Yes, 3+ and older at full charge- nobody is staying at our place for free!.
April said:
Yes, 3+ and older at full charge- nobody is staying at our place for free!
We had a walk-in last night with an 8 yo in tow. Because we'd been having no luck at all with walk-ins yesterday I decided to see how bad things were. Told the guy it was $99/night for 3 people, full breakfast. He asked for a discount. Our price for 3 in that room is $190. They left. I'm assuming they went to a hotel for $59/night.
Earlier in the day, the same thing. Told them the price, gave them our winter discounted rate and she asked for a discount off the already discounted rate. Watched where they went...checked the prices at that place and they were all at least $20 more, in some cases $100 more. I bet they paid the price at the other place.
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Are you competing on price or are your competing on service? When you give someone a discounted price and they ask you for a further discount, that's a big old red flag, as far as I am concerned. I don't discount and I don't quibble. When they give me the price they got elsewhere, I suggest that they stay there. Doesn't do my business any good and doesn't do the other business any good. Because if I give another discounted price, they are just going to run there and say what price I gave them. Heck, if they really want a discounted price, I point them at the lovely fleabag hotel where they can get a great price deal... and they will likely never quibble about price after that.
Honestly, that's a person that is never going to take your room. You are just burning time.
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We set our price based on what the market will bear and the amenities we have in comparison to other places. The hotel that charges higher rates really has us beat on everything- amenities, service, food, so we don't try to compete with them. I checked to see what rates they had yesterday because sometimes they run a $99 special in the winter.
No one goes back and forth here with 'the other guy has this price, will you meet it?' It's too much work for most people. If someone has a price point they are trying to meet, for whatever reason, I point them to the right place to get that price (or amenity, if that's the sticking point).
I've had people standing here who went elsewhere for about $75 more because they thought the overall atmosphere was more to their liking.
At this time of year it is a tough sell to keep our prices higher. All along the highway and down the road from here the hotels have their $59 signs out. Guests get it into their heads that that is the price and they don't understand that a lot of it is a bait and switch. 'Oh, the $59 rooms? All sold out. We do have a $99 room.' So, no actual $59 room but they got them in the door and might get $40 more.
After that guy left we turned off the lights.
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