Difference between revisions of "Hotels 101"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|award nights 101}} (2021)}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|hotels 101}} (2021)}}
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{{seo|description=Everything you need to know to get free hotel nights using credit card points and free night certificates.}}
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{{Page|article|Save on Booking|Hotel Strategies}}
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{{Page|article|Home|Hotel Strategies}}  
 
  
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“Standard” hotel rates are usually the same, regardless of whether you are shopping on the hotel’s own website or using a third-party travel website like Expedia. In most cases, contractual arrangements force everyone to charge the same basic rate for the room.
  
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<br/>
 
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
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Hotel points are easy to use. Unlike frequent flyer programs, availability is not an issue. If there is a standard room available, you can almost always book it with your points. And since the number of points you need doesn't change very much based on demand, you can often save a lot of money by using your points when hotel rates are more expensive than normal.  
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Even though "standard" rates are the same on every travel site, it is still easy to get a better deal on your hotel room. You should almost always be able to make a hotel reservation for LESS than the "best available rate".
 
</blockquote>  
 
</blockquote>  
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The trick is to find and take advantage of several types of “non-standard” rates. These special rates bypass contractual limitations and are therefore allowed to be less expensive than the normal rate.
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Don't just settle on booking your hotels through a general-purpose travel booking site like Expedia.com. With a little bit of extra effort, you can almost always uncover a better rate on a different site.
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
{{TOC}}
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*[[#Hotel reward programs: the very basics|Hotel award night basics]]
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*[[#Finding the best hotel rate|Finding the best rate]]
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*[[#Getting points to use for award nights|Getting hotel points]]
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*[[#Get an even lower rate with Hotwire|Get an even lower rate with Hotwire]]
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*[[#Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination|Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination]]
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*[[#An example|An example]]
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*[[#Tips for getting good value from your award points|Tips for getting good value from your award points]]
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*[[#Other tips for saving money on hotels|Other tips for saving money]]
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*[[#Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points|Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points]]
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*[[#Maximize the rewards from your stays|Maximizing rewards]]
 
{{/TOC}}
 
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{{Main|article}}
 
{{Main|article}}
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=== Hotel reward programs: the very basics ===
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=== Better than "the best available rate" ===  
  
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If you are truly a newbie to the world of hotel loyalty programs, there are a few things that you need to know. If you already understand the basics of hotel reward programs, feel free to skip to the next section.
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There are several different basic strategies for finding a better hotel deal.
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''Always check the hotel’s website for members, discounted, and promotional rates'''. Once you’ve narrowed down the list of places that you might want to stay, make sure to check each hotel’s website directly.</li>
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At chain hotels, you’ll find special “member rates” that are lower than the rates available on third party travel websites like Expedia. You'll need to join the loyalty program to access these rates, but joining is free, doesn't take much time, and provides a number of additional benefits. Furthermore, booking direct is often the only way to get loyalty points for your stay and guarantee access to any of your member benefits. {{Link|join hotel programs}}.
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For all hotels, the hotel website is often the only place that provides access to AAA, senior, corporate, military, and other discounted rates.
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More than likely, the hotel’s website also includes some additional promotions or packages, which can often be a better deal than the standard rate. For example, you might be able to get a free night or discounted rate on a multi-night reservation, a well-priced package that includes parking, breakfast, or other benefits, a discount on an extra room for the kids, or a special promotional rate.
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<li>'''For many hotels, a AAA rate might offer the best deal'''. You’ll be eligible for a discount of around 10% at a large percentage of the hotels in the United States and Canada; and/or have access to a refundable reservation for around the same price as the normal non-refundable rate. AAA discounts are available at every type of hotel—downtown chain hotels, seaside inns, large resorts, small boutiques, and independent roadside motels. {{Link|AAA}}.</li>
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{{Image|AAACard.png|360}}
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The AAA rate is usually available through the hotel's website. But if a US-based hotel is not showing a AAA rate, you can try calling in. Sometimes they actually offer a AAA rate; other times they will give you a discount anyway.
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You can also get good deals by becoming a member of AARP (the American Association of Retired People). Surprisingly, anyone can join, and the membership fee is only $15/year. While AAA offers discounts on a considerably larger number of hotels, the AARP rates are occasionally lower, so it can make sense to belong to both organizations. [[AAA#AARP|Join AARP to Save Money on Hotel Rooms (you don't have to be over 50)]].
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<li>'''You can sometimes find much lower prices through “private deal” websites'''. If a website requires you to sign in before showing you its "special" prices, it doesn’t need to stick to the official rates. Several “membership only” websites offer lower-than-normal prices, although only for a subset of the hotels at any destination. For most of these sites, all that “membership only” means is that you’ve filled in a registration form and are signed-in to the site—there are no fees or special requirements to join.</li>
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At private deal websites, you can find rates that are sometimes 20%, 30%, or 40% lower than the prevailing rate. Each site has its own set of deals, so it can be worthwhile searching multiple sites.
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The two most useful sites are:
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<ul>
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<li>'''[//goSeek.com goSeek.com]'''. goSeek is probably the best of the private deals websites. It acts like an aggregator, searching several other "private deal" services.
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{{Image|GoSeek.png}}
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<li>'''[//hotelengine.com HotelEngine.com]'''. Our other favorite private deal website, it frequently has great rates and still allows you to take advantage of most hotel's loyalty programs.</li>
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{{Image|HotelEngine.png}}
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</ul>
  
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<li>'''You might not immediately recognize the names of a couple of the largest hotel programs'''. The largest hotel company in the world is called the “Intercontinental Hotel Group” or “IHG”. They are the parent company of Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and a few other hotel brands; but are named after their high-end Intercontinental brand. The Marriott program encompasses dozens of different hotel brands that you might not associate with Marriott. Most hotel brands with multiple locations belong to one of a small number of major hotel programs. </li>  
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For more information about GoSeek, Hotel Engine, and other members-only hotel booking sites, see:
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<center>{{Tile|Private Deals}}</center>
  
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{{Image|HotelBrands.png|360}}
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<li>'''If you have enough flexibility, you can usually get the best hotel rates through Hotwire'''. With Hotwire (and other "opaque" booking tools), you’ll often get rates that are 30-60% less expensive than normal, but you won't know the exact hotel you are booking until after you finish making your non-refundable reservation.</li>
  
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<li>'''You can earn and redeem points with any of the program's brands'''. For example, you can use Marriott points to stay at Westins or Delta Resorts and not just at Marriott hotels.</li>
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{{Image|HotwireEffect.png}}
  
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<li>'''Some hotel points are much more valuable than others'''. Different hotel loyalty programs require very different amounts of points for a free hotel night. For example, for a roughly equivalent hotel, Hyatt might require 12,000, Marriott might require 30,000, and Hilton might require 50,000 points. The expected value of different hotel points ranges from a low of about .4 cents per point, to a high of 1.75 cents per point. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>
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It may seem risky to book a room without knowing exactly what hotel you’ll get. However, it isn’t that bad. Before you book, you’ll have access to most of the critical information you need: the neighborhood where the hotel is located, its “star” rating, its Trip Advisor rating, the size of the beds in the rooms, Hotwire’s own user ratings, and whether the hotel has the key amenities you need. And with just a little bit of extra effort, you can usually determine exactly which hotel you'll be getting (before you commit).  
  
