In the first of a two-part look at travel deals, Jeffrey Strain shows how getting half price hotel rooms is more than possibleŅit' downright simple.


Illustration by Marco Mancini

As you mourn the passing of your summer vacations and start planning your next trip, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could reserve all your hotel lodgings at half the regular price? Not only is it possible, it's much easier to do than you probably think. For anyone who is planning a non-tour vacation overseas, and especially those who will visit the US, you should consider joining one of the many discount programs which offer half-price hotel accommodations.

Hotels offer half-price rooms for the simple economic reason that it's better to have somebody in a room at half-price than nobody in it at all. At most participating hotels, if the room occupancy rate is less than 80% for the dates when you want to stay, the half-price rate will be available. Although most hotels offer the half-price rate 365 days a year, some hotels blackout peak holiday periods when they know they'll have more than 80% occupancy. Similarly, some business hotels limit their half-price offer to weekends while some resort areas limit their offer to weekdays.

Most of these programs include a wide range of hotels from budget to luxury, as well as everything in between from which to choose. Each program's guide lists the general price range of each hotel, as well as the hotel's location, address and phone number. Each program listing will also supply a chart of the facilities available at each participating hotel. Although mid-priced to luxury hotels tend to maintain a consistent listing with these programs, there's a larger turnover rate with budget hotels. It shouldn't come as a surprise if you call to find a budget hotel is no longer participating in a program from time to time.

All these half-price programs work in a similar fashion. The program fee, which ranges from $25 to $100, is good for one year. Once you join, you'll receive a listing of participating hotels by state and city in the US, and by country and city in other parts of the world. When you find a hotel located in the city where you'll be travelling, you call or fax the hotel directly and ask if there are any rooms available at the program's 50% discounted rate for the dates you want to stay. If the hotel does, you make your reservations, show your program's membership card when you check-in and pay half-price when you check-out. It's that simple.

Participating hotels will require you to show your membership card and will refuse to give the 50% discount without it. The half-price discount isn't available in addition to other discounts. One membership card is good for one room, so if you're travelling with friends or you'll need two or more rooms each night, you'll have to purchase extra memberships. Reservations usually need to be made in advance, even if it's only a few hours, since some hotels won't give the 50% discount to those who show up unannounced at the front desk.

The 80% occupancy rate is strictly enforced, so don't expect to receive the half-price discount everywhere you go. The sooner you can make your travel plans, the better the chance you'll have of booking a half-price hotel room, especially if you'll be travelling during the peak holiday seasons. This is because the closer it gets to your desired travel date, the more likely it is that the hotel has reached its 80% occupancy rate. Even so, it's often possible to book half-price hotel rooms on the same day during off-peak travel times. Often hotels will offer a lesser discount on the same day if their 50% discount rate isn't available, but they still have vacant rooms.

In addition to half-price discounts, many of these programs offer additional travel related goods and service discounts. Rental car discounts, two-for-one meals at restaurants, and discounts for major sightseeing attractions are common additions. Some memberships even provide discount coupons good for airline tickets.

Further details of half-price hotel schemes, including how to obtain them, will be printed in part two next week.

Reproduced with permission of Kansai Time Out.