You can chop off 30% off the price of a hotel room when you book as a group. Learn all the details by reading the article below.
Hotel prices have steadily risen over the years and the average room in the USA is now well over $100 per night.
A weekend long class reunion may end up costing classmates over $350 just for the room when you include taxes, fees, breakfast, and WiFi.
In order to be able to attract as many classmates as possible, the class reunion planner has to find ways to lower this cost making the event as affordable as possible.
How can you help classmates save money at hotels when the cost per night is fixed?
Let’ start by getting group rates for hotels.
Get Group Hotel Rates
Getting group rates will save you the largest amount of money so make sure you spend as much time on this as possible.
In the past, you would have had to call hotels individually to get group rates. However, playing phone tag with a dozen hotels just to get group rates is a real time waster (It can take days, if not weeks to get rates).
Instead, get group rates from multiple hotels by filling out one form. Enter your desired city, price range, and star rating and hotels fitting this criteria will respond with group rates via email. We currently have over 40,000 hotel participating in this free service so you can expect dozens of hotels responding to your request for group rates.
Once you have group rates for hotels, it is time to narrow the list to a manageable number like three or four. Use the tips below to narrow that number down to one.
Free Parking
Block hotel rooms where you can find free parking. Many universities or high schools can be in pricey neighborhoods where parking is scarce. Instead of blocking hotel rooms at a hotel that charges for parking, look a few miles away and you are sure to find a place that charges nothing.
Taking this step can save anywhere from $10-$30 a night (per room) in parking fees.
Free WiFi
There are hotels that still charge for internet access. In many cases, people pay $15 per day to get online. In order to save classmates from having to pay for WiFi, try reserving your class reunion room block at a hotel that provides it for free. Many mid scale hotels (Best Western, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express etc.) charge nothing.
Doing this will save your classmates up to $15 a day in WiFi Access fees
Free Breakfast
Breakfast can be very expensive for attendees of your class reunion. If you booked a hotel that charges for breakfast, then your (unhappy) classmates are paying $15 per person for it. Or they are having to sclep their families out to Denny’s or Dunkin Donuts early in the morning.
Instead, book a hotel that offers a free full breakfast. Once again, many mid scale hotels offer this for free. When getting group hotel rates via the method mentioned above, mention in the comments section that you will give preference to hotels that offer free breakfast.
Avoid Weird Fees
Many hotels have begun charging weird fees. Some are charging “resort fees” or “Safe fee”. Others are charging a “housekeeping fee”. Before you book a hotel for a class reunion, make sure you ask about any fees that will be incurred by your attendees.
By booking a hotel that charges no additional fees, you can save up to $10 or $15 per room.
Discounted Menu
Instead of doing your lunch buffet at a catering hall or a community center, try to get discounted menu pricing at the hotel. Many will offer 10-20% off regular menu prices to get classmates to eat there instead.
Free Shuttle Service
A typical cab ride from the airport to the hotel can get pretty expensive. Now multiply this expense by all your arrivals and you can see how much money is being wasted on cab fare. And that’s just on the way in.
Save your class reunion members some money by booking a hotel that offers free transportation to and from the hotel. If the hotel does not offer shuttle service, then rent a van for the weekend and have a student volunteer do the pickups and drop-offs.
Selecting a hotel for your class reunion by using the criteria above can save classmates anywhere from $50 to $200 a day in extra charges (depending on the city you are in). The result of lower prices will be an increase in attendance at your class reunion.
What should you do next?
Fill out a short form to get group rates from hotels in less than five minutes.