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This is quite different from the world of frequent flyer miles, where most airlines require roughly the same number of miles for the same type of award tickets.
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<br/><center>{{Tile|Hotwire}}</center>
  
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<li>'''The number of required points is based on the “category” of the hotel'''. For example, Marriott currently has eight categories of hotels with standard rates ranging from 7,500 to 85,000 points per night. There is often a slightly lower cost during off-peak dates and potentially a slightly higher cost during peak travel dates.</li>
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On many trips, NOT booking via Hotwire simply translates into paying too much for your hotel room (even when you factor in the fact you don't receive loyalty points and benefits). Because Hotwire's rates are non-refundable, we often book a fully-refundable "backup" reservation ahead-of-time and then switch over to a less-expensive Hotwire reservation when it gets closer to our travel dates.
  
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Hotel programs generally keep the point cost for each category constant, but periodically move the hotels from one category to another. A hotel that was in category 5 one year, might be in category 6 the next. As you might expect, many more hotels move up to more expensive categories than move down into less expensive categories, so a typical hotel award night has gradually required more points over time.
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<li>'''If you can’t find a better rate, book at Hotels.com to take advantage of their generous loyalty program'''. You’ll get the equivalent of 10% back with Hotels.com’s “Stay 10 Nights and Earn 1 Free Night” loyalty program. In many cases, you would do better by booking directly with the hotel, booking through Hotwire, or taking advantage of a “private deal” site. But if you can’t find a better rate elsewhere, book at Hotels.com.</li> 
  
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{{Image|MarriottRewardChart.png}}
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<br/><center>{{Tile|Hotels.com}}</center>
  
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Some hotel programs, like Hilton and IHG, vary the award prices for each hotel in a wider range. But, behind the scenes, each hotel still belongs to a category that constrains the maximum award price.  
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<li>'''If you are booking at an expensive hotel, make sure to check “luxury hotel programs”'''. You may not find a better room rate, but you’ll receive a set of very valuable perks, like free breakfast, a free $100 hotel credit, late checkout, and nearly guaranteed room upgrades. We would never book a fancy hotel before seeing whether we can take advantage of these substantial extra benefits. </li>
  
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<li>'''Unlike frequent flyer programs, it is easy to redeem your hotel points'''. If there are rooms available, you will almost always be able to use your points. You can even use your points during peak travel periods and special events (like New Year's Eve or a college football game weekend), when regular room rates are much higher than normal. However, this only applies to regular rooms. If the only thing left at the hotel are deluxe rooms, junior suites, etc., you may not be able to book an award night or you may need to use a larger number of points.</li>
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Several different luxury hotel programs are operated by credit card companies and are available to anyone who has one of their cards. Chances are, that you have (or will soon have) access to multiple of these programs.  
  
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The occasional hotel will "cheat". They will treat most of their regular hotel rooms as special "view" rooms that aren't available for award stays and only have a tiny number of official "standard" rooms. This can make it nearly impossible to use your points, but this is the exception not the rule.  
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In addition, each of the high-end hotel chains has their own program, which they make available via luxury travel agencies. Even in today’s internet era, when it comes to luxury hotels, you can get a better deal by working with a travel agent, rather what you can get yourself online.  
  
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<li>'''Award nights are refundable'''. However, just like refundable cash rates, you'll still need to change or cancel your reservation before a hotel-specific deadline. In extreme cases, this could be a month or more before your stay.</li>
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<br/><center>{{Tile|Luxury Hotels}}</center>
  
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<li>'''You'll typically receive your membership benefits when you book an award room'''. For example, if you are entitled to free breakfast at Hilton hotels, you'll receive this benefit, even when you are using points to book your room. Award nights even entitle you to credits towards higher-level elite status.</li>
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<li>'''Buy the points needed for an award night'''. If rates are high and you don't already have points for a "free" award stay, it can be cheaper to buy and use hotel loyalty points than to pay the regular rate. This is especially true for IHG (Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Kimpton, etc.) and Choice hotels, where you can buy points at relatively inexpensive rates. But when rates are high or the number of required points is low, it can also be true at Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and other hotel programs where you'll generally need to pay higher prices for your points. Also remember that if you have Ultimate Reward points you can convert them to Hyatt points at good value. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== <span id="Credit Card Points">Getting points to use for award nights</span> ===
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{{Box|Save More with Non-refundable Rates}}
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Not long ago, the typical rates listed for hotels were always “refundable rates”. You could change or cancel your reservation up until a deadline that was close to check-in time. Nowadays, more hotels and websites are displaying non-refundable rates, either as a lower cost option or as the only option for booking the hotel. Make sure to always check the cancellation policies when comparing rates.
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''It is always nice to be able to take advantage of a lower rate. But if you book a non-refundable reservation and your plans change, you are screwed'''. You’ll also miss out on any opportunity to take advantage of a cheaper rate (at the same hotel or at an alternative) that you might uncover later.</li>
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<li>'''One reasonable approach is to start out booking a more expensive flexible rate'''. Then when it is much closer to your departure date and more certain that you won’t need to make any changes, switch your reservation to a lower non-refundable rate (if one is still available).</li>
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Trip cancellation insurance may seem like a possible solution. But be wary. Most policies won’t cover the cost of a cancellation unless you (or someone you need to take care of) is very sick and you have the paperwork to prove it. You’re not covered if your plans change, recent events make you uncomfortable to go to your destination, you can’t take off from work, or you just want to switch hotels.
  
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Unless you travel a lot for work, you probably aren’t going to earn very many points through actual hotel stays. Sophisticated travel hackers can sometimes take advantage of loyalty program promotions to earn larger than normal amounts of points on their paid stays. But for most people, it takes a long time to earn enough points to be able to redeem a free night the normal way.  
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<li>'''Hotels will often let you MODIFY a non-refundable reservation'''. While you can rarely convince the hotel to provide a refund for a cancellation, it is often possible to rebook the reservation for a different date or even with a different location (in the same hotel program). For example, Hilton will let you modify non-refundable reservations for North American hotels for a $25-50 fee. It is always worthwhile to call and see if the hotel will let you reschedule without losing out on your payment.</li>
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</ul>
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{{/Box}}
  
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So how do you earn enough points to able to get multiple free hotel nights every year?
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=== Always check the "standard" rate ===
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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'''Never book a room without first checking the prevailing rates on a "hotel aggregator"'''.  Not every deal you see, even on the best hotel booking websites, is really a “deal”. Before you actually book your room, you need to check the normal hotel rates, so you can be sure you really are getting a lower price.</li>  
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The best way to get a sense of the different hotel options at your destination, ensure that you never pay more than the going rate for any specific hotel, and possibly uncover rates that are lower than they should be, is to search on a “Hotel Aggregator” website. Aggregators compare hotel prices from many different travel booking websites with a single search.
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{{Image|KayakHotels.png}}
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'''Of the different aggregator sites, we like [//kayak.com Kayak.com] best'''. Unlike other aggregators, they have the side benefit of being a decent source of private deals (which are allowed to undercut the hotel’s normal best available rates). Just be careful when looking at the rates shown on their website and apps. The main price above the “View Deal” button on Kayak is not necessarily the lowest available price they’ve uncovered—you need to scan through the smaller price listings on the left  instead.
  
