The first thing you need to know about getting a room at a sold-out hotel is: There's no such thing as a sold-out hotel.
At least that's what Joe Dean will tell you.
He recalls a recent experience at a hotel in Miami. Dean, a retired pharmaceutical district manager, had stayed at the property several times and was on a first-name basis with the general manager.
But on this trip, he'd forgotten to make a reservation. The hotel was sold out. The front-desk manager quickly recognized him and found him a room. Then, the manager handed Dean his business card.
"We will never be sold out for you, Mr. Dean," he said. "Call me, and I will have a room."
Hotel rooms may be in short supply now
OK, so if there's no such thing as sold-out, then how do you get a room at a hotel that claims to be sold out? There's no better time to ask than now. A new Quicken survey found that over 75% of respondents are planning to go on at least one vacation this summer, despite lingering concerns about safety. Some are staying in vacation rentals but many more are choosing hotels.
Allianz Partners USA’s 13th annual Vacation Confidence Index says confidence in travel is at a record high.
“Americans’ confidence in taking a summer vacation has grown exponentially compared to the past few years," says Allianz spokesman Daniel Durazo. "Not only will they treat themselves to a hard-earned getaway, but Americans are estimated to spend more money than ever – to the tune of $153 billion – to make up for lost time."
Translation: Hotels will be full for the foreseeable future.
The strategies for getting a room in a 100% booked property include:
- Building relationships with the hotel staff.
- Being friendly.
- Asking the right people or websites for a room.
- Invoking your loyalty status.
- Never giving up.
What is the meaning of sold-out for hotels?
What does sold out really mean? I asked Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, managing director of the Alma Resort in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. He explained that hotels tend to keep some rooms empty, even when they say they are 100% full.
"For example, there could be a problem such as the shower not working but the bath is OK, or the safe is broken, or a window is damaged," he explains. "These out-of-order rooms mean that they are not available for sales."
A hotel may also keep a room or two available if the owner or a dignitary arrives at the last minute, says Laubichler-Pichler.
So there are almost always available rooms.
What's the best website for sold-out hotels?
There are also places where you can find last-minute hotel inventory.
I talked to Michael Cohen, a frequent traveler who runs a creative agency in New York and often books last-minute hotel stays. His advice is to hit the internet to find your room.
"I would try and see if any of the third party sites with available rooms," he advises.
His favorite sites include Hotel Tonight and Booking.com. Other sites with last-minute inventory include Hotels.com, Trivago, and Travelocity. They often have hotel inventory that even the properties don't see. So the hotel could show 100% occupancy but still have a few rooms on Hotels.com, for example.
How to get a hotel room when everything is booked
You may still be able to get a room get a room at a sold-out hotel with these simple strategies:
How to tell if a hotel is full
Can you tell if a hotel is booked solid? Sometimes. Most travelers discover a property's sold-out status by trying to make a reservation. You can also call the property and ask. Beyond that, it may take an expert to figure out if a hotel will be full when you plan to visit.
Art fairs, holidays, and other major events tend make for sold-out hotel for hotels, says Andrew Steinberg, a travel advisor with Ovation Travel Group. The best travel advisors love to do the seemingly impossible and find a room in a sold-out hotel, he notes.
"I enjoy the challenge," admits Steinberg.
It starts with relationships
If you're a frequent guest or a member of its loyalty program, you're in. That's what Andy Abramson, a frequent traveler and communications consultant from Los Angeles, has found.
"Be loyal to the property, know some of the management team by name, and build rapport with them, he says. "If you are a regular or frequent guest who needs a room at the last minute, you'll likely get one."
By the way, some guests are more important than others. Abramson has found that people who arrive late and aren't members of a loyalty program are far less likely to get a room than, say, an elite-level loyalty program member who always pays top dollar. So don't expect the doors of a hotel to swing open if you're a budget traveler. They might, but probably not.
How to talk your way into a room at a sold-out hotel
"The most effective way is to call the hotel and speak to a supervisor," says Guido Graf, founder of the website PrivateUpgrades.
There are two negotiation strategies that almost always work, he says. "It is essential that you are friendly. And, of course, it helps if you have already been a guest in the hotel before," he adds.
Knowing some hotel lingo can also come in handy. For example, 'unconfirmed booking requests' is a useful phrase. These are rooms the hotel is holding for travelers who have requested them but haven't yet provided a credit card number to guarantee the reservations. Find out if there are any rooms like this, and see if you can get on the waiting list.
Join a rewards program
That's the advice of Alex Francis, general manager of Radisson Blu Mall of America.
"Rewards members have access to an array of exceptional benefits and services, ranging from complimentary room upgrades and award night stays to discounts on food and beverage," he says. "They may also have first access to some of the last rooms available over sold-out dates."
By the way, there's a right way and a wrong way to invoke your loyalty status. Experts say you should offer your loyalty program details when you call, but always politely. Remember, friendly gets you farther.
Keep checking
Hotel inventories can change by the second. If you aren't using a travel agent to make your reservation, you might want to keep the hotel's website up on a browser tab.
"I suggest continuously checking online and with the hotel reservations, as rooms sometimes do pop up," says Carolyn Paddock, owner of the travel agency Inflight Insider.
That means obsessively clicking the "reload this page" button. All the major hotel chains also have a mobile app that frequently has more accurate information than the web page.
Sometimes sold-out really means sold-out, unless …
Kathleen Panek, a former hotel night auditor, says at some properties, sold out really does mean there are no rooms left.
"Many times, I had people coming in at 1 a.m., looking for rooms," recalls Panek, who now owns a bed and breakfast. "Several times I was told, 'Do you mean to tell me that if the president of the United States came in, you would tell him you were full?' My reply was, 'I would offer one of the meeting rooms with a rollaway because my job is to fill rooms, and they are all occupied.'"
But that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Sometimes, if a late-night guaranteed reservation still hasn't showed up, a manager might bend a rule.
"The night auditor might take a chance that they are not going to show and sell the room," she says.
Bottom line: You can get a room at a sold-out hotel
There are ways to get a room at a sold-out hotel. You can be friendly, talk to the right people, invoke your loyalty status (nicely) and be persistent. But if you're traveling somewhere with sold-out rooms this year, then maybe you're aiming for the wrong place. With travel demand at record levels, you might want to look elsewhere for a less crowded — and saner — vacation.
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