| As a travel agent I get a lot of people asking me how | | | | the best way to save money on hotel rates and just |
| to get the best hotel rates and the answer falls back | | | | about anything you buy in life. As an industry |
| on the traditional way of dealing with the travel | | | | professional we operate semi-automatically because it |
| industry. The goal of this article is to educate the | | | | is usually requires membership logins and passwords, |
| general public so they can get the best hotel rates and | | | | along with proper industry credentials to gain access to |
| to teach those who read this article about the different | | | | certain databases that are filled with premier discounts. |
| types of room rates that exist in the industry. Theses | | | | Home based travel agents have the ability to obtain |
| tips I present have the potential to save you several | | | | numerous different rate types and specials they can |
| hundreds of dollars on you or your friends, and families' | | | | offer to the general public or to their clients at such |
| hotel rooms from now on. | | | | incredibly low deals on such a consistent basis. |
| To get the best hotel rate, tip number one should be | | | | Premium deals cannot be posted to any public booking |
| that you ignore and blacklist using all highly advertised | | | | engines. They must be sold privately. |
| websites like Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity from | | | | The third tip that shows you how to get the best hotel |
| obtaining your services. Once you do this you are | | | | rates is to understand the different type of rates that |
| open to more options and better deal that you can get | | | | exist. The GDS is the Global Distribution System is the |
| elsewhere. These Internet agencies spend millions of | | | | standard room rate and traditional hotel inventory. |
| dollars every year on advertising so you will hear | | | | These are found on the hotel website and the ones |
| about them and when you do, they present | | | | they sell over the phone at the hotel or in the |
| themselves in a magazine, commercial, or paid | | | | reservations call center. Sometimes the reservations |
| advertisement at the top of the search engines with | | | | desk will be selling rates cheaper than the call center |
| their written or spoken string of brainwashing | | | | but they are still GDS rates in comparison. Agents use |
| keywords they choose to advertise and target the | | | | the GDS to determine how special the other rates are |
| general public with. | | | | in their overall inventory of multiple rate types they are |
| What these Internet travel agencies offer is an | | | | able to access. |
| abusive and exploitative situation they control by | | | | There are different segments of the GDS that include |
| brainwashing the uninformed that read, listen, and pay | | | | traditional Standard, Rack, Promotion, Government, |
| attention to their commercials. Internet agencies are | | | | Military, Corporate, Senior Citizen, and my client's |
| not even considered true travel wholesalers according | | | | favorite of all, Premium rates. Premium rates are |
| to certain industry professionals who have been in the | | | | negotiated rates that hotel provides to travel agencies |
| game for 20 years or longer. The hotels are | | | | that reward them for their superior booking history with |
| approached by the Internet agencies that do not even | | | | them. Typically the premium type will save clients 25% |
| purchase the rooms from the hotels. Instead they | | | | to 30% off from the standard GDS Rate. Promotion |
| propose that they will sell a certain number of rooms | | | | rates are like having to have the promotional code to |
| for the hotel with no time constraints and they are to | | | | receive a discount if the hotel is offering one to the |
| be given rooms by the hotel at the Net Rate, which is | | | | general public. The rest of the GDS are self |
| a bulk travel wholesale amount in the industry. Travel | | | | explanatory if you have the proper credentials to buy |
| wholesalers and consolidations have to prepay for the | | | | them. |
| bulk amount of rooms they buy from the hotels so | | | | The next type of rate is the most rewarding for clients. |
| they can resell them, so why shouldn't these Internet | | | | As I mentioned earlier in the first tip on how to get the |
| sites have to? | | | | best hotel rates, I defined the meaning behind a Net |
| Here is where the exploitative situation on the general | | | | rate as a wholesale rate. Wholesalers and |
| public begins, and nobody can seem to do anything | | | | consolidators will purchase a bulk number of room's |
| about. Once the Internet sites are given their own | | | | usually in large amounts from the hotel vendors and |
| inventory with rooms to mark up at their control they | | | | receive a low wholesale price for doing so. The same |
| go ballistic. They mark their prices 60% to 80% from | | | | concept applies a company who sells their products to |
| the net rate and in some cases over 100% when you | | | | wholesale suppliers in bulk. The more purchased from |
| tie in all useless services charges, fees, and taxes the | | | | the hotel, the better the chances of the consolidators |
| add on top of everything. One would think that the | | | | receiving a lower Net rate from the hotel. |
| Internet agencies and the prices they sell would remain | | | | Wholesalers then will throw a small markup on top of |
| comparative, competitive, and would be able to back | | | | the Net rates so they can make a little profit and then |
| up their hyped-up keywords you read and listen to | | | | they we resell the Net rate and distribute them back in |
| repetitively in their promotions as they feed them to | | | | to various hotel supplier databases so travel agents |
| the general public the through millions of dollars of | | | | can sell them to their clients and to the general public. |
| advertising, but they do not. | | | | Net rates are special travel agent rates that are |
| All the hotel requires in return is the amount of the net. | | | | usually prepaid and nonrefundable. They must be |
| The hotels are fully aware of this exploitative situation | | | | booked at least 3 days prior to the clients' arrival date. |
| that the majority general public is unaware of. The | | | | Booking a hotel reservation using a premier and Net |
| hotels do not support this, but they are simply forced | | | | rate through a home based travel agent who does not |
| into doing so because they cannot keep up the | | | | charge for fees for their services is how to get the |
| advertising dollars the Internet sites spend; otherwise | | | | best hotel rates in the world. |
| they would sell every single room every day of the | | | | Tip four explains how to make a travel agents job |
| year by themselves. The only time you might be | | | | easier so they can find you the best hotel rates. |
| getting the best hotel rate when you use one of the | | | | Spend some time preparing your itinerary for your |
| Internet sites is when the discount price is 30% to 50% | | | | agent. They need to know the desired check in and |
| off and then the price begins to be reasonably | | | | checkout dates as well as the city you wish to stay in. |
| comparable to what is being sold on the vendors | | | | Providing the zip code you want to stay in is even |
| website. Other than that you are being sold a bunch of | | | | better so they can focus on a certain area so you can |
| keywords that are all over inflated. | | | | be as close to where you want to be. Include the |
| The second tip is the secret to finding the best hotel | | | | number of rooms and number of beds you need and |
| rates and saving the most towards your vacation falls | | | | how many people you are traveling with. |
| back to the traditional method of using a travel agent, | | | | By all means be sure to include a small list of choices |
| and the key is to find one who does not charge | | | | you are interested in staying at. If the do not charge a |
| booking, service, or transaction fees of any sort. You | | | | fee for their services, try to be prepared them to work |
| might wonder where all the travel agents are at these | | | | more efficiently for you by giving them all the correct |
| days. The reason why you do not see swinging doors | | | | information the first time. If you are traveling with |
| to for agencies anymore is because the airlines cut | | | | children you will need to tell how many there are and |
| commissions years ago and over 200,000 agencies | | | | their ages. As stated in the beginning of this article my |
| who occupied business space were forced to either | | | | goal is to educate the reader on how to get the best |
| shut down and shut their doors and moved to the | | | | hotel rates that exist, and if you allow the industry |
| internet where they could work from home. This is a | | | | professional to do the work for you, your results will |
| big reason why travel agents make up the largest | | | | increase tenfold with the success you receive on |
| sector of the home based business industry. | | | | saving money each and every time you, or your family |
| Using an industry professional it is and always will be | | | | and friends want to go somewhere. |