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<li>'''The easiest way to earn free nights is to sign up for credit cards'''. Each time you sign up for a card, you’ll generally receive enough points for one to three nights at a high-end hotel or up to dozen (or more) nights at one of their less expensive locations.</li>
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'''However, for many trips we wind up using [//tripadvisor.com TripAdvisor.com] instead'''. While its private deals aren't as useful as Kayak's, TripAdvisor has more extensive reviews and user-submitted photos. Like Kayak, you need to scan through the individual prices for each hotel to make sure you are seeing the lowest available option.
  
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{{ImageX|CreditCards1.jpg}}
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=== An example ===
  
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<li>'''Unless you have a problem with handling credit, signing up for credit cards just to collect signup bonuses is a sensible thing to do'''. It won’t kill your credit rating—in fact, it is more likely to improve it. {{Link|Credit Cards 101}}.</li>
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A real-world example may be helpful.  We’ve chosen relatively expensive hotels for this example, but you’ll see similar results with less expensive options. We'll recap the results at the end.  
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<li>'''You can sign up for multiple of these cards over the next few years and earn dozens of free hotel nights'''. In this table, you can see how many free nights you can expect to get from the typical signup bonus of each card. {{Link|signup intro}}</li>
 
  
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{{Hotel Signup Table}}
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==== Best available rate ====
  
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Higher than normal offers are often available, providing even more value.  
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For Saturday night, March 9th, the “Best Available Rate” for the Park Hyatt Chicago on  Kayak was $227.  Notice that the rate was consistent across a variety of online booking sites, as well as Hyatt’s own site.  It turns out that Kayak’s pricing was slightly out of date, and when you visited Hyatt or tried to book through various travel booking sites, the rate had risen to $236.
  
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<li>'''Even if you aren't planning on collecting signup bonuses, there is a good chance you'll earn a couple in the course of adding a couple of hotel credit cards to your core credit card collection'''. If you decide to get one or more hotel credit cards to get an annual free night certificate, to qualify for the Hilton breakfast benefit, or for some other reason, you'll hopefully make the small additional effort to earn the bonus.</li>
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{{Image|HotelHyattKayak.png}}
  
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<li>'''Free Hyatt hotel nights are a great use of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points'''. One of the reasons that we so often recommend the Ultimate Rewards program is that it is so easy to redeem your points at good values for Hyatt hotel rooms. Each Ultimate Rewards point converts into one Hyatt point and Hyatt requires fewer points than most other hotel programs to book similar quality hotels.</li>
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Unfortunately, this is a nonrefundable rate. The refundable rate was higher and isn't displayed directly in the hotel listings of tools like Kayak or TripAdvisor; but like the best non-refundable rate, was also consistent across the web.  
  
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It isn't hard to get more than 1.75 cents in value when you use your Ultimate Rewards points to book Hyatt hotel rooms, which is more than you can get when you use "cash then out" and often more than you can get when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs to use for award tickets.  
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For the same date, the "Best Available Rate" for the less expensive, but very highly rated, Loews Chicago Hotel was $144.
  
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{{Logo|Ultimate Rewards}}
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{{Image|HotelLoewsKayak.png}}
  
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<li>'''Other than using Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt redemptions, it rarely makes sense to transfer flexible credit card points to hotel programs'''. For example, you can also convert your Ultimate Rewards points into Marriott points, but Marriott points are typically only worth about {{Value|Marriott}} cents each, which is lower value than the other uses of your points. Likewise, Membership Rewards can be converted into Marriott, Hilton, and Choice points, which are all worth under 1 cent each. You are better off saving your points for frequent flyer tickets or even using them to purchase travel at 1 cent each. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>
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==== Rates on the hotel’s website ====
  
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<li>'''You can always book award nights at hotels in the IHG and Choice programs by using the “Cash & Points trick” to purchase points at low prices'''. Every hotel program allows you to buy additional points. However, the price is normally too expensive to be worthwhile. But with both IHG Rewards Club and Choice Privileges, you can take advantage of the “Cash & Points trick” to buy last-minute points at lower-than-normal rates.</li>
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Unlike most other chain hotels, the Park Hyatt’s own website didn’t offer a special “members rate”. And it wasn’t offering any particularly attractive promotions. But it did offer a AAA rate, which gave you a fully refundable reservation for the same price as the normal non-refundable rate. If you wanted to book a non-refundable rate, the AAA rate would save $39 (14%).  
  
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While buying points to use for an award isn’t really a free night, it essentially allows you to purchase rooms at what is often a significant discount. You can book an award night at any hotel in the IHG and Choice programs, whenever rates are high, even if you don’t have any points in your account.  
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{{Image|HotelHyattAAA.png}}
  
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For example, using the Cash & Points trick you can purchase IHG points for {{Value|ihgcash}} cents each (and sometimes less). If you are interested in staying at a Holiday Inn that costs 15,000 points per night, the required points would cost around ${{Value|ihgcash|15000}}. This might be significantly cheaper than the normal price for the room. {{Link|cash & points trick}}.
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For the Loews Chicago, the hotel website provided a few package rates that would save you money under various circumstances, as well as a AAA rate that was $7 (4%) cheaper than the Best Available Refundable Rate of $159.  
  
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<li>'''It can sometimes make sense to stock up on hotel points when they are running good promotions'''. While the normal purchase prices are too expensive, hotel companies sometimes have sales where you receive bonus points for every purchase. In some cases, this bonus rates can be as high as 100%, meaning that you’ll get double the normal number of points. When they are running a particularly good sale, it can make sense to buy points and have them on-hand for future redemptions. {{Link|Hotel Point Purchase Promotions}}.</li>
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{{Image|HotelLoewsAAA.png|300}}
  
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This is often a viable option for Hilton points. During the year, Hilton typically has occasional promotions where you can buy points for about .5 cents each, which is just a little more than they are normally worth. Especially if you don't have a pile of Hilton points from collecting signup bonuses, it is worthwhile to stockpile some points when they are on sale and then use them whenever hotel rates are higher than normal.  
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But most of the time, especially for chain hotels, the hotel’s own website offers even better rates. For example, at the Waldorf Astoria, members of the Hilton’s rewards program could save $17 (5%) on the refundable rate or $30 (9%) if they were willing to extend the cancellation window from 2 to 4 days.  
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</ul>
 
  
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=== Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination===
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{{Image|HotelsWaldorfDirect.png}}
  
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The first step is usually to determine which hotels are available where you are travelling and how many points they cost per night.
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==== Private Deal Websites ====
  
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<blockquote>
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Looking for “private deals” through goSeek.com uncovered a rate of $216 for the Park Hyatt, a relatively small savings of $20 (8%). That discount wouldn’t have been enticing enough to book through a third-party site, instead of Hyatt's.  
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Unfortunately, there are no longer any really good tools for finding all the "points hotels" at your destination. There are several different options, but each has their flaws.
 
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</blockquote> 
 
  
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{{Box|Programs to Check}}
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{{Image|HotelHyattSeek.png}}
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Remember that you can look for hotels that belong to any of the hotel programs where you have a point balance. In addition, you can always book '''IHG''' and '''Choice''' hotels by taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase reasonably priced last-minute points through the Points & Cash trick.  And if you have Ultimate Rewards points, it also makes sense to look at your '''Hyatt''' options.
 
