I tend to stick with Marriott brands since they have few surprises and I've been a Platinum (75 nights a year) long enough to find the deals to be had. In general, there is the price on the website and discounts you can enter when you get the room.

Just remember you can always call ahead (yes a phone!) and ask to speak to the manager (typically 8am-6pm) to confirm your status or rewards program came across. Next, ask if you can get the upgraded room if it has not already been sold when you call. Upgrades usually involve a bigger bed, more room to stretch out, or a bathroom that doesn't feel like a closet.

Another thing to ask for is the mini-fridge/microwave combo in the room. Usually, this gives you the upgrade as a byproduct. I've done this at Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels with increasing success.

It's also good to indicate truthfully how long you plan to be there for a project. Managers will respond to people that will guarantee a certain number of nights per week, month, etc. and you can drastically reduce your costs by asking for a weekly rate.

Also, if you ever have a problem with a property, take the time to write an actual letter to management or ask for the address of the regional manager. These comments will be welcomed and typically any impact to you is offset by a gratis night. Just be truthful and make sure the comments are helpful.

Good suggestions.

Have to admit, I have never negotiated for hotel rooms. Might be time to start.

Any advice for busier hotels? Is it worth the stress to try?

I get the feeling you stay at much nicer hotels than I do.

All of your comments are valid and pretty useful things to think about when staying at nicer hotels with lots of options, on business, and for long-term stays. The advice to negotiate “team” discounts and long-term discounts are spot-on: I've done that before myself.

But it's a different game if you're trying to minimize price rather than maximize comfort (at a price point). If you're traveling with less of a plan, picking out hotels on the spot, and staying for a night or two, then it's a much more flexible and negotiable game.

Pretty hard to get something if you don't ask for it…

What's the worst that can happen?

Actually, Jay's comments above are pretty good for busier chain hotels.

If you're talking to staff, it generally doesn't matter if the hotel is busy or not. For staff the options are more limited and they're less influenced by the idea of revenue maximization: that calculation isn't high on their list of concerns.

I find the general approach of honesty, laughter and openness is really the way to go. Just broach the subject and see what happens. I don't find much stress in telling a couple jokes and bantering with the hotel staff.

I do find negotiating works much better in person than over the phone, and I really wrote the entire post from that vantage point. I guess I do a lot of travel where I wander into a city and drive around to find a hotel without research, prior plans or ideas of the area and its prices. That's a fun game. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn't.

Perhaps my favorite time was when I was hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland with a couple buddies and we wandered off the trail into a hotel to see if they had a room. I tried my usual to see if I could drop the price a bit or get a better room: as it was, it was the only hotel (and restaurant, and pub) for miles, it was nearing dusk, they only had one room, and we were hiking so our transport (and options) were pretty limited. Suffice it to say that we happily paid the standard rate…

Well, I'm a Fairfield Inn kinda guy — that's the bulk of my stays. It's peppered with the full blown Marriott side of course but those are big events or trade shows.

You bring up an excellent point on watching the costs. In reality, the $50 spread between a Fairfield Inn and a Motel 6 or other value brands is less about function and features than my own routines and bias to bedding and pillow type.

One of the scrapiest tech guys I know packs for road travel like he is going camping and it saves him a huge amount and aids his own costing models for clients. Seriously. Sleeping bags, mess kits, etc… :) He never knows where he is going but he knows what he will spend. And if you can swing a vehicle or pitch tents or have access to a gym membership with showers — you can really travel for work at a very low cost.

That's the kind of travel I know :)

The worst? They say no, or accuse me of being stingy for not accepting their standard rates. Not that I think the latter would happen, or that I would care. Worse things can happen :)

Realized I have negotiated for hotels, just not in person. Asked for media rates during my last stay in London and have occasionally been offered a complimentary room if I can guarantee a review or article afterwards.

Really? Comped room for reviews… do you feel that compromises your impartiality?

Lonely Planet does not allow writers to take comps, right?

No, not at all.

That's right, LP doesn't, neither does the New York Times.

Excellent advice. Thanks for sharing

bryan, from my experience, these tricks don't work on busier hotels or when you require advanced bookings

Great tips!

Thanks! Anything I missed? Any tips you've picked up through your own traveling?

I'm a little warped in that I love negotiating, especially when travelling.

When I'm with my wife and child, 99 times out of 100 we'll choose a luxury hotel/resort. If I'm on my own, or with traveller 'type' friends, a good clean guesthouse is usually the preference. My last trip abroad – to SE Asia – covered the whole spectrum of accommodation available; from 5* Starwood hotels, to $5 guesthouses.

It doesn't matter where we're looking to stay, I always negotiate, and my single-most important 'rule' is to simply smile, and to not take myself too seriously.

If possible I learn a couple of local phrases; in Thailand: “my dai!” – which means 'cannot', or too expensive in this case. Anything to break the ice, and to get the other side smiling. Once you do this you're much more likely to open the door to the possibility that you'll receive a discount, or added incentives.

Any money saved I usually end up spending in the same hotel/resort anyway (I'm getting lazier the older I get – room service is all too often too convenient!), and I always leave good tips for those staff who I feel have attempted to make the stay a good one.

The newly opened Starwood hotel in Chiang Mai was particularly open to negotiating a deal as they'd only recently opened. I was able to secure a 50% discount on their out of season price, a room upgrade and free internet. All in all the stay cost circa $350 when it should have cost $850ish.

A smile might be the best way to reach a person across the desk.

The key is to shift the negotiation from feeling like a business transaction to a conversation between friends as quickly as possible.

And now I'll have to start looking for newly-opened hotels…

Thanks for this tip.

I used to negotiate my hotel prices a lot, but lately I've been using vadingo.com (for spain) and I usually get an even better price than I can negotiate on my own.

Good system, Vadingo…

I don't know that there are lots of certain things to consider when you want to have a good price and good discounts for renting a hotel room. I have read the tips and I'm surprised that one of the tip which is said is done by me already and yet I didn't know that it's really the right thing to do, really funny :D. One of the main thing I really concern about in having a hotel room is the good facilities, ambiance and the proper management for those people that works in that hotel.

Actually, that's a common misconception. LP don't let their writers take a comp in return for favourable reviews – ie they can't take a freebie and guarantee a good review – but they can take a freebie if there's no obligation attached to it. I know of many an LP writer who's taken a freebie.

Actually, that’s a common misconception. LP don’t let their writers take a comp in return for favourable reviews – ie they can’t take a freebie and guarantee a good review – but they can take a freebie if there’s no obligation attached to it. I know of many an LP writer who’s taken a freebie.

Pretty useful article!

Nice advice, I know some really friendly Queenstown hotels staff who are happy to negotiate f you explain you are tight on money. Its interesting how much more affordable life can be if you can learn to negotiate well. You just have to remember the hotel often needs you more than you need it.