Room Rates Difference - Booking via Hilton

[wsthong]

Does anyone know why the rates are different for the same room type and stay period but booking made on different time?
Example: Reservation made earlier is more expensive than booking now via Hilton.

 

[levelnine]

Does anyone know why the rates are different for the same room type and stay period but booking made on different time?
Example: Reservation made earlier is more expensive than booking now via Hilton.

Because prices for hotel rooms fluctuate with demand/supply?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Does anyone know why

Much like Airline seat pricing, it will be a closely guarded secret by the companies, but essentially will be as @levelnine suggests - based on supply vs demand.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Example: Reservation made earlier is more expensive than booking now via Hilton.

It is better for a hotel room to make some money than no money on any given night. Yes it'll cost money for housekeeping to clean the room and stock some of the supplies, but that cost is very marginal compared to the revenue coming in. Room rates can go up and down depending on supply and demand as others have noted. The way to "win" in these scenarios, is to book a flexible rate with a hotel. In that way if the rate does go down you can always rebook and get the lower rate.

And I'll point you into another thing to consider. Sometimes the hotels will discount stays through opaque channels. By this I mean they won't publicly advertise a rate of say $100 AUD/night, but they will make it possible to book it for effectively that much through other hidden channels (again with the idea being that it's better to make some revenue on a room than no revenue). For instance, some online travel agencies like Hotwire or Travelocity will sell you a hotel at a low rate (i.e. $100 AUD) but not tell you what hotel you are booking. Instead, they'll say where the hotel is proximately located and what's included in the rate, maybe the rating (i.e. 4.6 stars) but that's it. Only after you book the hotel through the platform will you discover what the hotel was. For those more adventurous of us this can represent a great value. Similarly a hotel that isn't doing well in terms of sales can see the number of points required to book the room go down substantially. For instance, some Hilton hotels can be booked for as little as 5,000 points per night, which is not bad, especially considering if you hold elite status with Hilton your fifth award night is free (i.e. a 5 night stay would only cost you 20,000 points total).

-RooFlyer88

 

[wsthong]

It is better for a hotel room to make some money than no money on any given night. Yes it'll cost money for housekeeping to clean the room and stock some of the supplies, but that cost is very marginal compared to the revenue coming in. Room rates can go up and down depending on supply and demand as others have noted. The way to "win" in these scenarios, is to book a flexible rate with a hotel. In that way if the rate does go down you can always rebook and get the lower rate.

And I'll point you into another thing to consider. Sometimes the hotels will discount stays through opaque channels. By this I mean they won't publicly advertise a rate of say $100 AUD/night, but they will make it possible to book it for effectively that much through other hidden channels (again with the idea being that it's better to make some revenue on a room than no revenue). For instance, some online travel agencies like Hotwire or Travelocity will sell you a hotel at a low rate (i.e. $100 AUD) but not tell you what hotel you are booking. Instead, they'll say where the hotel is proximately located and what's included in the rate, maybe the rating (i.e. 4.6 stars) but that's it. Only after you book the hotel through the platform will you discover what the hotel was. For those more adventurous of us this can represent a great value. Similarly a hotel that isn't doing well in terms of sales can see the number of points required to book the room go down substantially. For instance, some Hilton hotels can be booked for as little as 5,000 points per night, which is not bad, especially considering if you hold elite status with Hilton your fifth award night is free (i.e. a 5 night stay would only cost you 20,000 points total).

-RooFlyer88

Thank you. I managed to get them to rebook at a lower rate for the same room category and period. As rates do fluctuates, the published rates are again lower than the rebooks rates. Sound a bit of cheap skate if I keep rebooking. Also will the hotel allocate the room based on the rates booked even though it is the same room category/type.

 

[NM]

Hence why I normally make a refundable or no-deposit booking early, to ensure I have a suitable room booked, then keep checking for a better deal as the stay date gets closer. Then if a better rate is available, I book it and cancel previous booking.

For an upcoming stay I have had a booking at the same hotel for same dates and same room type rebooked at least 5 times in the last 3 months. Each time its maybe $10-$20 cheaper. The process has saved me at least $75 so far and I still have a flexible booking. I'll keep checking every few days through the last few weeks before the stay and then consider if a better discount is available for a non-refundable booking or to retain the best flexible rate I have managed to book.

 

[elanshin]

Also i find HH actively is scouring the internet so they aren't price beaten. Its hard for me to find a cheaper rate on third parties.

And I'll point you into another thing to consider. Sometimes the hotels will discount stays through opaque channels. By this I mean they won't publicly advertise a rate of say $100 AUD/night, but they will make it possible to book it for effectively that much through other hidden channels (again with the idea being that it's better to make some revenue on a room than no revenue). For instance, some online travel agencies like Hotwire or Travelocity will sell you a hotel at a low rate (i.e. $100 AUD) but not tell you what hotel you are booking. Instead, they'll say where the hotel is proximately located and what's included in the rate, maybe the rating (i.e. 4.6 stars) but that's it. Only after you book the hotel through the platform will you discover what the hotel was. For those more adventurous of us this can represent a great value. Similarly a hotel that isn't doing well in terms of sales can see the number of points required to book the room go down substantially. For instance, some Hilton hotels can be booked for as little as 5,000 points per night, which is not bad, especially considering if you hold elite status with Hilton your fifth award night is free (i.e. a 5 night stay would only cost you 20,000 points total).

-RooFlyer88

This also means that hotels that actively allow price matching won't have to price match their super low rates.

 

[yachty]

Accor do this a lot at some hotels I regularly use... I will book early but with a flexible rate and check again the day before, often its cheaper so I'll cancel and rebook it.

 

[FishFood]

Sound a bit of cheap skate if I keep rebooking.

I guess that makes me a cheapskate

I won't feel bad about rebooking since that is within the conditions of the flexible rate

 

[wsthong]

I guess that makes me a cheapskate

I won't feel bad about rebooking since that is within the conditions of the flexible rate

Will it change the member benefits rebooking and cancelling?

 

[Stealthflyer]

I guess that makes me a cheapskate

I won't feel bad about rebooking since that is within the conditions of the flexible rate

Me too. I recently checked an existing booking with Hilton and the rates had dropped by $50/night, so I changed my booking to the new rate. No need to pay more than necessary.

I’ve found lately that Hilton rates often drop quite dramatically in the week before I’m due to travel. Not sure why.