Booking Your Hotel Accommodation At The Last Minute Can Save You Money
Many accommodation providers such as hotels, motels and serviced apartments often have a percentage of their rooms remain unsold in the normal course of business. They sometimes refer to these rooms as “distressed inventory” available at a discounted price. This allows them to realise
revenue that would not normally be received. Rooms made available on websites could be discounted by as much as 60%. The term generally used to describe the discounted room rates is last minute accommodation rates or short rates. You may ask what’s in it for the hotel?Discounting is not a new concept in this industry, though it has normally been promoted via corporate rates or bulk purchases. This new online delivery of room rates allows the accommodation providers to offer specials to the larger public. Like yesterday’s paper, the supplier would still rather have some revenue for the room than none at all. A great tip for finding special rate deals is by typing “last minute accommodation rates” and the name of the city into your web search. Although there are many websites promoting these offers, a quick scan of the result pages will reveal those websites that display multiple offers on a single page. This makes for easy comparison between various suppliers. The full or rack rate together with the discount rate could be displayed and the magnitude of the saving becomes apparent. Tips on booking your stay:Last minute booking services are almost exclusively advertised online. This is because of the instant confirmations, live updates on availability and the huge audience that now exists online. But when anyone provides credit card details online, they need to be as vigilant as if they were handing some cash on the street :- Make sure that the payment pages are secured with HTTPS, as opposed to the regular HTTP address. – Make sure the website has acceptable terms and conditions, you don’t want to be left empty handed because of the small print. – The uncertainty of online transactions has led many suppliers to ask for a deposit, instead of full payment up front. This is a reasonable approach, as you would not normally pay for your stay until departure. – Lastly, make sure the website offering the discount is providing confirmation of your payment and reservation. Some services offer to “register your interest” and only when you have paid, will they check availability with the hotel or Motel. You may as well just call the provider yourself, if this is the case.Though it should not need to be said, remember to take receipt of your online booking for check-in. Or if necessary you can call prior to confirm your booking and maybe also advise of check-in times, special needs or requests etc.When booking your stay for transit over early morning departures, most providers have dedicated sections for accommodation listings close to the airport and also offer a free service or parking for up to a week. Alternatively you want to make sure a shuttle service is available from the motel or that they can organise such a service. Typically last minute accommodation rates generally apply to the next 4 weeks or 28 days only. So for those spur of the moment spontaneous decisions it is ideal. Remember last minute rates are generally for two people only and you need to enquire if additional people can be accommodated and if so what the charge will be, check for any inclusions or extras on offer too. Inclusions can prove to be of excellent value and include such offerings as free breakfast, a bottle of champagne or drink voucher or perhaps a free shuttle service to and from the airport.
Patrick an accountant by trade and knowing the value of yield management found very little in the way of last minute accommodation rate providers on the web.
Always determined to undertake projects of value set about with a little help from his friends to create a New Zealand own last Minute Accommodation website.
Having worked within the IT industry for over 10 years he developed an acute awareness of the power of marketing and advertising using the web. None more so than the ability to monitor your audiences response and using this to better understand their actions and motivations.
While traveling the world and staying with numerous accommodation providers, He found he was not always getting the level of service or amenities expected, he came to understand the need to have clarity and transparency with what is being offered. No one wants to feel that they have been misled or short changed. This led to a business approach that is centered on providing the customer with as much information as needed. To make the right decision.
Now a family man with two children he has also come to appreciate the different accommodation requirements for a family and what is important. A firm believer in that life’s experiences dictates to a large extent what you do and try to achieve. http://www.shortrates.com/
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