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{{/Box}}
 
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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goSeek didn’t find any private deals for the Loews hotel on that date. But, for the more expensive Waldorf Astoria Chicago, goSeek uncovered a rate of $266, a significant savings of $74 (22%) over the Best Available Rate and $57 (18%) over the Hilton Members Rate. goSeek’s premium members ($20 per year) could access a rate of $232, saving $108 (32%) off the Best Available Rate!
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<li>'''For now, the only truly reliable approach is to individually search each hotel program's website'''. [//www.marriott.com/search/default.mi Marriott], [//hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/index.html Hilton], [//www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/reservation IHG], [//www.hyatt.com/ Hyatt], [//www.choicehotels.com/ Choice], [//www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham-rewards Wyndham], [//www.accorhotels.com/gb/usa/index.shtml Accor], [//www.bestwestern.com/en_US.html Best Western]. When searching on Hyatt, their Small Luxury Hotel partners are always located at the bottom of the result list. If you don't scroll down past all the Hyatt-branded hotels, you'll miss them. {{Link|Hotel Program List}}.</li>
 
  
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<li>'''[//awardmapper.com Award Mapper]'''. Award Mapper does a great job of showing most of the possible points hotels on a dynamic map. You can even continuously move the map to see all the hotels in any area. Unfortunately, its database of hotels is out-of-date, so you won't see all your options. And for hotel programs that have variable point costs (such as Hilton and Marriott), it will only show you the range of possible points costs.</li>
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{{Image|HotelWaldorfSeek.png}}
  
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{{Image|AwardMapperResults.png}}
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==== Hotwire ====
  
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<li>'''[//wandr.me/hotel-tools/hotel-hustle/ Hotel Hustle]'''. Hotel Hustle searches across all the major hotel programs, rather than requiring you to search them one at a time. Unfortunately, it can be annoying slow and frequently doesn't display the point cost for hotels from some of the programs. So, you can use it to see which hotels exist, but you can't quickly see how many points they will wind up costing.</li>
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Hotwire’s rate for the Park Hyatt was $162, a savings of $74 (31%) off the standard non-refundable rate and substantially lower than any other rate for that hotel.  
  
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{{Image|HotelHustle.jpg}}
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{{Image|HotelHyattHotwire.png}}
  
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<li>'''[//preferredhotels.com/destinations?search=top-nav Preferred Hotels & Resorts]'''. You can use Choice hotel points to book rooms at many of the hotels in the Preferred Hotel & Resorts program. If you are looking for a luxury hotel, make sure to check the Preferred Hotel directory. These hotels won’t show up in the other tools. {{Link|choice preferred}}.</li></ul>
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There are only a limited number of secret “Hot Rate” hotels available on Hotwire, and the Loews Chicago was not one of them, but Hotwire did have a secret rate of $214 for the Waldorf Astoria. This rate was a massive $126 (37%) cheaper than the regular rate and even cheaper than the excellent “private deal” that goSeek had uncovered.  
  
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{{Image|PreferredLeelaPalace.jpg}}
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{{Image|HotelWaldorfHotwire.png}}
  
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=== Tips for getting good value from your award points ===
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==== Hotels.com ====
  
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You’ve been building up loyalty points through some combination of credit card signup bonuses, hotel promotions, shopping portals, and hotel stays. Now, it’s time to travel. How do you best use your points to get free hotel rooms?
+
Because of the excellent rates we were able to find on Hotwire for the Park Hyatt and Waldorf Astoria, it wouldn’t have made sense to book through Hotels.com, just to receive 10% in rewards. Even if we hadn’t found such good rates, we probably would have still been better off booking directly, paying a few percent more, but getting to take advantage of Hyatt or Hilton’s loyalty program.
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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But for the Loews Chicago, Hotels.com was a slightly better choice for anyone who wasn’t interested in one of Loews' special packages. 10% rewards is a little better than a $7 (4%) AAA discount and an even better deal for people who would have been willing to book the lower non-refundable rate.
  
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<li>'''Point-based stays are most valuable during periods of top demand, such as during festivals and events, ski season, or school breaks'''. The number of points required for a hotel room is based on the normal rates for the hotel. While some programs require more points during “high season”, award rates don’t fluctuate nearly as much as regular room rates or don’t fluctuate at all. As a result, the most valuable time to use your points are when hotel rates are high than normal—during ski season, school breaks, conventions, special events, holidays, and peak travel season.</li>
+
{{Image|HotelLoewsHotels.png}}
  
−
{{ImageX|Skiing.jpg}}
+
==== Luxury hotels program ====
  
−
<li>'''Points and Cash awards almost never a good value'''. Each hotel program allows to use fewer points to book an award night by paying an extra cash fee. Not long ago, using these "Points and Cash" awards was a way to get extra value from your points. In 2017-2018, all the big hotel programs adjusted their programs and these awards are now almost never a good deal. They sometimes make sense for Wyndham hotels with very high or very low prices. {{Link|Cash and Points}}.</li>
+
We discuss {{Link|Luxury Hotels|Luxury Hotels Program}} in their own guide, but these programs were an attractive option for these particular hotels, especially the Loews Chicago.  
  
−
<span id="5th Night Free"></span>
+
For example, by booking through the Amex Fine Hotel and Resorts (FHR) program, you don’t necessarily get a particularly good rate, but you do get free breakfast, late checkout, a room upgrade, and some sort of special additional benefit, usually a type of $100 hotel credit.
  
−
<li>'''Marriott and Hilton give you your 5<sup>th</sup> night free on award stays'''. Four nights worth of points will get you a five-night stay. For Hilton, you need to have at least Silver elite status to take advantage of this benefit.</li>
+
At the Loews Chicago, the rate was the same as the normal Best Available Rate, but the room came with the standard Amex FHR benefits (like free breakfast) plus a $100 food and beverage credit. For most people, these benefits are worth far more than the $7 AAA discount or 10% in Hotels.com rewards.  
  
−
{{Image|5thNightFree.jpg}}
+
{{Image|HotelLoewsFHR.png}}
  
−
<li>'''IHG credit cardholders get their 4<sup>th</sup> night free on award reservations'''. This is an even better deal than Marriott and Hilton but requires that you have the IHG Premier or Traveler credit cards (cardholders of the now discontinued IHG card are not eligible). The IHG Premier card costs $89 per year, but comes with a free hotel certificate, automatic Platinum elite status, and several other useful benefits.</li>
+
At the Park Hyatt, the Amex luxury hotel program offered the normal extra benefits plus a more flexible $100 credit. But many people would still have preferred a $162 rate through Hotwire, rather than paying $275 to get access to the Amex program’s extra benefits.
  
−
<span id="Upgraded Room"></span>
+
{{Image|HotelHyattFHR.png}}
−
<li>'''Consider staying on the outskirts of cities or by the airport'''. The required number of points for a typical hotel are usually much lower outside the city center. If you are sightseeing by car anyway, it may not make a big difference for your trip and you’ll usually save even more money by avoiding the need to pay for expensive overnight parking. For example in San Antonio, the Westin Riverwalk and Courtyard Riverwalk cost 35,000 points per night, but the SpringHill Suites San Antonio Northwest at the Rim only costs 17,500 points, the TownePlace Suites San Antonio Airport only costs 12,5000 points, and both hotels still get a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''You’ll get the most value from your points at a hotel chain’s cheapest and most expensive hotels'''. The required points for staying at Category 1 or Category 2 hotels can be ridiculously low. While the cash rates for these lower category hotels also tend to be low, the relative point cost is even lower. Bloggers are happy to point out that 95,000 Hilton points will get you a single night at one of Hilton’s most expensive hotels or nineteen nights at one of their Category 1 hotels. Of course, most of the time, you won’t have an opportunity to stay at a Category 1 or Category 2 hotel unless you are visiting a very inexpensive (usually international) destination. {{Link|Low Category Hotels}}.</li>
+
==== Recap ====
  
−
We like to calculate an “award room rate” that represents the cost of using your points to book a hotel room (versus using them for a different hotel or trip). The following table shows the award room rates for Category 1 and Category 2 hotels in the largest hotel programs. Even in less expensive locations, these are usually great rates (especially because they include taxes).  
+
In summary, here are the rates we found at each of the hotels. The Hotels.com rate is adjusted to reflect a 10% rebate.  
  
