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Discounts
Get
Those Hotel Discounts!
By Tonje Ro
Published March 2002
There are a number of hotel discounts obtainable
in the travel industry. This jungle of offers
might seem a bit overwhelming at first and
sometimes it seems like an endless task
to find the deal that best suits your needs.
So, the first thing to do is to establish
what your needs are and what type of discount
you’re after.
Some agents or programs offer up to 70%
off rack rate whilst others are more moderate
and grant you a hotel discount of 10% to
20%. But why not go for the 70% straight
away, surely that means a cheaper deal??
You need to be aware of the fact that hotel
discounts mainly fall into one of two categories
-
“Smash Offers”
-
Fixed discounts
It is certainly true that some smash offers
can save you a lot of money. However, these
discounts are often valid only for a short
or limited period of time and only apply
to certain hotels and specific destinations.
You may even have to fulfill rather strict
conditions in order to obtain the offer.
This might be exactly what you’re
after for a week or two during the summer
or winter holidays when you’re just
looking for “someplace warm” or
“somewhere to ski”. You’re
in holiday mood and not fuzzy about the
departure date or the final destination.
My Travel at http://www.mytravelco.com
offers hot deals of various kinds. Most
popular are the Cruise and Caribbean vacation
packages. Browse their site regularly for
good bargains.
Another smash offer provider is USA Hotel
Guide at http://www.usahotelguide.com/nexres/search/specials.cgi.
As the name reveals, accommodation in USA
is their area of focus, however they do
have hotels in a few European capitals as
well.
But if you’re a business or frequent
traveler such offers are of little use.
You often need to be in a specific place
at a specific time or you’ll miss a
meeting or lose a contract. Therefore you’re
not likely to benefit from smash offers
that lack the flexibility, security, customer
service and quality of accommodation you
require. If you conduct business all over
the world or in far out places, chances
are that the smash offers don’t apply
to your areas anyway…Don’t’
worry, you might still be in for some great
discounts…
Fixed discounts provide a limitless, secure
and predictable offer to the traveler. The
best discount programs have a variety of
hotels you may choose from and you’ll
find their hotels all over the world, in
all the major cities as well as in less
popular, non-tourist areas. The best programs
in this group grant you 50% on all their
accommodation worldwide at all times. They
give you a choice of hotels from 2 star
to 5 star luxury to suit your budget and
taste. In addition they offer extensive
online customer service as well as a personal
booking service.
They are serious and reliable and fully
understand the notion of ever-changing business
schedules.
In the fixed discounts group a popular
discount program is Hotel Express International’s
at www.hot-ex.com
with more than 3500 hotels in over 100 countries.
They offer 50% discount on all hotels subject
to availability.
ETN at http://www.etn.nl/twocards.htm
offers up to 50% on 1000 hotels worldwide
and up to 65% discount on selected hotels
in major U.S cities.
At the end of the day, each of the above
categories will save you money. You just
have to figure out which offer suits you
best. Or combine the two for optimal savings!
Below are a few points to consider before
making a decision on which discount agent/program
to go for:
-
Check with people you know if they’re
familiar with an agent/discount program
and whether they’re satisfied with
it.
-
Surf the Internet to find info about
hotel discounts.
-
Before you decide on a discount program,
read the terms and conditions carefully.
Which ones are honest and give you the
info you need and which ones do not
give all the details unless you write/email
them?
-
Estimate how much you may be able to
save. You’ll be surprised. Businesses
and organizations with travelling employees
are likely to save vast amounts.
Enjoy your savings!
Tonje
Ro works as a travel consultant for Hotel
Express International, which is the world’s
leading 50% hotel discount program. Members
get 50 % discount off rack rates in over
3 500 hotels worldwide! As a member you
benefit from a free reservation service
at participating hotels for your abroad
travels. You will also receive a personal
Hotel Express Gold card and a Hotel Directory
with all participating hotels listed. Among
them are well-known chains such as Sheraton,
Golden Tulip, Renaissance, Hilton etc. Hotels
range from 2 star - 5 star luxury.
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