Nine ways to save money Susan Drake thought she had won the rate game when she drove to Indianapolis recently to book 15 rooms for friends bound for the Colts-Dolphins football game in November. When it comes to hotel pricing, it often takes more than superior math skills to make the numbers compute. Even some travel agents are hard-pressed to sort it all out. Phil Mayo, a travel agency owner in Springdale, Ark., says that hotel pricing always was complicated, but it has become more so of late. Sometimes he has to sift through 30-plus rates for the same room on the same day in the same hotel.
Many travelers swear by calling the hotel directly.
Others prefer the Internet route. Still others turn on the charm at the front desk and hope for the best. And a few resort to deceit, claiming affiliations with corporations or conventions, hoping they won't be asked to prove it. After you check both those venues, he suggests contacting the hotel directly and then calling back to see whether rates are any lower as the check-in date approaches, when unsold rooms potentially create lower prices. If that's the case, cancel the earlier reservation and book at the lower rate.