−
{{Table|Basic|4in}}
+
{{Table|Basic}}
−
!rowspan="2"|Program
+
!Website
−
!rowspan="2" style='width: 0.5in;'|CPP
+
!style="width: 1in;"|Hyatt
−
!colspan="2"|Award "room rate" for a
+
!style="width: 1in;"|Loews
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Waldorf
 +
|-
 +
|"Best available rate"||$236||$144||$326
 
|-
 
|-
−
!style='width: 1in;'|Cat 1 Room
+
|"Best" refundable rate||$275||$159||$340
−
!style='width: 1in;'|Cat 2 Room
+
|-
−
|-  
+
|AAA refundable rate||$236||$152||
−
|Hilton||{{Value|Hilton}}||${{#expr: 50 * {{Value|Hilton}}}}||${{#expr: 100* {{Value|Hilton}}}}
+
|-
−
|-  
+
|Other direct rate|| || ||$310
−
|Hyatt||{{Value|Hyatt}}||$61 - 114||$114 - 166
+
|-
−
|-  
+
|goSeek||$216|| ||$266
−
|IHG||{{Value|IHG}}||${{#expr: 100 * {{Value|IHG}}}}||${{#expr: 150 * {{Value|IHG}}}}
+
|-
−
|-  
+
|Hotwire||'''$162'''|| ||'''$214'''
−
|Marriott||{{Value|Marriott}}||{{Value|Marriott|5000}} - {{Value|Marriott|10000}}||{{Value|Marriott|10000}} - {{Value|Marriott|15000}}
+
|-
−
{{/Table}}
+
|Hotels.com||$214||$129||$293
 +
|-
 +
|Amex FHR||$275||'''$159'''||$340
 +
{{/Table|Basic}}
  
−
At the opposite end of the spectrum, room rates at the most expensive hotels in each program can be extremely high, sometimes over $1,000 per night, giving you a very good return on your award points. There is usually a fixed upper limit to the number of points required for a free hotel night, but there is no upper limit to the cash price. Of course, the real value you receive is based on what you would have actually paid to stay at the hotel, not the necessarily the hotel’s listed price.
+
=== Other tips for saving money on hotels ===
  
−
<li>'''Hyatt allows you to book fancy suites using points''' for only twice the number of points of a base room. These aren't the standard rooms that are available for an approximately 60% premium, but often ridiculously fancy "premium" suites. When the right room is available, this can be a great use of your points.</li>
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Try to travel during off-peak times'''. Hotel rates vary dramatically at different times of the year. Rates during the peak holiday seasons might be double or triple the normal prices. A place that is expensive during high season, might be very affordable during the shoulder season. You might not have much control over when you can travel or you might have no desire to visit a destination when the weather isn’t at its best. But if you do, you can shave a significant amount off your hotel expenses.</li>  
  
−
{{Image|HyattLostPinesSuite.png}}
+
{{Image|ParisWinter.jpg}}
  
−
<li>'''Hilton and Hyatt don't charge resort fees on award reservations'''. This makes points relatively more valuable at any hotel with high resort or destination fees. Note you'll still be charged resort fees if you make a cash and points reservation.</li>  
+
<span id="Outskirts"></span>
 +
<li>'''Particularly in resort destinations, you might get a better hotel rate as part of a travel package'''. Hotels often allow their rooms to be sold at cheaper prices when they are part of a package. This is especially true for hotels in beach vacation destinations and for extremely expensive hotels elsewhere. Sometimes, adding as little as a single car rental day, qualifies you for a package rate.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''You can even use your points at an all-inclusive resort'''. Along with your room, you'll be entitled to free meals, drinks, and other activities. All the major hotel programs (and some of the smaller ones) include all-inclusive resorts and allow you to book them with points. In general, your award reservation only covers the first two people per room. You’ll need to spend more points or pay a cash surcharge to add extra guests. {{Link|All Inclusives}}.</li>
+
<li>'''Consider staying in a hotel on the outskirts of town or near the airport'''. One sure way to save money on your hotel room is to choose a hotel in a less expensive location. Particularly if you are travelling around by car, it may only add a few extra minutes of travel time to stay on the periphery of your destination. You are likely to find much lower room rates and save money on parking as well. Within a larger city, you can often find a location that is conveniently near a subway stop and will let you experience a less-touristy neighborhood. Of course, there are plenty of times where you want a hotel located in the thick-of-things or need to be in a particular location and won’t be able to take advantage of cheaper hotels elsewhere.</li>
  
−
<li>'''Don't let your points expire'''. With most hotel programs, if there is no activity in your account for 12 to 36 months, you can lose your points. Fortunately, you usually don't need to spend a night in a hotel to keep your points alive. Any activity that earns or spends points is usually enough. There are typically a bunch of ways to easily earn or spend a few points with a partner. {{Link|point expiration}}.</li>
+
<li>'''You might be eligible for a corporate discount'''. If you work for a larger company or are a member of another large organization, you could be eligible for a corporate or organization rate. Before the next time you need to book a hotel room, check the policies at your company. In many cases, you can use the company booking tool or a corporate booking code for personal travel. Alternatively, book over the phone and mention the name of your company. </li>
  
 +
Corporate rates are especially attractive when hotels are charging higher than normal prices during periods of peak demand. Negotiated corporate rates are typically much more consistent across dates and can be much cheaper than the regular rates when prices are high.
 +
 +
At other times, corporate rates may be less attractive. For example, at the W Hotel in Seattle, the regular flexible rate for a mid-week stay in the spring was $237. Marriott members had access to a $232 rate and AAA members could have gotten a $225 rate. A typical corporate rate (Microsoft’s) was a bit less expensive at $219. However, anyone could have booked a non-refundable rate of $201 instead and Marriott members could get a lower non-refundable rate of $191.
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
=== Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points ===
+
{{Box|Getting Extra Benefits with Your Stay}}
  
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{{ImageX|CoinScale.jpg}}
+
Smart travel is not just about getting the best possible rate, it is also about getting extra travel benefits (which are typically only available to "true" frequent travelers). Make sure to investigate some of the extra hotel benefits covered in our '''{{Link|Benefits|Travel Benefits}}''' section.
  
