It happened again. A client was attending a conference at a hotel Atlanta, and his travel arranger told me she had to book through the conference arrangers to receive their special rate. No problem, but I asked her, by chance, what was the rate?
She told me it was a “special discount” of $161 a night. Which wasn’t bad, except that the hotel’s corporate rate was $159, and their AAA rate was $144. And both of those rates were commissionable at 10 percent to travel agents.
Often, conferences and meetings do negotiate rates lower than travelers or agents can get on their own, but not always. Sometimes the market has changed since the rates were negotiated, sometimes the negotiated rates include extras for the conference organizers, sometimes the rates are higher because the hotel guaranteed space would be available…. And the list goes on.
This situation can even arise with small groups like wedding parties. One of my clients has a son getting married in Portland, and asked me to set up a group rate at his favorite hotel. The hotel offered me a group rate, again, noncommissionable, for $179. But our consortium rates are in $135 to $168 range, depending on the room type. I declined the offer, and have been able to book all the guests individually at lower rates.
In addition, a nearby hotel, even one across the street, may offer a lower rate. This also means the convenience of not trying to check in and out at the same time as other conference attendees. Not to mention lessening your chances of running into the one colleague you really don’t want to see.
Other factors may also have contributed to hotels being on or off the conference list. For example, when the Democratic Party has meetings in Sacramento, Calif., the Sheraton, which is a union hotel, is always chosen over the Hyatt, which is non-union. Although the Hyatt is the same walking distance from the convention center and often has lower rates.
There can be similar situations with preferred airlines. Routinely clients will send me information on a “booking discount” with one airline or another for a meeting. But the discount is usually off of full fare, with perhaps a five percent discount on lower fares.
This may well mean the “discounted” fare might be higher than a lower sale fare on a different carrier. Besides the fact that five percent probably won’t offset the lost frequent flier miles if you fly regularly with someone else.
In short, if you are attending a meeting or conference, or even a wedding where there are group rates, double check the rates and options for “regular” people first. It shouldn’t waste that much of your time, and it could save a chunk of your money.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
SO true, Janice!
Of course, the hotel could also be “sold out” during the conference and force you to book through the conference lodging service. It has happened to me several times and I don’t think that it was a coincidence. For example – we are doing a conference in Houston this September, and the rate at the hotel is $172/night – in Houston, during hurricane season. I checked the online reservation system for the hotel and it came up “not available” for the dates of the conference. Coincidence? I think not.
Hi Janice – I agree with everything you are saying and when we have a function in town where we need to have 300 rooms available for a community service function, I just want to make sure that they are getting the best rate. If there is nothing major going on in town (San Jose) I either book the rooms for them on the internet or suggest that they do it themselves as the negotiated rate is always higher and sometimes even requires signed paperwork AND a deposit. In Fresno, on the other hand, we negotiate the rates and REQUIRE our attendees to stay at one of those hotels as we get a substantial cut on the use of the Selland Arena and conference area for our community service group annual convention if we guarantee booking into those hotels through the convention center.
Shannon, how can you force someone to stay at a specific hotel?
I see nothing wrong with staying at lower cost accommodations if they are available. But how do you force the issue? Not allow them to enter the conference? What if they are staying with a nearby friend or relative?
I found what Janice says to be true. On a recent conference in Orlando, I was able to get a cheaper rate than the conference rate. However, I could not beat the Hertz discount that the conference offered.
Shannon can require conference attendees to stay at a particular hotel by working the cost into the registration fee. That’s one way to go about it.
But I’m glad I’m not attending Shannon’s conferences. I usually stay off-site at a less expensive hotel.
When I book a meeting or event it depends on the group needs like Shannon said. Yes, we (or the hotel) can say that if you are attending a conference you must book at the meeting rate not a consortium or internet rate. When you don’t it means if there aren’t enough attendees at the meeting rate, the event could be CANCELLED.
The your event registration is lower than actual cost because we have budgeted and guaranteed for a minimum number of sleeping rooms to get a discount on the meeting rooms and catering. Without enough sleeping rooms the event is in the hole.
You will find that Las Vegas and Orlando hotels are very strict about convention attendees NOT booking on a different rate.