Less expensive hotel recommendations pre-cruise Seattle

[Bruin Steve]

11 minutes ago, Incognito1 said:

...the rooms leave a lot to be desired.  Also, if you're normal sized, you won't be able to turn around in the shower AND the bathroom is so small that you can sit on the commode and touch all four walls.

Which sounds like good practice for your upcoming cruise ship stateroom!!!  😁

[eileeshb]

On 12/13/2022 at 2:25 AM, Bruin Steve said:

They are right...sort of...

OFTEN (and the key word is often), you can find a better hotel deal within the last two or three weeks than four months before your stay...HOWEVER...

...it's a lot like booking a cruise.  It all runs by the laws of supply and demand.  If a hotel doesn't sell out...or get near selling out...they drop the rates.  And, for the most part, hotels do NOT fill up most nights.

 

A long time ago, I started my career working for a hotel chain (and my chain had the highest occupancy rates in the industry...and never lowered prices).  But, in those days, most hotel chains ran somewhere between 50% and 75% occupancy on the average.  But, here's where it gets tricky.  There are times when any particular hotel fills up--100%.   Some hotels get more business travelers and have much higher occupancy Monday through Thursday.  Others get weekend tourists and fill up Friday through Sunday.  If a hotel is in a city that does a lot of convention or event business, it is going to fill up for those events.  In cruise ports, the night before a ship embarks--or, especially, if several ships are in port, you stand a much better than average chance the hotel will be booked solid...and you are not going to find a bargain rate.

 

There are just a lot of factors that go into the pricing.

 

OTOH, IF you know you are going somewhere, say, over a year ahead, BOOK EARLY.  Most hotels initially post rates based on being completely empty--which they are when they are making the rooms available for a date for the first time.  Since we typicallybook our cruises well in advance, I almost always look for hotels right away.  I remember several years ago, we made a reservation for a pre-cruise at the Conrad Istanbul...and got a rate so low (something around $100 per night) that the head front desk clerk thought it was a mistake--or a scam--and tried to charge us much more.  Finally, he called the Hilton head office and found out that, yes, it was a legitimate reservation.

 

Since I book early (always a cancelable rate) and keep checking the hotel sites over time, I can tell you that, with rare exceptions, the price doesn't go below that initial rate.  I also check alternate hotels in case I find a better deal elsewhere.  I travel a lot and only on rare occasions have I ever found better rates late in the game.  But when I have, no problem canceling my early reservation and booking another at the lower rate.

I’d go along with this, I used to travel a lot more than I do these days. In particular for European rugby matches, the supporters of the club I support used to have an effective race against the airlines and hotels to get bookings made before the fixture details became public, we were lucky enough to have a connection inside the main tv broadcaster. 
The moment major sporting, music or conferences events are scheduled then hotel rates shoot up. Seattle has an effective captive market for Alaska cruisers every weekend so I’m not surprised rates at hotels in proximity to the piers are high. I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted the Black Friday rate for the Belltown Inn and the good reviews. Any of the hotels I’d seen with economical rates previously had very patchy reviews or were miles away from the main attractions and the piers. Even Air BnB rates seems to have risen steeply from when I first looked at them (they weren’t available to book that far out at the time). 

[SbbquilterUT]

We usually stay near the airport, using hotel points, and take light rail into town to enjoy the day - manage to walk everywhere down there.  Then the next morning we Uber to the port - Pier 66 is closer than 91.  

[crooooze]

On 12/12/2022 at 9:14 PM, Incognito1 said:

The Kimpton has an incredible steakhouse, but the rooms leave a lot to be desired.  Also, if you're normal sized, you won't be able to turn around in the shower AND the bathroom is so small that you can sit on the commode and touch all four walls.

This pretty much describes the cruise ships too.  😃

[Incognito1]

On 12/12/2022 at 5:42 PM, Bruin Steve said:

I have generally found, wherever I travel, that I get the best hotel room rates by booking as far in advance as possible...with one big caveat--ALWAYS book a REFUNDABLE rate (no advance payment...and look for special rates--AAA, AARP, Senior, etc.).  Book it way out...then every now and then, do a new search for hotels...and, if you find a better rate or more preferred hotel, book that and cancel the original booking.  More often than not, we find the rates are NEVER as low as they are 11 months or more early...

I've found that to be the case as well.  We booked our English hotels months and months ago for our April transatlantic.  Haven't seen them cheaper PLUS there's apparently some big soccer match in Liverpool on those dates (and then the coronation in London right after) so prices are ridiculous.  The hotels didn't know beforehand that there would be that demand.  Printed out our confirmations just in case they "lose" them in favor of someone who will pay 3x as much.