, the blind-booking sites were almost totally the province of leisure travelers. But as more hotels in the four- and even five-star class look for ways to move distressed room inventory, some business travelers are dabbling in blind buying. Personally, I don’t like booking blind—hotel rooms are not a commodity like coach airline seats—but these are interesting and challenging times for dedicated bargain seekers. If you go blind, try to get some real-time advice by googling terms like "Priceline booking tips." A little advance sleuthing could help you avoid a dump or turn up a real bargain.

Keep It In the Family

Big hotel companies aren't even chains anymore, but instead they're "families" of brands across many price points and lodging types. So a company like Hilton has luxury hotels (Waldorf Astoria and Conrad), full-service brands (Hilton and Doubletree), so-called "focused service" properties (Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn), and specialty products like all-suites (Embassy Suites) and extended-stay lodgings (Homewood Suites). The same is true for Marriott, Starwood, InterContinental, Hyatt, and the other lodging firms. Concentrating your stays within one family does wonders for the balance in your frequent-guest program. That'll not only yield elite status—a wonderful perk that often yields free upgrades and extra in-room amenities—but a bonanza of points that can be converted into free nights for future business trips or a family vacation. By the way, if you're booking a family of brands, use the hotel company's proprietary website. The chains demand their franchisees give the lowest prices to the company site.

The Price of Independents

Despite the power of the hotel families, there continues to be a thriving market for independents, especially in bigger cities and in market segments like luxury properties, boutique lodgings, and resorts. You'll often find the best rates at independent properties because they don't have to pay 12 to 15 percent of their nightly take to a chain for use of the name. But finding a reliable independent property can be daunting. When I go independent, I rely on Quikbook. In my experience, it offers the best combination of price, reliable ratings, and information—and most of its rates do not require prepayment.

The Fine Print…

The once-reliable ploy of calling directly to the hotel and asking for a lower price isn't so reliable anymore. That's because many properties no longer even maintain an on-property reservation office but instead route you back to the chain's central booking service. Still, it couldn't hurt to call direct, especially if you're trying to reserve a luxury hotel or large, big-city property.

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