‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways • Hacker News Board

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#11

Post by rbritton » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:33 PM UTC

planteen wrote: post #10

codazoda wrote: post #4

I've never been able to find a room last minute by stopping in a hotel and asking to stay the night. They always say they're full.

Interesting. I rarely have a reservation when driving on a multi day trip. Instead, I use the fact that it's already late as leverage to get a lower rate. I'm about 50/50 on getting that to work. I'm not the best sales person, so I bet someone who is more persistent would be more successful. I have the best luck when the hotel clerk is younger. I tend to drive mostly in the western US, specifically Colorado, Wyoming,…

There's an industry term for that. It's called the Fade Rate, and it's offered at a large portion of hotels if you arrive very late and ask about it.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#12

Post by cgvgffyv » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:37 PM UTC

codazoda wrote: post #4

I've never been able to find a room last minute by stopping in a hotel and asking to stay the night. They always say they're full.

I used to work at a hotel. 100% of late-night bookings meant trouble in one way or another.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#13

Post by Belenus » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:42 PM UTC

Soon, most likely, even overbooking will vanish. There might be apps that actually see if an inn or motel is actually vacant. Most likely.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#14

Post by Belenus » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:44 PM UTC

closeparen wrote: post #6

It's a shame because how far you will get in a day of driving is not exactly set in stone. If you're alert and in the zone, you may wish to go farther than the hotel you booked. If you've hit bad weather, traffic, etc. then the hotel you booked couple be a couple hundred miles past when you'd prefer to stop driving for the night. It's really nice to be able to stop when you feel like it.

And even if you spend half your energy and three-quarters your fuel the whole day, there's no chance that the inn you planned to stay at is vacant.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#15

Post by Spooky23 » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:52 PM UTC

My parents used to do this all if the time. Sometime in the late 90s, many hotels started using drop in guests as people to be hustled.

These days, you're better off finding a way to get "status" from a chain so you can cancel without penalty and book a bunch of rooms. Our last road trip, I booked 4 rooms over 300 miles and cancelled in the afternoon before stopping in.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#16

Post by enraged_camel » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:52 PM UTC

codazoda wrote: post #4

I've never been able to find a room last minute by stopping in a hotel and asking to stay the night. They always say they're full.

I'm the opposite: I can always find a room last minute. It has reached a point where I started to suspect hotels leave at least one room unbooked so that they can charge last-minute bookers through the nose for it.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#17

Post by sandworm101 » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:52 PM UTC

rbritton wrote: post #11

planteen wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. I rarely have a reservation when driving on a multi day trip. Instead, I use the fact that it's already late as leverage to get a lower rate. I'm about 50/50 on getting that to work. I'm not the best sales person, so I bet someone who is more persistent would be more successful. I have the best luck when the hotel clerk is younger. I tend to drive mostly in the western US, specifically Colorado, Wyoming,…

There's an industry term for that. It's called the Fade Rate, and it's offered at a large portion of hotels if you arrive very late and ask about it.

Fade rates, or manager's rates, are becoming a problem. Some big online booking schemes require "best available rates" be given to online bookings. Ad-hoc discounts to late night walk-ins are thought a violation of that agreement unless they are also made available to the online scheme. A manager's ability to turn away horrible bookings is also undermined. That group of drunken fratboys have now booked through a smartphone app. Try to pull the "we are overbooked" routine with them and you will be downrated very quickly, likely triggering action from your chain.

A while back I read a fun article about how online booking contracts were "unchristian". The christmas story sees a hotel manager make available a sub-standard room at a discount rate to a desperate walk-in family. Do that today and travelocity will be on your back about not publishing that "best rate" online.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#18

Post by reidacdc » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 5:53 PM UTC

I did the Chicago to San Francisco (and back) run fairly regularly in the 1990s, and we didn't depend on vacancy signs.

Our solution was basically brand loyalty -- the Motel 6 people published a book with addresses and phone numbers of all their motels in the US. The scheme is, you get on the road, and some time around 7pm, you stop for dinner, and make a reservation (from the payphone) at the Motel 6 that's about 100 miles ahead, and off you go.

The only time it didn't work well was one time when there was a large event in Cheyenne, Wyoming (I think it was the world square-dancing championship, but my memory is uncertain), and we couldn't get a room for love or money. We pushed on to Laramie, which was a little dangerous given how long we'd been at it, but it worked out OK.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#19

Post by pavel_lishin » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 6:18 PM UTC

shawndellysse wrote: post #8

codazoda wrote: post #4

I've never been able to find a room last minute by stopping in a hotel and asking to stay the night. They always say they're full.

In the last year and a half, I've driven the Baltimore San Diego route three times, and I've never planned ahead for a motel room, nor have I had a problem getting a room. Maybe I was lucky.

I've done the Dallas, TX -> New York drive twice over the past six years, and we've never pre-booked anything either. Maybe my traveling companions and I never seemed like the "100% trouble" type like cgvgffyv suspects.

Re: ‘No Vacancy’ Signs Are Vanishing from America’s Highways

#20

Post by Retric » Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 6:47 PM UTC

closeparen wrote: post #6

It's a shame because how far you will get in a day of driving is not exactly set in stone. If you're alert and in the zone, you may wish to go farther than the hotel you booked. If you've hit bad weather, traffic, etc. then the hotel you booked couple be a couple hundred miles past when you'd prefer to stop driving for the night. It's really nice to be able to stop when you feel like it.

Making a booking at ~4-6pm for that night works just fine. I have even made a few bookings at like 11pm. A phone call while getting food / gas is more convent than driving somewhere. Now, you might pay more that way, but outside of city's hotel rooms are really cheap.