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
+
<center>{{tile|free breakfast}}{{tile|join hotel programs}}{{tile|elite hotel status}}</center>
 +
{{/Box}}
  
−
<li>'''Assuming you have a limited supply of points, you need to be smart about when to book an award night and when to just pay the regular "cash" rate for your room'''. Most people are only going to be able to generate a fixed quantity of points from credit card signups and a relatively low number of points from ongoing credit card spend and paid stays. You don’t want to use all your points on lower value redemptions, and then not have enough to use them later, when you could get more value from your points. At the same time, you don’t want to hold onto your points forever, passing up free hotel rooms, while you forever seek out the highest possible redemption rates.</li>
+
=== Maximize the rewards from your stays ===
  
−
<li>'''We recommend converting the required number of points into an “award room rate” that you can compare to the regular rate'''. Your points have real value. The best way to think about whether it makes sense to book an award night is to convert the required number of points into a dollar value and then decide whether the room is worth “spending” that much money, or whether you are better off taking advantage of another option.</li>
+
Once you've found the best rates and optimized your extra benefits, you should make sure to earn as many extra reward points from your hotel stays as you can.  
  
−
For example, if the points cost of a Sheraton hotel is 35,000 Marriott points per night and you value Marriott point at {{Value|marriott}} cents per point, the “cost” of using award points is around {{Value|marriott|35000}} per night. If the {{Value|marriott|35000}} “award room rate” is lower the regular room rate, you are better off making an award booking, rather than a normal booking. But, if the room still isn’t worth {{Value|marriott|35000}} per night (compared to the other options at your destination), you are better off saving your points and booking another hotel instead.
+
'''The simple approach is to''':
  
−
<li>'''The point value that you should use should be based on your own individual circumstances, but we provide a set of values that work well for many people'''. In some cases, you might have an award opportunity that is so good that it makes sense to purchase new points, if you don’t already have enough to make an award reservation.</li>  
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Book with a credit card that earns a good reward rate on travel or hotel reservations'''. You can get back as much as 6% in credit card reward points from a card that has great bonus rates on travel purchases, such as the Sapphire Reserve Card. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.</li>
  
−
{{HotelPointValues}}
+
<li>'''If the hotel belongs to a loyalty program, make sure to earn points on your stay'''. If you don't already belong to the loyalty program, it only takes a minute to join. And you'll usually get access to special member rates and benefits, along with your points. {{Link|earn hotel points}}.</li>
  
−
See our more in-depth analysis of {{Link|evaluate award nights}}.
+
If you've qualified for elite status, from hotel stays, credit cards, or status matching, you'll earn extra points for each dollar you spend
  
−
<li>'''Remember that award nights are refundable and, at Hilton and Hyatt, cover any resort fee'''. Over the past couple of years, the initial rate you see when searching for hotels is usually a non-refundable rate.</li>
+
<li>'''As mentioned above, if you can’t find a better rate, book at Hotels.com to take advantage of their generous loyalty program'''. You’ll get the equivalent of 10% back with Hotels.com’s “Stay 10 Nights and Earn 1 Free Night” loyalty program. Just remember that if you use Hotels.com to book a chain hotel, you usually won't earn loyalty points from the hotel or have access to any loyalty program benefits. {{Link|Hotels.com}}.</li>
 +
</ul>
  
−
<li>'''It can be prudent to save some points for times when room rates are exceptionally high'''. As discussed above, the number of points that is required for a free night doesn't change (or doesn't change very much) depending on supply and demand, but regular room rates do. So, having points is extremely useful during holidays and special events, when regular room rates are exorbitantly expensive. Unless you expect to have a constant flow of new hotel points, it is worthwhile keeping a stash of points around to use when you really need them.</li>
+
'''But if you are willing to invest more time and effort, you can earn additional rewards''' (on top of the normal points you'd earn from  your credit card and the hotels loyalty program or Hotels.com).  
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Latest revision as of 16:57, 5 July 2021

  Save Money on All Your Travel Reservations, Hotel Strategies

HotelBooking.jpg

“Standard” hotel rates are usually the same, regardless of whether you are shopping on the hotel’s own website or using a third-party travel website like Expedia. In most cases, contractual arrangements force everyone to charge the same basic rate for the room.

Even though "standard" rates are the same on every travel site, it is still easy to get a better deal on your hotel room. You should almost always be able to make a hotel reservation for LESS than the "best available rate".

The trick is to find and take advantage of several types of “non-standard” rates. These special rates bypass contractual limitations and are therefore allowed to be less expensive than the normal rate.

Don't just settle on booking your hotels through a general-purpose travel booking site like Expedia.com. With a little bit of extra effort, you can almost always uncover a better rate on a different site.


Jump to


Better than "the best available rate"

There are several different basic strategies for finding a better hotel deal.

  • Always check the hotel’s website for members, discounted, and promotional rates. Once you’ve narrowed down the list of places that you might want to stay, make sure to check each hotel’s website directly.

    • At chain hotels, you’ll find special “member rates” that are lower than the rates available on third party travel websites like Expedia. You'll need to join the loyalty program to access these rates, but joining is free, doesn't take much time, and provides a number of additional benefits. Furthermore, booking direct is often the only way to get loyalty points for your stay and guarantee access to any of your member benefits. Get Extra Benefits and Cheaper Rates Just by Signing Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs.

    For all hotels, the hotel website is often the only place that provides access to AAA, senior, corporate, military, and other discounted rates.

    More than likely, the hotel’s website also includes some additional promotions or packages, which can often be a better deal than the standard rate. For example, you might be able to get a free night or discounted rate on a multi-night reservation, a well-priced package that includes parking, breakfast, or other benefits, a discount on an extra room for the kids, or a special promotional rate.

  • For many hotels, a AAA rate might offer the best deal. You’ll be eligible for a discount of around 10% at a large percentage of the hotels in the United States and Canada; and/or have access to a refundable reservation for around the same price as the normal non-refundable rate. AAA discounts are available at every type of hotel—downtown chain hotels, seaside inns, large resorts, small boutiques, and independent roadside motels. Consider Joining AAA for Hotel Discounts at Many Hotels.
    • AAACard.png

    The AAA rate is usually available through the hotel's website. But if a US-based hotel is not showing a AAA rate, you can try calling in. Sometimes they actually offer a AAA rate; other times they will give you a discount anyway.

    You can also get good deals by becoming a member of AARP (the American Association of Retired People). Surprisingly, anyone can join, and the membership fee is only $15/year. While AAA offers discounts on a considerably larger number of hotels, the AARP rates are occasionally lower, so it can make sense to belong to both organizations. Join AARP to Save Money on Hotel Rooms (you don't have to be over 50).

  • You can sometimes find much lower prices through “private deal” websites. If a website requires you to sign in before showing you its "special" prices, it doesn’t need to stick to the official rates. Several “membership only” websites offer lower-than-normal prices, although only for a subset of the hotels at any destination. For most of these sites, all that “membership only” means is that you’ve filled in a registration form and are signed-in to the site—there are no fees or special requirements to join.

    • At private deal websites, you can find rates that are sometimes 20%, 30%, or 40% lower than the prevailing rate. Each site has its own set of deals, so it can be worthwhile searching multiple sites.

    The two most useful sites are:

    • goSeek.com. goSeek is probably the best of the private deals websites. It acts like an aggregator, searching several other "private deal" services.
      GoSeek.png
    • HotelEngine.com. Our other favorite private deal website, it frequently has great rates and still allows you to take advantage of most hotel's loyalty programs.
      • HotelEngine.png

    For more information about GoSeek, Hotel Engine, and other members-only hotel booking sites, see:

    Secret3.jpg
    Find Lower Room Rates on 'Private Deal' Websites
  • If you have enough flexibility, you can usually get the best hotel rates through Hotwire. With Hotwire (and other "opaque" booking tools), you’ll often get rates that are 30-60% less expensive than normal, but you won't know the exact hotel you are booking until after you finish making your non-refundable reservation.
    • HotwireEffect.png

    It may seem risky to book a room without knowing exactly what hotel you’ll get. However, it isn’t that bad. Before you book, you’ll have access to most of the critical information you need: the neighborhood where the hotel is located, its “star” rating, its Trip Advisor rating, the size of the beds in the rooms, Hotwire’s own user ratings, and whether the hotel has the key amenities you need. And with just a little bit of extra effort, you can usually determine exactly which hotel you'll be getting (before you commit).


