Today I checked into a Radisson Hotel in Sudbury Ontario. it was an interesting experience.
I started the day by searching Hotels.com and hotelstonight.com for hotels rooms in Sudbury from Aug29 to Sept 1. Both sites had lots of rooms (COVID causation I would guess). Prices were all over the place.
Ultimately I decided on the Radisson Hotel and the price on Hotels.com was $89 per night CDN. (Always check the currency – sometimes it will be in USD and you might not notice).
I generally will look online but then will call or visit the hotel to see if they will match the online price. That way all of the revenue goes to the hotel. Typically a booking website will take 30% of the hotel fees.
So I went to check in. I showed the desk clerk the rate and asked them to match it. To my surprise they said they could offer me a discount for $170 per night, but could not match the rate.
I thanked her and sat down in the lobby. I booked the hotel right there on my phone. 1 minute later I approached the desk, showed them my reservation and I was checked in.
Does that make any sense? Not to me.
PS – I checked out AirBNB and apartments cost MORE than than hotels. Sigh – the times they are a changin’
