Reply #621 SEAJ's post
HK Hotels... like most hotels I imagine, set their rates based on 2 things:
(1) How many room nights per year you use.
(2) How many rooms are available at the time you want to stay.
So, as an example that applies to most 4* - 5* hotels in HK, they typically have 3 - 4 room categories, They all have their own "names" for each category but the basics are the same:
eg.
Standard
Deluxe
Executive
Using the standard room as an example and a 4* hotel kind of pricing and a "common" model that is typical of how hotels operate:
(i) As low as $1,000 / night in low season when lots of rooms are available for a high volume user.
(ii) Up to $4,000 / night in high season when hotel is near capacity.
In other words, the exact same room can vary in price from $1,000 - $4,000 per night depending on circumstances.
Using an example of a hotel with 300 rooms, as soon as the number of confirmed bookings exceeds (240 - 250 rooms) 80% the bottom price moves up, for example from $1,000 to $2,000. At 85% it moves up to $3,000 and at 95% it will go up to $4,000.
What this means, is until a hotel hits about 80% capacity they are very hungry and bargains are their to be had. That is where the "cheap" on line prices come from. If you don't have a specific hotel in mind, you can often get fantastic rates on web sites like wotif.com. Sometimes, I find the lowest price I can online copy the link and then fwd it directly to the hotel. I usually find they are happy to match it because when they deal direct with me there is no on line commission for them to pay. I am happy because I'd rather deal with the hotel than some web site for my hotel booking.
If you are a frequent visitor to HK, contact a few hotels directly, tell them you use ??? room nights per year and ask them for a corporate rate. Co-op your colleagues, friends, customers etc to book under the same account name. They still pay their account directly but the room night gets attributed to your account. This will save you significant money negotiating a corporate rate. Right now I have a deal at the Holiday Inn G.M. in TST where I am in a corporate co-op, we use collectively about 800 room nights per year. As a result I pay $1,000 - $1,200 a night for a mid level room and often get upgraded to an executive.
Handled the right way, dealing direct with the hotel will save you money, however you need to talk to a corporate sales manager or above, not a front desk clerk. | |
