Negotiating Yearly Rate At A Marriott Property
Oct 24, 2018, 3:06 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,284
I'd expect that 20 room nights per year is too little to get most hotel sales managers excited. I'm glad it worked for you with with that one hotel.
Oct 24, 2018, 3:29 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: BTS/VIE/FRA
Programs: M&M Senator, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 29
And one more thing - dont be shy and ask nicely. You might be surprised, but be also prepared for polite “No”.
Oct 24, 2018, 4:41 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
Programs: UA Life Gold, Marriott Life Titanium
Posts: 2,757
Status isn't going to get you a discounted rate a hotel such as the OP is trying to do. This is about people who will be staying at a single hotel a significant (at least to them) number of nights over a given period of time.
Oct 24, 2018, 5:09 pm
#19
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,717
Status absolutely can help. An intro from an Ambassador never hurts, and I find that Sales Directors often seem more willing to make a one-off deal for a frequent customer of the chain than they are for a random walking off the street.
Oct 24, 2018, 6:58 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: IAD / DCA
Programs: AA EP, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, United Silver, Bonvoy Titanium.
Posts: 158
Exactly this. Always do your own work and make the best decisions you can for your own situation.
Oct 24, 2018, 7:28 pm
#21
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sunshine State
Programs: Avis Trump. Costco Exec. SPG PLAT PREM-90. WN A+/CP. AA SLV. Nat EE..
Posts: 456
Another way to put it: An individual represents at-most 365 (occasionally 366) room nights each year. A corporate contract can represent thousands of room nights annually. At the larger hotel where I worked, our largest corporate client was responsible for over 40,000 room nights annually.
40,000 room nights annually at a single hotel!?! Holy hell thats when the corporation needs to just buy their own hotel. Okay back on topic. It varies tremendously from property to property and even sales person to sales person. I’ve never tried to negotiate extra points (that seems like more of a Hilton and IHG thing) but I have negotiated automatic club level for the team (back when the only Marriott property I stayed at was this one and I was a lowly Silver. This was a hotel that was new and beautiful but they struggled with getting a regular business following because it was a small Capitol city. IME our our best results was to set a meeting with a sales person while staying at the property. If you can commit to a set schedule and book them all on the spot that’s even better. Certainly the days of week matter as well as their basic expected occupancy as well as nights your committing to matter. At the better locations this also resulted in a direct email line to the sales team which was like haveing an on-site ambassador. I never abused it with crazy requests but I will say that they also managed to always get us even last minute rooms on a few “sold out” nights and this was for multiple rooms.
Oct 24, 2018, 11:34 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: BTS/VIE/FRA
Programs: M&M Senator, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 29
They cancelled my breakfast, made some magic with rate and finaly I was in budget. However, I was also upgraded to suite, I got access to lounge, got fruit basket to room every second day and got offered limousine transfer to office daily. My stay was great, company was happy and hotel got their revenue.
I believe that with status this is much easier.
Oct 24, 2018, 11:45 pm
#23
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: SQ TPPS (21),QF G, NZ E, IHG D Amb, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, Shangri-La Jade, Accor Plat, Hertz P
Posts: 397
Within the bounds of my corporate policy, I have been extremely successful in maximising benefits for myself. But then my corporate is a global organisation, so travel is very well managed and with deep discounts, including all the program benefits.
Oct 24, 2018, 11:52 pm
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 575
I am Ambassador with Marriott, Spire with IHG, and Diamond with Hilton. I have earned Ambassador and Spire but actually making the required stays and have been matched with Hilton.
I am going to try to see what these hotels will say when I reach out to them. Will be interesting to see if $4,000 per year is worth their time or not. Like other people said the lesser hotels seem like the hotels that may want to work with me!
I am going to try to see what these hotels will say when I reach out to them. Will be interesting to see if $4,000 per year is worth their time or not. Like other people said the lesser hotels seem like the hotels that may want to work with me!
Oct 25, 2018, 12:19 am
#25
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,717
I am Ambassador with Marriott, Spire with IHG, and Diamond with Hilton. I have earned Ambassador and Spire but actually making the required stays and have been matched with Hilton.
I am going to try to see what these hotels will say when I reach out to them. Will be interesting to see if $4,000 per year is worth their time or not. Like other people said the lesser hotels seem like the hotels that may want to work with me!
I am going to try to see what these hotels will say when I reach out to them. Will be interesting to see if $4,000 per year is worth their time or not. Like other people said the lesser hotels seem like the hotels that may want to work with me!
