Give me your best price

[infinitemonkies]

I get a lot of people at the hotel who always want "the best rate."

"what's the lowest rate you can do?" "what's the cheapest room?" etc.

See our advertised rate? See the rate posted in no less than 4 places at the front desk? Notice the giant marquee outside with the rate?
That's the rate.

Could I do better, give you a lower rate? In fact, I can... but I won't.

At least, not without a reason. Tell me why you deserve to get a better deal than everyone else. Ask me to price match, if's it's even in the ballpark, I wont bother checking. (Though I once had a guy ask me to pricematch a hotel with a rate 75% less than ours, I looked up the hotel he said was advertising it; it was a bed and breakfast in northern Scotland, we're on the pacific.)

Bottom line, if you want special treatment, convince me you deserve it, otherwise, deal with the same professional, courteous treatment everyone else gets, (No matter how much I may hate them, or you, on the inside).




Sub-rant: I am sold out tonight. I can't give anyone any room at any price. Yet only 90 minutes into my shift I've had 3 different would-be guests try to haggle the price AFTER I've told them we're sold out. And not upwards either. If I can't sell you a room at the regular price, why the hell do you think I'd suddenly pull one out of my ass if you tell me you're willing to pay half-price?

[MercenaryMuffin]

I feel your pain, man. Seems every other reservation call or walk-in I get asks me "What's the best rate you can give me?"

Well, that would be the same rate everyone else is getting. Are you a pilot? Are you set up with the DOS for a special rate? Are you in the military? No? Then you get the standard rate, douche.

What I love are all the bullshit excuses people give me for why they should get a special rate. My favorites:
-"But I just called X hotel and they're offering me Y rate for the night. What are you going to do to beat the price?"
Umm...nothing? If Hotel X has a better rate, by all means, go there instead. I don't price match.
- "I'm looking at your rate online and it says X per night, and you're telling me it's Y per night, why won't you give me X rate?"
Well because you're full of shit, that's why. if the rate is better online, but not directly through us (unlikely), then book online, duh. I'm not going to chop twenty bucks off our rate because the ever-mysterious "they" have a better rate online.
- "But my husband/wife/sister/second cousin is in the hospital/sick/in the loony bin/has lupus!"
Uh huh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but even if you're telling the truth, that doesn't entitle you to a lower rate. Tough cookies.
- "Major Strip Casnio X is selling rooms for $49 a night, why should I have to pay more at some stupid little hotel out here?"
First of all, we're a very nice, business-oriented hotel, thank you. Don't insult us. Second, the rooms on the strip are cheap because you get what you pay for. And if you pay a shit rate, you're gonna get a shit room. If you want to put up with tiny, poorly-kept rooms, constant noise from everyone around you all night, and having everything smell like smoke, by all means, stay there.

Also: IT'S NOT LUPUS.

[Imogene]

IT'S NOT LUPUS.

It's never lupus... except that one time it was. *refrains from very poorly-tasting joke*

[Mr Hero]

I cringe every time I hear this question. I don't care how polite or douchy, I still cringe. The way I counter this is I state that our rate is $10 above rack rate, but agree to their lame excuses why I can bring the rate back down to rack rate. It's usually worked.

Our hotel does have a rate for medical visits, so sadly, our guests can use that as an excuse.

As far as internet price matching, our hotel does this, but because I know there are people who lie, I have found a way to call them on their bullshit. Politely of course. What I tell them is that I'll hold the room at rack rate, and I'll go ahead and adjust the rate when we get a printout. This also covers my ass if there really is a super low rate for our hotel. This tactic can also be modified if someone claims they know the manager and think they should get a lower rate.

[MercenaryMuffin]

Ah yes, the "I know the manager/work at the bar across the street/built this building" line of excuses. Hear 'em all the time. I once made a small group of people call my manager and have her tell me it was okay to have them stay at the employee rate, because I wanted to hear it from HER, not some random people.

She should have left me a note or something at the very least.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I hate it when people ask me "can you do any better on that?" with regards to price. We are a CORPORATE owned store, I can only "do" what the price sticker tells me to do.

[BlaqueKatt]

wow silly me-I just go up to the desk ask if they have rooms, pick a room if necessary and hand over my card and id-if I need a place to sleep I probably am not in the mood to haggle.

[Drakstern]

Ugh, I've been getting that a lot... but it's with people's deductibles for glass.

Sorry folks, I cannot change the deductible you picked when you got your insurance policy. Changing it now wouldn't do anything anyway, since we use your deductible on the date the damage happened.

I don't particularly care that your deductible is five hundred dollars and your windshield is five fifty. You still have to pay the five hundred or find someone who'll do it cheaper. There is, quite literally, not a single thing I can do about it.

[infinitemonkies]

I once called a guy on it when he tried to claim he knew the owner.

He claim they were old friends, and used to play cards together in the late 1980s when the corporate office was across the street from my location.

Except that A) He pronounced the owners last name wrong, B) the corporate office was never anywhere near my location, C) the company didnt exist in the late 80s, and D) at that time the owner still lived in europe and would have only been in his late teens.