Please forgive my British ignorance but I am trying to book one night's accommodation at a Residence Inn in CT for March 28th. Hotels.com, Expedia etc are offering a selection of room types but only at AAA or Corporate rate. Can anyone tell me why these rooms are not offered at a 'standard' or 'best' rate? The Marriott website is only offering availability for one room type (the largest 2 bedroom suite) and that is also just on a Corporate rate basis. I'm not an AAA member and nor would I qualify for a Corporate rate (I assume) so I guess I need to look for an alternative hotel but just wondered why, if there are rooms, I can't book one!!

I would email the hotel directly with your query. Be sure to direct your email to a supervisor/manager. Good Luck

Do you happen to belong to the British Auto Club (is that the RAA?) If so, you should be able to get the AAA rate. That stands for American Automobile Association and all benefits are supposed to be reciprocal with RAA.
You might also check the www.marriott.com site (of which Residence Inn is a part) as they sometimes offer other specials better than those on Expedia, etc. Are you a "senior" by any chance?

You can probably get a better rate through Priceline. Check www.biddingfortravel.com and bid on Priceline.

Anyone can book the corporate rate. Some hotels load weekday rates as "Corporate" meaning the exact same thing as Standard.
You don't mention which RI in the state of CT... I would be happy to look up specific details regarding rate rules if you like.

Thank you for the replies. Patrick, unfortunately we're not members of the RAC nor yet 'senior'. I didn't realise that RAC members also qualified for AAA rates - wish I'd known that on our last Californian trip too. All our hotels for this 17 day trip are booked now with the exception of this one night. As I mentioned I have been to the marriott.com site but they are only offering a two bedroom unit which is over budget. We are travelling with our children and so Priceline isn't an option as we need a room for four.
TxTravelPro-now that's the news I was hoping for the RI is in Mystic, CT - I'll check out the Corporate rate rules in more detail as you suggest. I was put off by the fact that I am used to seeing three (or more) different rates (AAA/Corporate/Senior AND 'rack' or 'standard' or 'best') offered by most hotels. Thank you.

To make matters even more confusing, while booking a room in Savannah, Georgia for an upcoming trip when I typed in AAA/AARP rate I got a higher rate than the "on-line special" rate. "Best rate" was highest of the 3 types of rates.

We have sometimes had luck by calling the hotel (not the 800 toll free number but the actual hotel) and asking them to match the on-line rate. Not sure if it is worth a toll call from Great Britain, though.

Be careful about the "Corporate" rate... sometimes it's wide-open but often, esp. booking on line, they want a code issued by a specific corporation to its travelling employees because the corp. has negotiated some deal with a chain.

It is perfectly fine for you to book the 159.00 corporate rate at the Mystic property.
Most private 'Negotiated' rates are not even visible to the general public, so no worries, this is not a special rate for a specific company.
If you want to stay at this hotel, book the Corporate rate and enjoy your stay.

It's not surprising for the "online special" rate to be lower than the AAA/AARP rate if it's the type that's non-cancellable or has a $25 cancellation fee.

Actually, I'm recently finding many specials on line with hotels' own websites where they do web specials lower than either senior or AAA rate. And these web specials usually have the same cancellation policies. I just booked two that way in the Northwest US for summer.
And I was shocked when I whined to a Wyndham clerk on the phone one day trying to get a better price than the AAA rates and he asked if I had a Costco card which gave me about $20 more a night off. Who'd have guessed?

Marriott generally follows a pricing model that makes it very difficult to find better rates at their brands.
There are a few renegade properties but for the most part all pricing comes from their central reservation system "Marsha" which gives the same pricing to all shopping channels.

If you can't book the ResInn try Amerisuites in Mystic, they have rooms for $129

I just went to the Marriott.com site and checked the rates for RI in Mystic for 1 night March 28. There were 4 room types listed, all under Corporate rate. Then I checked AAA, and got cheaper prices on 3 room types.

Thanks tracy.
Jed, (my eldest son is called Jed too!)when I checked availability for 4 guests for one night March 28th at the Mystic Residence Inn again just a few minutes ago it still only shows the two bedroom suite as being available. However when I request a room for 2 people I am offered a one bedroom suite for a maximum of 5 people! Thanks for prompting me to go back and check again. O

On a slightly different note can anyone help me with approximate driving times and tell me very roughly how long it will take us to drive from Boston to Newport (leaving Boston around midday on March 28th which is Easter Monday) and then from Newport to Mystic? If we want to arrive in New York (Midtown East) by 5/6pm on March 29th what time should we leave Mystic? Thank you.

Hey Jed, Marriott is electing not to display the rates because you did not ask for them... you have to go to advanced search and request AAA.
So there, smarty pants

From Boston to Newport will be about 75-90 minutes. (Take 93S to 95S to 24S).

Newport to Mystic - 60 minutes at most.

Thank you bennnie (again!). Really helpful info. Mystic to Midtown East any idea?

Tx Tra -

I was not clear when I wrote "Then I checked AAA, and got cheaper prices on 3 room types." I meant to say that I checked the AAA box on the "Update Special Rate" section of the search area of the Marriott site.

I trust this is sufficient to preclude further cynicism.