Lodging: Book now or haggle later?
 

For the 3rd week of September this year, how safe is it to arrive without a hotel already booked in Nafplio and Naxos? I'm emailing various places for rates but from reading other posts, I feel maybe I could bargain for a better rate in person. (I tried asking one hotel via email if they had any rooms with lower rates than what they told me but they didn't write back and now I'm afraid I was unintentionally rude). If I arrive without a room booked, how much bargaining is too much bargaining and when should I not bargain on a room? I'm on a tight budget but I also don't want to offend my potential hosts. Thanks for your help!

I don;t see how you can bargain for rooms without insulting the hotelier. Would you try to bargain in a department store?

You can ask if they're offering any discounts - for instance for staying a certain # of days. Or if they have a less expensive room. But - I would NEVER consider just offering a different price than that asked.

Depends on the situation. Bargaining is common if you're arriving by ferry and dealing with the touts that meet you when you disembark. Some are private citizens and some represent hotels. That's good advice about asking for a discount based on number of days of occupancy.

I bargain rates for hotel rooms all the time (in the states and in europe). Basically, if you go to a hotel without having a room booked and they give you a price I just simply say "Is that the best you can do?" or "Would the price be any less if I paid cash?" After that, I'll either accept the price (if it seems fair) or politely say thank you and move on. It never hurts to ask (politely) - the worst they can do is say no :) Safe travels!

PS - I've also bargained for things in a department store and I've gotten many items for much less than what was on the price tag. Good luck!

yeah, I agree with that (bargaining with touts). And I suppose you can bargain if you arrive in a place last minute and are traipsing around with your luggage looking for a room at 4 pm and you know they want to fill it.

Actually, I did that once and I'm about the last person on earth to bargain -- Egyptian souks, open air markets, whatever they ask, if I want it and think it is a fair price, I just pay it usually. I hate bargaining. However, I did it accidentally in Carmel, CA as I did arrive around 5 pm looking for a motel room with my sister and we found one that was okay but we weren't thrilled. So I guess the owner could tell we were hesitating and offered himself a lower rate so we said yes. We probably would have anyway, but he wanted his motel full and wanted to go home.

Some other folks on here talk about bargaining by mail. I don't have the time for that stuff, I decide where I want to stay and want to get on with it. I think to bargain a lower price you would have to know there were a lot of vacancies in the area at a certain time and really think the rate was too high. Third week in Sept isn't usually low season anywhere in Europe I know of. I could see some podunk place in the middle of nowhere might have trouble filling their place.

So I don't think the bargaining thing is so likely, but I don't think there's anything rude about just asking if there are rooms at a lower rate (if that's all one really said). On the other hand, the hotelier may be busy and just not want to deal with someone like that and think, well, if I had had them, I would have told them to you in the first place.

My wife and I are about the worlds worst at bargaining and are loath to do it.
However in Greece there is a fair amount of latitude on accommodation pricing particularly on the islands in the off season.

Not having a hotel booking can be very stressful for the compulsive planners. I have learned to overcome this insecurity and have found the adventure of searching for a pension to be one of the joys of the trip. On arrival we scout the town and find the area where we want to stay. Then we look for a pension. The pension owners are on the lookout for prospective clients and are generally nearby, so it is fairly easy to make contact. Often there are signs on the door leading you to a nearby taverna where the owner has their second business.

We always look for a kitchenette so we can have snacks and light meals. While looking ask to see the room, make sure there are cooking utensils ( often they have a refrigerator and stove but no pots pans or cutlery). We check out the bed to see if (by some miracle) it has some give to it. If we are interested we then ask price. Make sure that the price includes the air conditioning as many of the pensions charge extra for that. Also ask where the fuse box is. Many pensions switch the refrigerator and air conditioning off at the fuse box.
Be prepared to walk away. Often they will reduce the price as soon as you make motions to leave. (In May and early June anyway) Once you have established the price in the area you like we often get the owner to reduce price by saying the pension down the street is only charging this much so I guess we will have to go there. That is quite effective in getting the price lowered.
In fact walking away has the advantage of allowing you to see several places before making a decision. Sometimes the determining factor is not so much price as it is location, and amenities. Often the price is the same but the quality can differ widely. This gives you the best choice.