Hotel employees -- is this normal?

[MaggieTheCat]

A friend of mine is going out of town this weekend and has had a room booked at a Crown Plaza for several months now. When he booked the room, he supposedly got the "special advanced purchase rate" but he checked again this week and the same room that he got is now $75 less for the whole weekend.

I'm kind of assuming this is normal. Hotel didn't sell out on all its rooms like it thought it would, so now they're discounted to try and sell as many rooms as possible. My friend is kinda pissed, though, and I can understand that too. He's determined to have words with the hotel and either get some kind of refund, or a free meal, or something to compensate.

What do you, my fellow CSers, recommend for him? I'd hate for him to turn into a SC over this and I'd like to be able to offer some advice, if possible.

[Lyse]

If I am right, I think this is normal. It's a balancing game if either waiting for discounted rooms and running the risk of no rooms being available, or paying a higher rate and having a guaranteed room.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Yes, it's normal. Rates are pre-determined based on past patterns and if a certain weekend was slam-packed last year, the rates for that weekend will be sky-high this year. However, if for whatever reason nobody shows up that weekend this year, the rates drop to whatever it takes to fill the rooms.

A lot of things can screw up the occupancy forecast like that -- pile-up on the Interstate, a block of rooms cancelling, etc, etc.

[bhskittykatt]

Pretty normal. Advance purchase rates can be a gamble. I've had good luck with them, but as Gazebo said, lots of things can screw up an occupancy forecast, and what they thought they could sell the room for months ago may not be what they can actually sell it for now.

[CloserToSane]

Very normal, as it's been said on past performance or they've got a revenue manager like my former one who goes out high then drops the rate when he realises that oh no we're not filling. Rather than act like the other hotels in the city and go out low for the base business and then slowly bring the rate up.

[Moirae]

Yes. Rates go up and down based on availability. I suggest you call the hotel and ask them if they will match the current rate. Tell them exactly where you found it. If he agreed to a special policy on booking, he may not be able to change to the new rate. If he did not, most hotels don't have a problem matching the rate. Just remember that the exact site the rate is found on will have to be quoted so they prove the rates have changed.

My company has a 30 day cancellation, you are charged 30 days out full amount non refundable for special events. you will always be told this when you book. Its 72 hours for the rest of the time of year, and you won't be charged till you check in. This means that we can match rates seen on the internet.