sdadept

I'm working on a contract in the chicago area where i fly in sunday night and out friday afternoon for the next 6 months. I've been staying at the hyatt with an average rate in the $159ish area. Work has been giving me a hard time about the rate and requires me to get it below $129. Can individual hotels negotiate a rate with me or do I just need to find another hotel? I would think they might be interested in having me reliably stay there for the next 6 months but I don't know how these things work internally.

if they can, who would I ask to talk to? the manager of the hotel? booking?

59Impala

Depending on the company you work. in a large corporation, you can/must sometimes go through corporate travel and ask them to negotiate.

on a project, we have also had success in negotiating with the hotel sales manager.
just ensure t is an eligible rate.
good luck.

CloudCoder

Yep, call the hotel, ask to talk to the sales department. Explain that you do more than just "stay" at Hyatt hotels. You actually LOVE Hyatt Hotels. And you especially love THIS Hyatt, mainly because of the fantastic people who work there. And you'd love to stay there for six months, if we can work out a deal.

"Here's what I need" - nightly rate of $129 or below

"Here's what I am willing to give" - if there's a big event in town, I won't hold you to that low rate. I'll stay elsewhere that night.

"What can we do to make this happen?"

(If they can't get the rate right, find out if they can comp the parking, or give 1 free night for every 4 paid, or something (_anything_) to make the deal work.)

Perhaps it's just beginners luck, but I've always been able to swing a deal so that everyone comes out ahead. They get $13,416 sale and you get to stay at Hyatt. It's win-win for everyone.

zombietooth

I have had very good luck doing this-but you may need to provide some sort of proof that you will actually make your commitment. I have had to provide copies of trade show contracts, etc. before some properties would give me a special rate. So, you may have to show an appropriately redacted copy of your work contract to get a deal.

Another thing you can do is to pay by cash or check. Several property owners give me a big discount if they don't have to take a credit card. My average savings for cash payment is around 10% on top of any other discount I have negotiated.

I usually talk to the manager to negotiate these terms but, with smaller properties, I am usually dealing with the actual owner.

CloudCoder

I usually offer to pay for several months up front. They'e never taken me up on that offer.
Very helpful info!:-: I learned something new, and you can be sure that your hint will be used in the near future!

notquiteaff

Any idea why they would give a 10% discount when the cost of accepting the credit card should be a lot less?

CloudCoder

Maybe just maybe, when reporting their sales, they're sooooo incredibly busy that they only have time to enter the numbers from credit card sales. #CashIsKing

notquiteaff

And Hyatt would still award the points and night credit for the stay?

Then again, two letters - IT. They probably have two completely unrelated and systems and no way of reconciling this.

CIT85

This is strictly forbidden for my business travel (no personal CC either). We must use our corporate MC to pay for hotels, and the charges automatically show up in our expense report system.

mahasamatman

Since your stays are all covered by OPM, why would the rate matter to you anyway? This thread is really for the rest of us.

CIT85

Not at all obvious that this thread is only for those who pay their own hotel stays. OP stated work was giving him a hard time about his hotel rate, which means to me that he his hotel stays are being directly reimbursed, and I have no idea whether he can use his own CC or corporate CC.

maewest

Have done this successfully with many Hyatts (and other chains) as both a solo business traveler and a team (and I work for a smaller company so no real name clout). If you've already been staying with them for a while I would try to first speak with one of the connections who is familiar with you on property (ie manager) and either they will be able to assist/facilitate or put you in touch with someone who handles booking. They are already familiar with your steady business and would hopefully be willing to work with you on a rate to guarantee the cash flow rather than seeing you walk.

I've never paid in advance but usually prebook x months ahead (in your case, 6 months) to secure the rate and then if a few needed slight tweaking down the line I was still able to do so. Sometimes they did stipulate the rate couldn't be accommodated on specific weeks if they already knew it was high demand for a conference or holiday. Good luck!

op487062

Not sure if this will help (or if your company will allow it), but have you looked into Citi Prestige credit card for fourth night free? $520/week = $170+/nt (not calculating taxes).

MSPeconomist

Can you get the hotel to give you free breakfast or get it yourself due to elite status? If so, you could point out to your employer that the hotel rate is really rate plus breakfast, which makes it much closer to the $129 guideline. Also, does using this hotel save some local transportation expenses due to its convenient location for your business obligations and travel arrangements? Point that out to your employer too as a cost saving that should be counted when evaluating the rate you're paying?

CloudCoder

This is a fantastic suggestion. It brings the effective rate down to the desired range.