Oct 25, 2018, 1:45 am
#26
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
I appreciate all the information! This was very helpful! Did you ever have anyone ask for points with the lower rate? One of my main tactics when I got this Holiday Inn deal was telling the reservation manager that there are so many options in your city but your hotel is my favorite. She then asked me what is most important things I look for in booking a hotel and my answer to her was getting as many points possible and that's when she offered me the 5k point package!
Offering additional points as an incentive can be hit or miss. I think many FlyerTalkers would be astonished at the number of guests who aren't members of frequent guest programs. I know that was something that perplexed me when I first started working in hotels. It didn't make sense for people to not collect them...particularly when it's work who is paying. But, different people value things differently.
But, don't be afraid to ask. As I noted, no one at the hotel will get offended if you ask for something reasonable. For example, if you can't get a discounted rate, there's nothing wrong with asking for some bonus points if you become a repeat guest. The worst thing you'll hear is a "no".
There's lots of good advice here. I like dulciusexasperis' suggestion of asking for something that would cost very little for the hotel to provide.
Yeah, we were pretty blessed to be physically connected to the headquarters of a Fortune 50 company. They always got spectacular rates because of the volume of room nights they provided. Their rate was roughly half of our normal week-day rate.
Oct 25, 2018, 8:09 am
#27
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
Programs: UA Life Gold, Marriott Life Titanium
Posts: 2,757
If there are a lot of weekend nights in there as well, most hotels will be more open to working with you. If it's in an area that's fairly seasonable, that will help too. Generally speaking, large hotels that are filled up with business travelers Mon-Thurs night, and then with tourists on weekends, 52 weeks a year, don't have a huge incentive for any single guest's loyalty. Places like Florida, where hotel rates crater in the summer, will be more likely to offer a solid discount if you'll be staying consistently year round.
Oct 25, 2018, 9:47 am
#28
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,271
I think some are missing my point. I am not suggesting how to get more points, nor suggesting trying to negotiate anything through a chain. I am suggesting dealing directly with the hotel itself and I wouldn't expect you to get anywhere for just 18-20 nights.
Just because a hotel is part of a chain, in the case I gave, it was the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, what happened with me had absolutely NOTHING to do with Fairmont and everything to do with the Hotel Vancouver sales manager himself. It was an offer by one person (hotel sales manager) to another person (me) intended to keep a customer that would spend enough nights (roughly 200 overall) to be worth doing something to keep that person (me) returning to that hotel. That hotel sales manager 'locked me in' if you like. It isn't as if I would be likely to just say one week, 'ah, time to try another hotel for a change', not when my wardrobe was waiting for me. That was a smart sales manager who basically guaranteed his hotel 200 nights at NO COST to the hotel. It as all about how HE could look good to his hotel manager and produce a 'win' for HIS hotel, not the chain. You can be sure he told his boss that he had just secured 200 nights at no cost to the hotel.
People do business with people, not corporations. If you can't see that you have to get it to that personal level if you are the one deciding to try and initiate some kind of extras that benefit you, then you don't understand how sales works. I let you win IF I see that I win. That sales manager got a win by giving me a win. If I had approached him before he approached me, with the same suggestions, he would no doubt have agreed to my request for an upgrade, laundry and wardrobe.
No matter how many nights you might stay in one hotel or multiple hotels in a chain, your business is of no significance to the CHAIN overall. If you work with a large enough corporation, your corporation account overall may be significant enough to the Chain to get an overall discount for all your corporations bookings but it will NOT get you PERSONALLY anything more.
What gets you PERSONALLY more, is when you propose an exchange that gets SOMEONE else more. That is what 'win/win' means. It's between 2 people.
Just because a hotel is part of a chain, in the case I gave, it was the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, what happened with me had absolutely NOTHING to do with Fairmont and everything to do with the Hotel Vancouver sales manager himself. It was an offer by one person (hotel sales manager) to another person (me) intended to keep a customer that would spend enough nights (roughly 200 overall) to be worth doing something to keep that person (me) returning to that hotel. That hotel sales manager 'locked me in' if you like. It isn't as if I would be likely to just say one week, 'ah, time to try another hotel for a change', not when my wardrobe was waiting for me. That was a smart sales manager who basically guaranteed his hotel 200 nights at NO COST to the hotel. It as all about how HE could look good to his hotel manager and produce a 'win' for HIS hotel, not the chain. You can be sure he told his boss that he had just secured 200 nights at no cost to the hotel.