    Hotwire.jpg
    Get a Great Hotel Rate with Hotwire (and Other 'Opaque' Booking Tools)

    On many trips, NOT booking via Hotwire simply translates into paying too much for your hotel room (even when you factor in the fact you don't receive loyalty points and benefits). Because Hotwire's rates are non-refundable, we often book a fully-refundable "backup" reservation ahead-of-time and then switch over to a less-expensive Hotwire reservation when it gets closer to our travel dates.

  • If you can’t find a better rate, book at Hotels.com to take advantage of their generous loyalty program. You’ll get the equivalent of 10% back with Hotels.com’s “Stay 10 Nights and Earn 1 Free Night” loyalty program. In many cases, you would do better by booking directly with the hotel, booking through Hotwire, or taking advantage of a “private deal” site. But if you can’t find a better rate elsewhere, book at Hotels.com.

    • HotelsRewards.jpg
    If you Can't Find a Better Rate, Book at Hotels.com to Take Advantage of their Generous Loyalty Program
  • If you are booking at an expensive hotel, make sure to check “luxury hotel programs”. You may not find a better room rate, but you’ll receive a set of very valuable perks, like free breakfast, a free $100 hotel credit, late checkout, and nearly guaranteed room upgrades. We would never book a fancy hotel before seeing whether we can take advantage of these substantial extra benefits.

    • Several different luxury hotel programs are operated by credit card companies and are available to anyone who has one of their cards. Chances are, that you have (or will soon have) access to multiple of these programs.

    In addition, each of the high-end hotel chains has their own program, which they make available via luxury travel agencies. Even in today’s internet era, when it comes to luxury hotels, you can get a better deal by working with a travel agent, rather what you can get yourself online.


    ChaseLuxury.jpg
    Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks
  • Buy the points needed for an award night. If rates are high and you don't already have points for a "free" award stay, it can be cheaper to buy and use hotel loyalty points than to pay the regular rate. This is especially true for IHG (Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Kimpton, etc.) and Choice hotels, where you can buy points at relatively inexpensive rates. But when rates are high or the number of required points is low, it can also be true at Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and other hotel programs where you'll generally need to pay higher prices for your points. Also remember that if you have Ultimate Reward points you can convert them to Hyatt points at good value. Get a Discounted Room Rate by Buying the Points for an Award Night.
Save More with Non-refundable Rates

Not long ago, the typical rates listed for hotels were always “refundable rates”. You could change or cancel your reservation up until a deadline that was close to check-in time. Nowadays, more hotels and websites are displaying non-refundable rates, either as a lower cost option or as the only option for booking the hotel. Make sure to always check the cancellation policies when comparing rates.

  • It is always nice to be able to take advantage of a lower rate. But if you book a non-refundable reservation and your plans change, you are screwed. You’ll also miss out on any opportunity to take advantage of a cheaper rate (at the same hotel or at an alternative) that you might uncover later.
  • One reasonable approach is to start out booking a more expensive flexible rate. Then when it is much closer to your departure date and more certain that you won’t need to make any changes, switch your reservation to a lower non-refundable rate (if one is still available).

    • Trip cancellation insurance may seem like a possible solution. But be wary. Most policies won’t cover the cost of a cancellation unless you (or someone you need to take care of) is very sick and you have the paperwork to prove it. You’re not covered if your plans change, recent events make you uncomfortable to go to your destination, you can’t take off from work, or you just want to switch hotels.

  • Hotels will often let you MODIFY a non-refundable reservation. While you can rarely convince the hotel to provide a refund for a cancellation, it is often possible to rebook the reservation for a different date or even with a different location (in the same hotel program). For example, Hilton will let you modify non-refundable reservations for North American hotels for a $25-50 fee. It is always worthwhile to call and see if the hotel will let you reschedule without losing out on your payment.

Always check the "standard" rate

Never book a room without first checking the prevailing rates on a "hotel aggregator". Not every deal you see, even on the best hotel booking websites, is really a “deal”. Before you actually book your room, you need to check the normal hotel rates, so you can be sure you really are getting a lower price.</li>

The best way to get a sense of the different hotel options at your destination, ensure that you never pay more than the going rate for any specific hotel, and possibly uncover rates that are lower than they should be, is to search on a “Hotel Aggregator” website. Aggregators compare hotel prices from many different travel booking websites with a single search.

KayakHotels.png

Of the different aggregator sites, we like Kayak.com best. Unlike other aggregators, they have the side benefit of being a decent source of private deals (which are allowed to undercut the hotel’s normal best available rates). Just be careful when looking at the rates shown on their website and apps. The main price above the “View Deal” button on Kayak is not necessarily the lowest available price they’ve uncovered—you need to scan through the smaller price listings on the left instead.

However, for many trips we wind up using TripAdvisor.com instead. While its private deals aren't as useful as Kayak's, TripAdvisor has more extensive reviews and user-submitted photos. Like Kayak, you need to scan through the individual prices for each hotel to make sure you are seeing the lowest available option.

An example

A real-world example may be helpful. We’ve chosen relatively expensive hotels for this example, but you’ll see similar results with less expensive options. We'll recap the results at the end.

Best available rate

For Saturday night, March 9th, the “Best Available Rate” for the Park Hyatt Chicago on Kayak was $227. Notice that the rate was consistent across a variety of online booking sites, as well as Hyatt’s own site. It turns out that Kayak’s pricing was slightly out of date, and when you visited Hyatt or tried to book through various travel booking sites, the rate had risen to $236.

HotelHyattKayak.png

Unfortunately, this is a nonrefundable rate. The refundable rate was higher and isn't displayed directly in the hotel listings of tools like Kayak or TripAdvisor; but like the best non-refundable rate, was also consistent across the web.

For the same date, the "Best Available Rate" for the less expensive, but very highly rated, Loews Chicago Hotel was $144.

HotelLoewsKayak.png

Rates on the hotel’s website

Unlike most other chain hotels, the Park Hyatt’s own website didn’t offer a special “members rate”. And it wasn’t offering any particularly attractive promotions. But it did offer a AAA rate, which gave you a fully refundable reservation for the same price as the normal non-refundable rate. If you wanted to book a non-refundable rate, the AAA rate would save $39 (14%).

HotelHyattAAA.png

For the Loews Chicago, the hotel website provided a few package rates that would save you money under various circumstances, as well as a AAA rate that was $7 (4%) cheaper than the Best Available Refundable Rate of $159.

HotelLoewsAAA.png

But most of the time, especially for chain hotels, the hotel’s own website offers even better rates. For example, at the Waldorf Astoria, members of the Hilton’s rewards program could save $17 (5%) on the refundable rate or $30 (9%) if they were willing to extend the cancellation window from 2 to 4 days.

HotelsWaldorfDirect.png

Private Deal Websites

Looking for “private deals” through goSeek.com uncovered a rate of $216 for the Park Hyatt, a relatively small savings of $20 (8%). That discount wouldn’t have been enticing enough to book through a third-party site, instead of Hyatt's.

