Originally Posted by
sdsearch
Be careful. In my experience, at many hotels the Senior Discount may not be any better than a member discount, and you're a member booking this.
At such hotels, Senior Discounts are designed only for people who don't have any other (or at least most other) booking discounts.
That's why, even though I've qualified for the senior discount for several years, I can't remember ever booking it, because I always had another discount which was as good or better, at the hotels where I've looked at the Senior Rate discount.
I routinely compare the senior rate, the member flexible rate, and the AAA rate.
I book the senior rate more than half the time (yes, I'm old enough). Usually it's the cheapest, or it's the same as the AAA rate. The downside of the senior rate is that the room choices are often limited to a basic king or two doubles/queens.
The member flexible rate often presents more room types. I might want something better, rather than trying to depend on some sort of upgrade. Also, an upgrade from a better room is likely to be better than an upgrade from the most basic room types.
Sometimes there's a AAA Hot Deal rate that's cheaper than the regular AAA rate and the senior rate. Sometimes AAA rates provide an added benefit, such as free parking at a hotel that otherwise charges for parking (although it's been a long time since I've seen this).
The "Member Rate Prepay Non-refundable Non-changeable" rate is usually the cheapest of all, although it's sometimes about the same as the senior rate. The additional savings aren't enough to justify the restrictions.
Anyway, that's just my experience. Your mileage may vary.