I have been using Corporate Lodging Consultants service called CheckInn Card for a couple years now and have recognized significant savings on hotel stays compared to on-line services like Price Line etc
Have any others out there used them and what have your experiences been compared to other lodging discount strategies?
I found it through an article in Sunshine Artist a couple years ago. And just like Square, it has saved me some serious money
http://www.clclodging.com/cid/
They have a couple program options and you have to check their fees on each option to get the best solutions for your needs.
There was a fee to join, don't know if it's still in place.
No, I don't own stock or get any perks for pimping their services. It has helped me save $ on travel
Replies
Oops, not a VP, but Director of Product Management at CLC Lodging. Here's her e-mail
Susan Thomann (sthomann@corplodging.com) If you are going to beat up on her, please do not mention how you got her e-mail. I have a good working relationship which I'd hate to screw up
Thank you, Mark- I'd only contact her for help with a problem, and promise to be discreet.
Here's one more weirdness.... If you do shows at resort towns or at the shore, there is soften a seasonal change in room rates made by the hotels. CLC negotiates different rates for in-season and out of season.. The seasonal rates change right around Memorial Day. The rates go up in places like Rehoboth Beach, DE, Cape May, NJ, Lewes, DE Also, you will see that if you look at the rates negotiated by CLC, the room rates can vary by the day of the week... weekend rates are often higher. However you are still getting good rates compared to priceline, etc...
So, you do have to know about seasonal rate changes and blackout periods... If you book six months out and assume you will get the rate you saw in January during July at a beach resort... you are in for a rude surprise
The fixed rate plan works well for me - though like others, I had to ask lots of questions before I got onto the right plan.
Mark, As of yesterday, I was unable to get into the fixed rate plan- care to share the VP's e-mail?
Maybe she would help?
I agree with what Mark said. I changed my plan after the first year, when I realized I would pay less with the plan with a higher service fee.
I find that the rates on the CLC site are stable. The only time I have found them to be different is for a holiday weekend or blackout date. You can’t book online. I always call and verify that they still take the card, and that they accept it for the exact dates I need. For example, I saw a CLC hotel offered for the first time in a town I go to frequently. But, the show in question is on a holiday weekend, in a tourist town. I called, and sure enough, that weekend is a blackout date. But that happens seldom. If you are really anxious, book a CLC hotel, and have a refundable backup too, until you are comfortable with the system.
I make the reservation on the phone, and ask them to email me a confirmation, which I print out and bring with. I usually do book way in advance too, just because I like it to be done; and verify the rates by checking them online within that 2 week window. There is a button for “Print sample receipt.” I do that, too, just in case. I can’t promise, but thus far I have never needed to cancel one.
It is a little more work to book this way, but I feel it pays off. Not long ago I stayed in the “official” show hotel, and paid $20 less than the “special” discounted artist rate. It is no more work than Priceline, in my opinion, because you don’t have to do all that strategizing and re-bidding before you get something. I would rather know I’m close, and have the perks I like; and check reviews before committing; which you don’t get with Priceline.
You can search by address, and plug in the show location, then sort by distance.
They are not all super budget hotels. I have stayed at Best Western and Hampton Inns before. Those are good enough for me! I only choose a Super 8 or similar if it has the best location.
As far as the “reservations department” is concerned: the choice of taking the card is up to each individual hotel. Thus, one Best Western will take it, and another across town may not. If you book with the corporate reservations department, they don’t know that you will receive a lower rate; plus, plus they will ask you to hold it with a credit card. Normally when making a reservation, the CLC hotel does not ask you for a credit card to hold it; since you will not be paying with one.
Yes,
You cannot use the 1-800 booking phone numbers, but you get all the contact info when you look up the hotels.
Also, you cannot get any bonus points for corporate programs when you use the CLC card - usually b/c you are paying way less than their cheapest posted rate
you can also find out if your hotel has blackout dates or seasonal rate changes by call ing CLC's service number. Plenty of beach towns have really high rates during the season (usually Memorial Day to Labor Day on the east coast, central atlantic region), and rock bottom cheap rates during the off season - which is why you can only get firm rates two weeks out....
Now you can book a room months ahead and then present your CLC card when you arrive despite using a credit card to book the real early reservation. But this is not without risk. I had one hotel at a beach location allow me to book a room and then failed to honor their CLC rate when I got there on a busy summer weekend... They were contracturally obliged to the rate but the less than charming customer service (?) shift manager at the desk decided to take it upon himself to deny us our room rate and wouldn't call the GM of the facility to get a yea or nay. CLC was not able to get this idiot to relent and couldn't reach throught the phone to rip open his chest and extract his liver...(and where have all those mythological punishments gone?)... and they couldn't get hold of the GM b/c they didn't have his home number.
Needless to say I quietly found another location which did accept the CLC card at the rates they posted, only 30 miles away from this location. I also raised hob with the CLC folks about enforcing their contracts and they comped me for my inconvenience. I also got a phone call from the GM of the hotel letting me know that Mr Charming at the front desk had be dealt with and that I should call him personally the next time I wanted to stay at this location.
CLC no longer deals with this facility. In speaking with one of the VP's of CLC, I was told that they do not put up with that sort of BS and CLC customers who receive bad treatment or disrespect from hotel personnel b/c they are CLC customers or just in general do not get their contracts renewed.
And trust me, I made sure I used some of the travel service rating websites to recount my disappointment in painful detail.......after all this is one of the powers that the internet grants you: the voice which is heard far and wide that does not forget
Thank you both for this comprehensive info- now that I am better informed I'll give CLC another call about the initial cost of the two different plans. Your explanations were far better then the nice woman I spoke with! (in case you want to do a little moonlighting, they could use you over at CLC customer service!)
Thanks again!
Just adding an update to the CLC card info- the option of the higher rate plan w/the lower rate room is no longer available unless you stay 20 days/month or more.
Just booked my first dates- was quoted a high rate by the front desk, informed them I'd be using the CLC card (which was fine) . Received my confirmation from the hotel w/a LOWER rate then the current CLC quote. A bit confused by this... Has this ever happened to you?
I'll be curious to see what the actual rate is, once my 2 week window arrives in a few days.
Shaari, is this a change in CLC policy?
I have yet to book any hotel stays for this year.
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