People do business with people, not corporations. If you can't see that you have to get it to that personal level if you are the one deciding to try and initiate some kind of extras that benefit you, then you don't understand how sales works. I let you win IF I see that I win. That sales manager got a win by giving me a win. If I had approached him before he approached me, with the same suggestions, he would no doubt have agreed to my request for an upgrade, laundry and wardrobe.
No matter how many nights you might stay in one hotel or multiple hotels in a chain, your business is of no significance to the CHAIN overall. If you work with a large enough corporation, your corporation account overall may be significant enough to the Chain to get an overall discount for all your corporations bookings but it will NOT get you PERSONALLY anything more.
What gets you PERSONALLY more, is when you propose an exchange that gets SOMEONE else more. That is what 'win/win' means. It's between 2 people.
Oct 25, 2018, 11:40 am
#29
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,717
But others (including myself) have replied that we have experience that the chain (I.e. status) actually can matter and we have multiple examples of it having been the case. I do not think we are missing the point, we are saying that maybe your experiences don’t capture the full picture.
Oct 25, 2018, 12:15 pm
#30
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: SQ TPPS (21),QF G, NZ E, IHG D Amb, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, Shangri-La Jade, Accor Plat, Hertz P
Posts: 397
I think some are missing my point. I am not suggesting how to get more points, nor suggesting trying to negotiate anything through a chain. I am suggesting dealing directly with the hotel itself and I wouldn't expect you to get anywhere for just 18-20 nights.
Just because a hotel is part of a chain, in the case I gave, it was the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, what happened with me had absolutely NOTHING to do with Fairmont and everything to do with the Hotel Vancouver sales manager himself. It was an offer by one person (hotel sales manager) to another person (me) intended to keep a customer that would spend enough nights (roughly 200 overall) to be worth doing something to keep that person (me) returning to that hotel. That hotel sales manager 'locked me in' if you like. It isn't as if I would be likely to just say one week, 'ah, time to try another hotel for a change', not when my wardrobe was waiting for me. That was a smart sales manager who basically guaranteed his hotel 200 nights at NO COST to the hotel. It as all about how HE could look good to his hotel manager and produce a 'win' for HIS hotel, not the chain. You can be sure he told his boss that he had just secured 200 nights at no cost to the hotel.
People do business with people, not corporations. If you can't see that you have to get it to that personal level if you are the one deciding to try and initiate some kind of extras that benefit you, then you don't understand how sales works. I let you win IF I see that I win. That sales manager got a win by giving me a win. If I had approached him before he approached me, with the same suggestions, he would no doubt have agreed to my request for an upgrade, laundry and wardrobe.
No matter how many nights you might stay in one hotel or multiple hotels in a chain, your business is of no significance to the CHAIN overall. If you work with a large enough corporation, your corporation account overall may be significant enough to the Chain to get an overall discount for all your corporations bookings but it will NOT get you PERSONALLY anything more.
What gets you PERSONALLY more, is when you propose an exchange that gets SOMEONE else more. That is what 'win/win' means. It's between 2 people.
Just because a hotel is part of a chain, in the case I gave, it was the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, what happened with me had absolutely NOTHING to do with Fairmont and everything to do with the Hotel Vancouver sales manager himself. It was an offer by one person (hotel sales manager) to another person (me) intended to keep a customer that would spend enough nights (roughly 200 overall) to be worth doing something to keep that person (me) returning to that hotel. That hotel sales manager 'locked me in' if you like. It isn't as if I would be likely to just say one week, 'ah, time to try another hotel for a change', not when my wardrobe was waiting for me. That was a smart sales manager who basically guaranteed his hotel 200 nights at NO COST to the hotel. It as all about how HE could look good to his hotel manager and produce a 'win' for HIS hotel, not the chain. You can be sure he told his boss that he had just secured 200 nights at no cost to the hotel.
People do business with people, not corporations. If you can't see that you have to get it to that personal level if you are the one deciding to try and initiate some kind of extras that benefit you, then you don't understand how sales works. I let you win IF I see that I win. That sales manager got a win by giving me a win. If I had approached him before he approached me, with the same suggestions, he would no doubt have agreed to my request for an upgrade, laundry and wardrobe.
No matter how many nights you might stay in one hotel or multiple hotels in a chain, your business is of no significance to the CHAIN overall. If you work with a large enough corporation, your corporation account overall may be significant enough to the Chain to get an overall discount for all your corporations bookings but it will NOT get you PERSONALLY anything more.
What gets you PERSONALLY more, is when you propose an exchange that gets SOMEONE else more. That is what 'win/win' means. It's between 2 people.