stimpy

I am rather surprised to see our Moderator post this! It's not even close to being true! Not by a long shot. You may want to edit your post.

mia

Please post a more accurate response to Amex For Children Of Africa's question.

stimpy

FHR prices go up and down, of course based on the market and how the hotel is booked for the dates you are looking for. Other factors may include a hotel marketing push to get more business. What all that means is that sometimes you can find FHR rates that are equal to rates on the hotel website and alternative sites, and sometimes you may find FHR to be more expensive. But when you add on the benefits you get from FHR, sometimes it equals out. Sometimes the value of the free breakfast for two more than compensates for the cheap rates you get on another website, plus whatever other FHR benefits you might get. In my experience FHR is usually way better than those websites when I calculate all the benefits I get. But not always.

The bottom line is do a little homework before you book. It shouldn't take very long as everything is on the web these days. And in all my years of booking FHR (more than a decade), I have never, ever seen FHR quoting rack rate unless the hotel itself is quoting rack rate across the board. And in the cases where the hotel is nearly sold out, there won't be any FHR availability anyways.

Biggie Fries

To me, the sweet spot of FHR is a one-night, two-day stay. That is when the $100 food and beverage credit has the most value, and ditto for the guaranteed 4pm check-out and the possible noon check-in. Compare with a 4pm check-in and having to take your chances on getting the 11am check-out extended otherwise. Also, having the room until 4pm can make the free breakfast more leisurely and more of a real brunch, especially on a weekend. Finally, FHR will often lead to a real upgrade.

I recognize that many folks have some of the above via hotel loyalty programs, in which case the "added value" is less. Still, for one (or two nights), you can find some real benefits.

PWMTrav

FHR rates usually aren't rack, at least not in the US. They usually correspond to the lowest flexible rates on the hotel's own website. This is often the same as the Expedia or other OTA rate when you specifically look for a flexible/non-prepaid/cancellable rate.

FHR sometimes doesn't have last room inventory in a particular category, so for example, the lowest FHR might be a $250/night "deluxe" room but the Hyatt website has the standard room available at $200. At that point, there's a premium for FHR unless you'd be willing to pay for the higher category room no matter what.

Raffles

I did an FHR booking for precisely this reason earlier in the year. Wanted 3 nights but the hotel was too expensive. Settled for a 2 night stay but, with noon check-in and 4pm check-out, we effectively got almost the same amount of time as if we'd booked 3 nights and did a 2pm in / noon out.

EDIflyer

Yes, FHR are generally at BAR (Best Available Rate), not rack rate - I find rack rate, apart from being quoted on the back of the hotel room door, seems to be mainly used as a yardstick to calculate the other rates.

Centurion

Agree.

Centurion

On occasion FHR has specials just like Virtuoso and high end booking with 3rd or 4th night free etc.

PWMTrav

I think FHR hits another sweet spot on the 3rd night free promos - those make a week-long vacation a solid value. But I do agree that the 1 night, or even 2 night stay, is where you get some really good value. We use FHR a lot when we go away for weekend trips, which coincidentally, are the most frequent kinds of trips we take.

Astaroth

Personally I find it very variable, until recently I always got very good rates with the FHR even before taking into consideration any benefits with the one exception being the Maldives.

More recently their rates have been much more hit and miss -v- booking via other channels. I dont know if its coincidence of the different hotels we are looking at or if something has changed behind the scenes

yerffej201

Has anyone recently been able to "match" fhr rates? i just read through the whole thread and some fters a year or so back managed to match a lower rate showing up on the hotel site. anyone been able to do that recently?

eajusa

FHR rates are nothing to write home about anyway.

soitgoes

With special promos (3rd or 4th night free) and included benefits, they can be a good deal. Not always of course, but sometimes.

CRAZ8

You have to include the free breakfast, the guaranteed 4pm checkout, and the chance of an upgrade - some properties are better than others at the upgrade.

I've stayed at hotels where breakfast for 2 is worth $120 per day (which is frankly outrageous, but Bora Bora is pricey) - $60 per day is more likely. I've stayed at another that lists 4pm checkout at a price of $125. There are reports of upgrades to rooms costing hundreds more than the room actually booked and paid for.

Even without the free nights that are often available, some hotels still make FHR very much worthwhile. Other hotels, not so much. The threads here can help you make your choice.

You must always look past the top-line prices