Club Tip: Negotiate a great hotel deal for your team

Here are a few tips and tricks that we use at Idaho Select to negotiate a great hotel deal without sacrificing a lot of quality and getting better value for our teams.

Tip #1 – KNOW YOUR BUDGET

This seems simple enough. But if you don’t know your budget, know how many rooms you will need or know how many nights you need them then booking rooms can be a real headache.

Tip #2 – USE YOUR POWER OF NUMBERS

Some clubs book all the rooms for teams and some clubs leave the parents to book rooms on their own. The teams, parents and/or directors that can coordinate a large block of rooms will have the negotiation power of bigger numbers. Especially in regions that are hosting a tournament that are not popular tourist attractions, regions that have a large amount of hotel room inventory or during times of year that are considered tourism off seasons. If you can guarantee a hotel that you will book 5-8 rooms for a few nights, they are more likely to work with you on price.

BONUS TIP

Don’t rely on just one hotel. By talking to 2-3 different hotels, you get a better feel for what prices are typical. And some hotels will be willing to underbid other hotels to get your business. But, always be honest with what you tell them! If you are not it can come back to haunt you.

Tip #3 – ONLINE BOOKING SERVICES

The internet has made hotel booking easy. We are all probably aware of Priceline and Orbitz. But if you need 10 or more rooms, now your can really get some savings. We use a couple of different sites including hotelplanner.com (this is NOT an endorsement). By entering your group info, these sites will continuously find hotel bids for you. We’ve saved anywhere from 10-30% on room rates. And unlike a lot of prepay single or double room sites, these group sites will usually let you book but then cancel anywhere from 2 weeks to 24 hours before your stay begins, offering you great flexibility.

Tip #4 – GET TO KNOW THE MANAGER

Knowing a hotel manager can really help your future plans. Good managers will clue you in to better rates. And if you’ve booked through a third party, you can really use that for better deals the next year. Why? The third parties often take a small fee for the booking so the hotel loses out. They know it and they do not like it. If you can cut out the middle man you will still save money and the hotel manager may be able to get you an even better rate since they keep the entire amount.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

Location – this is more than just how close you are to your gyms. Utilize Google Maps, especially in “Satellite” mode to see the area around the potential hotel including nearby restaurants and places of entertainment. And while you are traveling around, keep your eyes peeled for other hotels that might be a better fit next year.

Hotel Perks – save more money for others by asking the hotel what type of breakfast (if any) they offer that kids can take advantage of (could save them $10 a day). See if they have a rewards program or point systems. And often group bookings will offer rebates that you can get after your stay or will give you a free room after a certain amount of nights you’ve stayed there.

Parking – does the hotel offer free parking? Some hotels, especially those located near large airports, will charge a daily fee. This is another great point you can negotiate. And if you are traveling via charter bus be sure to ask before you book whether they have available parking for it.