Thanks for your replies; they have given me a better idea of why this question can't be answered in general and must be negotiated separately for each case.
Originally Posted by
erik123
Also check negotiated rates e.g. corporate and government - as these provide an indication of the typical discounts offered to some guests. Corporate rates can often be 25% off the rack rate - and sometime 50%.
Thank you for the suggestion. Does a public resource exist for finding corporate/government rates?
Originally Posted by
DavidO
There's a counter-intuitive element to consider — sales managers have annual sales goals; if they meet their goal, they earn a bonus. What counts towards a sales manager's goal are leisure sales made through their "clients" — i.e., TA's. For this reason, sales managers are incentivized to work with TA's — and if there is a reason to be flexible (low expected occupancy levels over that period or an extended stay), a sales manager will work with a TA to make the sale. As CityFlyer10 has said, it helps when the two have worked together for a long time and know each other.
While, obviously, a direct individual sale will be more profitable for the owner, you're not negotiating with the owner. The performance of a hotel's sales team is evaluated by RevPAR (total room revenue divided by total number of rooms). Cost of sales, whether they be commissions paid to a TA or salaries paid to the sales team) are not part of the equation. Neither are utilities, housekeeping, taxes, insurance, etc.
Thanks for providing more context. It sounds like the best course of action would be to research TAs and find one that has a history with the specific hotels I'm interested in.