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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Rudy Maxa
Aired February 02, 2002 - 09:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Whether by car, train, or plane, folks headed to a vacation destination are always looking for a great deal. One place you'll look to save some cash is at a hotel.
From Washington, Rudy Maxa, joining me to tell us how to find amazing hotel deals. He hosts his own Web site that gives you tips on traveling for less, heard frequently on radio as well. Rudy, good to hear-- good to see you. I've listened to you for years and have enjoyed your reports.
RUDY MAXA, RUDYMAXA.COM: Thank you, Miles. Nice to be here.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rudy. Give us-- what's the secret to finding a good hotel? I've often heard you can get better rates if you call the hotel directly, as opposed to calling the central toll- free number. Is that-- that's true?
MAXA: That's often true, because the central number is basically somebody sitting maybe in a bunker in Nebraska looking at a computer screen, and they have no power to negotiate. They don't know that maybe this is the slowest weekend in business in that particular jurisdiction that you might be calling, or area you might be calling.
So it's often wise to spend an extra 15, 20, 80 cents and call directly to the hotel and see if you can't get a better rate. Maybe you can get free parking. Maybe you can get free breakfast. Maybe you can get an upgrade to a better room.
You're always-- you always have more negotiating ability talking to someone on site than a reservationist at an 800 number.
O'BRIEN: Well, now, do you have to engage in any, you know, sort of clever ruses, you know, pretend like you're the administrative assistant for the guest and-- when it's yourself, and, you know, some kind of big shot, he needs a suite? Does that kind of stuff work?
MAXA: Well, there's always the couple that's perpetually on their honeymoon that walk in all giggly and say, This is our honeymoon. Everybody goes, Oh, and gives them a big suite. Or there's the old line, you walk into a full hotel, if the president of the United States were, would you have a room for him? Well, for the president of the United States, we'd have a room. Good news, the president's not coming, give me the room.
But what we have right now--
O'BRIEN: I like that one, by the way, that's good.
MAXA: What we have right now is a situation where as-- it's no secret, the travel business is down. Hotel occupancy rates are down 6 percent since 2000, and the average room rate is down even more. So there's really sort of going, I think, unnoticed, unless you happen to get my newsletter, a sale on urban hotel rooms around the world.
I got some examples for you. In Europe, for example, Radisson SAS has put all 100 properties on sale. So a hotel room in London at the Howard Swiss Hotel that costs three-- excuse me, at the Prague Radisson SAS, it cost $246 a night this time last year, is $132 now. That's like half off. Vienna, $236, now $134. You go to London, you stay at the Swiss Hotel that costs $300 a night last year at this time, it's now $200.
And in the United States, go online to convention and visitors bureau Web sites. They're called CVB sites. I, for example, picked a date at random, March 2, and I called Seattle, and I talked to the reservationist at the Hotel Monaco, a favorite hotel of mine there. And I said, What's the best price you can give me for a double room? Two hundred and ninety-five dollars. Then I went to the convention and visitors bureau site, called seeseattle.org, $155. That's a $140- a-night savings. That's huge.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's some real money. And you--
MAXA: Philadelphia's convention and -- gophila-- I think it's gophila.org, two for the price of one nights. That's like half price if you're staying more than one night. Portland Hilton I called directly, best rate they could give me, $139. On their Web site, which is travelportland.com, $109. Now, that may sound like much, only $30, but it's a 28 percent savings. And if you did the online booking through the convention and visitors bureau site, you got free breakfast and free parking, so you'd save even more.
O'BRIEN: So what does this tell you? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) travel levels are still way down, and these hotels are just hurting.
MAXA: They are.
O'BRIEN: Aren't they?
MAXA: Exactly, and they want to put, as the industry calls it, heads in beds. And so they're willing to strike bargains. And you can negotiate. You know, as Americans, we're not used to negotiating. We get a price, generally we go, OK, that's it. But we are allowed to negotiate. You can say, Can I get a suite for that? Or, Can I get $20 off a night, or free breakfast? Whatever, don't be shy about that.
O'BRIEN: All right, don't be shy, those are good words to remember. Rudy Maxa, the savvy traveler, and if you would like to check out more about what he's been talking about, we invite you to go to rudymaxa.com, it's right there on the Web, www.rudymaxa.com. And we appreciate your insights this morning. Thanks for being with us.
MAXA: Nice talking to you, Miles, thanks for having me.
O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see you soon.
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