Tables in this article show the year over year changes in average room rates and occupancy for the various brands in five major hotel chains including Choice Hotels International, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott Hotels, Starwood Hotels, and Wyndham Hotels Group. These five chains represent over 40 hotel brands in the USA and around the world. I was unable to locate comparable data on the web for Hilton Hotels or Hyatt Hotels.

Financial reports data from the first quarter of 2009 was used to show the average daily room rate changes and occupancy declines from 2008 to 2009. In the next couple of weeks the financial reports for April through June will be released by the major hotel corporations. Expect the data to show even more dramatic declines in rates and occupancy. After all, this recession is a whopper.

A discussion on FlyerTalk got me thinking about what the impact of the global recession across hotel market segments and different hotel chains. And are we truly travelers in a time of global recession for the hotel industry?

Smith Travel Research is the kind of company that has hotel rate and occupancy data compiled for a numbers geek like me. I like to periodically check their reports. Unfortunately, I did not see as many reports available online for free viewing as I remember finding last year. They are in the business of making money after all.

I am in the business of making money too when I can, but here is my preliminary research for a free layman’s guide to hotel pricing and the impact of the global recession on travel. 

In the next couple of weeks the major hotel chains will release 2009 Second Quarter financial data. The great thing about quarterly financial reports is public access to the hotel chain’s statistics for number of hotels, average room rates, and average occupancy.  

I have never worked in the field of hospitality and certainly never been in management so I have limited interest in hotel chains’ financial data. My interest is hotel properties, room rates, and occupancy rates that has direct relevance to the frequent guest.

And now for the numbers:

W Hotels are suffering big time in the USA which may account for why W San Diego and W Scottsdale are in financial trouble.

Luxury Collection/St. Regis average daily rate calculation:

2008 Average Daily Rate = $370.04

2009 Average Daily Rate = $296.56

The rate change is calculated by the equation ($370.04 – $296.56) / $370.04 = .199

The average daily rate dropped 19.9% year over year from the average room rate in Q12008 to Q1 2009.

Luxury Collection/St. Regis Occupancy Rates seem skewed to me because the decline in hotel occupancy is shown based on total rooms and not as a percentage decline in occupancy from the previous year.

For example: Luxury Collection/St. Regis Occupancy Rate numbers for International Hotels

2008 Average Occupancy Rate = 59.3%

2009 Average Occupancy rate = 48.4%

Starwood hotels reports this as a -10.9 variance. But the occupancy decrease is not actually 10.9% from 2008 to 2009.

My elementary math logic calculates this year-over-year occupancy drop as a higher percentage decline in that (59.3 – 48.4) / 59.3 = 18.4% fewer hotel guest rooms occupied in 2009 than 2008.

Regardless of how the calculation is done, the numbers all look pretty bad to me with regard to falling hotel occupancy from the first quarter 2008 to first quarter 2009.

Take the Travelodge brand and there are even strong signs of a dramatic decline in hotel room occupancy in the economy segment of hotels.

2008 Average Occupancy Rate = 45.2%

2009 Average Occupancy rate = 39.6%

Following Starwood Hotels method this is a -5.6 decline in 2009 from 2008.

Calculate this as a percentage decrease in occupied rooms from March 2008 to March 2009 and the rate decline is much more dramatic:

(45.2-39.6) / 45.2 = 12.4% occupancy decline in occupied rooms from 2008 to 2009 at Travelodge Hotels around the country. This occupancy decline is in the face of a 16% decline in average room rates.

