How Save With Member Hotels
Anytime you are traveling, whether for personal reasons or business, it is important to get the best deals possible. Saving money on hotels is a great way to keep more cash in your pocket. While calling around and asking for discounts is a good start, many times you can save money by staying at member hotels. The savings can really add up in the long run if you do proper research and choose the right hotels.
The basic idea of a member hotel is that hotel is a part of a larger network of hotels that belong to the same group. Then, by signing up for the program you can get substantial savings at all the hotels that are part of the group. Often times the initial fee will be made up over just a few stays at certain member hotels.
When planning any trip the first step of the process should be deciding on a location to stay. Once you located your city and possible hotel ask and see if they have any group member discounts and also get information about how to sign up along with any possible fees involved.
Once you have this information for one hotel, I would repeat it several times at other area resorts to see if they have a better deal. Then, you can compare each one and decide for yourself which is the best deal. Sometimes the cheapest ones do not have that many hotels in the group, so be sure to weigh all your options.
Another key point to note is the cost of the membership. Often times these can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the quality and type of member hotels involved. Once you get this figure you need to get the cost savings per visit. Then you can divide the initial fee by the cost savings per visit to determine you break even point.
For example if the membership costs $500 and you will save $100 on each stay, then you have to stay 5 times somewhere in order to break even. After that you will be saving money each time you go on a trip and stay at one of the member hotels. Each situation is different so you will have to figure out the savings for each possible group. Also, if there is a surcharge added to the cost the break even point will change and you will have to adjust the calculation accordingly.
Another important thing to think of is if you will be traveling internationally. Many of the bigger member hotels have places to stay all over the world. This can be a huge factor to consider when signing up. If you will not travel overseas, then you may not need one of the bigger memberships.
When figuring out the fees involved be sure to consider whether or not there is an annual fee added to the initial charge. If you have to keep paying annually then you have to consider that as well. Many times it is not as much as the up front payment, but it still can push back your break even point.
While the cost savings is nice it should not be the only consideration used in choosing a membership program for a hotel. You should also review the quality of the rooms and amenities available at each of the member hotels to see if all the hotels are as nice as the one you are currently staying. You would not want to have one great hotel with a bunch of average hotels, so do some research before committing to the member hotel program.
There are many places online to review travel destinations and the programs associated with various hotels. It is wise to do some research before signing up. Make sure that there are many reviews as well. Sometimes people will be paid to post fake reviews. This can skew the review process and make it hard to tell which review is real and which is a paid review. Try to find sites and memberships with over 100 reviews to be safe. Sometimes, it is best to error on the side of caution when choosing your hotel membership program.
Overall, you can save a bunch of money by staying with member hotels when you travel. The costs are often affordable and you can normally earn all your money back within just a few stays. After that, everything is just more savings in your pocket.