HotelHyattSeek.png

goSeek didn’t find any private deals for the Loews hotel on that date. But, for the more expensive Waldorf Astoria Chicago, goSeek uncovered a rate of $266, a significant savings of $74 (22%) over the Best Available Rate and $57 (18%) over the Hilton Members Rate. goSeek’s premium members ($20 per year) could access a rate of $232, saving $108 (32%) off the Best Available Rate!

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Hotwire

Hotwire’s rate for the Park Hyatt was $162, a savings of $74 (31%) off the standard non-refundable rate and substantially lower than any other rate for that hotel.

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There are only a limited number of secret “Hot Rate” hotels available on Hotwire, and the Loews Chicago was not one of them, but Hotwire did have a secret rate of $214 for the Waldorf Astoria. This rate was a massive $126 (37%) cheaper than the regular rate and even cheaper than the excellent “private deal” that goSeek had uncovered.

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Hotels.com

Because of the excellent rates we were able to find on Hotwire for the Park Hyatt and Waldorf Astoria, it wouldn’t have made sense to book through Hotels.com, just to receive 10% in rewards. Even if we hadn’t found such good rates, we probably would have still been better off booking directly, paying a few percent more, but getting to take advantage of Hyatt or Hilton’s loyalty program.

But for the Loews Chicago, Hotels.com was a slightly better choice for anyone who wasn’t interested in one of Loews' special packages. 10% rewards is a little better than a $7 (4%) AAA discount and an even better deal for people who would have been willing to book the lower non-refundable rate.

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Luxury hotels program

We discuss Luxury Hotels Program in their own guide, but these programs were an attractive option for these particular hotels, especially the Loews Chicago.

For example, by booking through the Amex Fine Hotel and Resorts (FHR) program, you don’t necessarily get a particularly good rate, but you do get free breakfast, late checkout, a room upgrade, and some sort of special additional benefit, usually a type of $100 hotel credit.

At the Loews Chicago, the rate was the same as the normal Best Available Rate, but the room came with the standard Amex FHR benefits (like free breakfast) plus a $100 food and beverage credit. For most people, these benefits are worth far more than the $7 AAA discount or 10% in Hotels.com rewards.

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At the Park Hyatt, the Amex luxury hotel program offered the normal extra benefits plus a more flexible $100 credit. But many people would still have preferred a $162 rate through Hotwire, rather than paying $275 to get access to the Amex program’s extra benefits.

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Recap

In summary, here are the rates we found at each of the hotels. The Hotels.com rate is adjusted to reflect a 10% rebate.

Website Hyatt Loews Waldorf
"Best available rate" $236 $144 $326
"Best" refundable rate $275 $159 $340
AAA refundable rate $236 $152
Other direct rate $310
goSeek $216 $266
Hotwire $162 $214
Hotels.com $214 $129 $293
Amex FHR $275 $159 $340

Other tips for saving money on hotels

  • Try to travel during off-peak times. Hotel rates vary dramatically at different times of the year. Rates during the peak holiday seasons might be double or triple the normal prices. A place that is expensive during high season, might be very affordable during the shoulder season. You might not have much control over when you can travel or you might have no desire to visit a destination when the weather isn’t at its best. But if you do, you can shave a significant amount off your hotel expenses.
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  • Particularly in resort destinations, you might get a better hotel rate as part of a travel package. Hotels often allow their rooms to be sold at cheaper prices when they are part of a package. This is especially true for hotels in beach vacation destinations and for extremely expensive hotels elsewhere. Sometimes, adding as little as a single car rental day, qualifies you for a package rate.
  • Consider staying in a hotel on the outskirts of town or near the airport. One sure way to save money on your hotel room is to choose a hotel in a less expensive location. Particularly if you are travelling around by car, it may only add a few extra minutes of travel time to stay on the periphery of your destination. You are likely to find much lower room rates and save money on parking as well. Within a larger city, you can often find a location that is conveniently near a subway stop and will let you experience a less-touristy neighborhood. Of course, there are plenty of times where you want a hotel located in the thick-of-things or need to be in a particular location and won’t be able to take advantage of cheaper hotels elsewhere.
  • You might be eligible for a corporate discount. If you work for a larger company or are a member of another large organization, you could be eligible for a corporate or organization rate. Before the next time you need to book a hotel room, check the policies at your company. In many cases, you can use the company booking tool or a corporate booking code for personal travel. Alternatively, book over the phone and mention the name of your company.

    • Corporate rates are especially attractive when hotels are charging higher than normal prices during periods of peak demand. Negotiated corporate rates are typically much more consistent across dates and can be much cheaper than the regular rates when prices are high.

    At other times, corporate rates may be less attractive. For example, at the W Hotel in Seattle, the regular flexible rate for a mid-week stay in the spring was $237. Marriott members had access to a $232 rate and AAA members could have gotten a $225 rate. A typical corporate rate (Microsoft’s) was a bit less expensive at $219. However, anyone could have booked a non-refundable rate of $201 instead and Marriott members could get a lower non-refundable rate of $191.

Getting Extra Benefits with Your Stay

Smart travel is not just about getting the best possible rate, it is also about getting extra travel benefits (which are typically only available to "true" frequent travelers). Make sure to investigate some of the extra hotel benefits covered in our Travel Benefits section.

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Get Free Breakfast or Club Floor Access with the Right Credit Card
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Get Extra Benefits and Cheaper Rates Just by Signing Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs
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Boost Your Hotel Status

Maximize the rewards from your stays

Once you've found the best rates and optimized your extra benefits, you should make sure to earn as many extra reward points from your hotel stays as you can.

The simple approach is to:

  • Book with a credit card that earns a good reward rate on travel or hotel reservations. You can get back as much as 6% in credit card reward points from a card that has great bonus rates on travel purchases, such as the Sapphire Reserve Card. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
  • If the hotel belongs to a loyalty program, make sure to earn points on your stay. If you don't already belong to the loyalty program, it only takes a minute to join. And you'll usually get access to special member rates and benefits, along with your points. Earn Hotel Points Whenever You Can.

    • If you've qualified for elite status, from hotel stays, credit cards, or status matching, you'll earn extra points for each dollar you spend

  • As mentioned above, if you can’t find a better rate, book at Hotels.com to take advantage of their generous loyalty program. You’ll get the equivalent of 10% back with Hotels.com’s “Stay 10 Nights and Earn 1 Free Night” loyalty program. Just remember that if you use Hotels.com to book a chain hotel, you usually won't earn loyalty points from the hotel or have access to any loyalty program benefits. If you Can't Find a Better Rate, Book at Hotels.com to Take Advantage of their Generous Loyalty Program.

But if you are willing to invest more time and effort, you can earn additional rewards (on top of the normal points you'd earn from your credit card and the hotels loyalty program or Hotels.com).

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Advanced Strategies to Earn Extra Rewards on Hotel Stays



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Get a Great Hotel Rate with Hotwire (and Other 'Opaque' Booking Tools)
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Find Lower Room Rates on 'Private Deal' Websites
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Advanced Strategies to Earn Extra Rewards on Hotel Stays
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Award Nights 101: Using Your Hotel Points
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Get Extra Benefits and Cheaper Rates Just by Signing Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs
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Get Free Hotel Nights with Credit Card Certificates
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