buylowsellhigh

As the subject suggests, I'm abit curious as to whether "withholding" inventory from Starwood or even other booking engines is a normal, everyday thing or not.

I'm trying to book hotels for an event at an Asia pacific SPG hotel, representing around 4% of the total rooms in the hotel. For the date(s) i'm interested in, the availability shows zero on SPG site. Yet, when I asked a friend to call in (using the local language), the sales rep said the rooms are available. They've also said that if we are keen on taking the rooms, the pricing "might" be negotiable.

Understanding that hotels will pay Starwood or other OTA's a hefty commission for bookings, I can see why hotels might have their own reps to process bookings.

Anyone have insight or pointers to offer for these?