Dave

Has anybody, anywhere ever got a discount using these hotel internet sites that promise all sorts of bargains! - easy in the middle of winter/low season but high season - I've never managed it - anybody out there done it?
Dave

Cat

There are fewer discounts during high season, but the rates during high season are so much higher that you might not be recognizing the discounts. A high-season discount rate is usually much higher than a low-season regular rate.

Try calling the toll-free numbers and asking them for both the rack rate and the lowest possible discount/promotional rate to find out for sure.

Cat

I should have added: then go back online and try to find rates lower than what you were quoted on the phone.

Jim Rosenberg

I've found decent discounts most consistently on www.quikbook.com in the locations they cover. I've also booked well below rack in high season in Florida beach destinations using early booking discounts, rebates, etc. There is something to be said for frequent guest programs that may allow you to receive an upgrade, such as a suite for the price of a standard room. Nothing works EVERY time, so you need to work every angle and compare different booking sites, as well as calling the hotel yourself and asking. I'm not sure if I have ever paid full rack rate for anything in the past half dozen years, but I also presume that not many people do.

Patrick

I'll go one step further. If you try most of these sites way in advance for the really top or popular places they just keep showing the same as the regular price for the hotel, or else they say "not available". This happens until the place is sold out, as really popular places invariably are. Let's face it. The reason these discount places exist is to help hotels that normally don't sell out to fill otherwise empty rooms. If the hotel rarely has empty rooms, you won't find them on discount anywhere.