Wyndham Hotels Group

Wyndham Hotels Group 2009 Q1 Financial Report

Small changes in average daily rate of $3 to $5 per night equate to a 5% to 8% rate drop for these economy and midscale chains in Wyndham Hotels Group. These year over year rate declines are on par with rate declines in Marriott and IHG chains. Starwood with its focus on upper upscale hotel market segment the room rate declines have been proportionately higher across the hotel chain.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts actually saw an average daily rate increase from March 2008 to March 2009 and bucked the trend for the other hotel chains. Starwood, Marriott, and IHG all had the greatest percentage average room rate decline in its highest market segment brands. The Starwood Hotels brands of St. Regis/Luxury Collection (down 12% in US and over 25% internationally), W Hotels (about 19% globally), and Le Meridien (about 20% globally) showed double digit declines for average room rate. Marriott Hotels was down about 9% while its Ritz-Carlton luxury brand dropped room rates an average 10%. IHG held its rate average fairly well over the year compared to Starwood and Marriott.

Marriott Hotels

http://investor.shareholder.com/mar/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=379246

Marriott International Average Daily Rates by Brand and Region – March 2009

InterContinental Hotels Group US Hotels Average Daily Rates by Brand – March 2009

http://www.ihgplc.com/files/results/results09Q1/downloads/slides09Q1.pdf

Hotel Room Occupancy dropped globally in 2009. There are no upsides to the occupancy numbers for hotels. From the USA and Americas and other regions of Europe, Africa/Middle East, and Asia/Pacific the hotel guest numbers have dropped from 5% to 10% in all areas across all hotel brands. Ritz-Carlton in the Americas suffered a 13% drop in occupancy over the year.

The upside for the frequent guest is the ability to secure a good upgrade at low cost or even complimentary.

First quarter 2009 numbers are data compiled in February and March this year just as the stock markets were taking massive hits in value losses. 

The major hotel chains went all out trying to stimulate loyalty promotion activity over the past few months. Rates continued to drop according to Smith Travel Research weekly data and occupancy also declined. The Q2 data should continue to paint a picture of lower rates for consumers. Unfortunately, my observation has been the lower revenue going into hotels has had the impact of fewer hotel staff working to handle customer needs.

Choice Hotels International US domestic data

Choice Hotels bucks the prevalent trend of declining room rates from March 2008 to March 2009 with Average Daily Rate year-over-year increases for five of the nine brands with data. These brands must be managed by Cornell CHR grads. All brands still had occupancy declines.

What I find interesting about Choice Hotels is the greatest average daily rate increases were in the extended stay brands of MainStay Suites and Suburban. These two brands also had the greatest decrease in occupancy.

Concluding thoughts:

The industry is crying over the downturn in the economy and the numbers clearly reflect a significant downturn in average daily room rates and hotel guests between March 2008 and March 2009.

My sentiment is the hotel industry was skipping and laughing all the way to the bank when room rates were increasing by double-digit amounts in some locations from 2003 to 2007; well above the historical average room rate increase of the past few decades.

As a leisure traveler I was motivated to start Loyalty Traveler as an informational resource to help people needing to find a way to get major urban hotels at a discount price.

Rates are dropping in 2009, but don’t cry to me about Argentina. I paid $165 a night for the Sheraton Libertador, Buenos Aires in 2007 and that was one of the cheapest options I found for the major hotel chains. And that was $100 per night cheaper than the average rate at the chain hotels in Washington, D.C. where I ended up using Priceline to get a room for just over $100 before flying to Buenos Aires. Moscow had average rates over $400 per night two years ago. Paris and New York had astronomical hotel rates in 2008.

All you hoteliers had me worried in 2007 that the leisure traveler would be completely priced out of the upscale hotel market. Well, now the economy has forced hotels to bring prices back to earth in 2009.

The numbers show there is a need for retrenchment on the side of the hotel industry. Times are tough as a manager and as an employee hoping to retain a job. 

My gut feeling, based on my labor economics background,  is hotels will need to let prices fall a bit more in 2009 and 2010. Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research may be barking “Steady as You Go” to hold rates higher in spite of the global economic recession, however, as the voice of the reasoned and seasoned traveler, I have to shout back “Enough is enough.” The new economic mantra has to become “sustainable rates for a traveling public”.

Are there really enough people with sufficient spare capital to pay $400 per night for a W Hotel or InterContinental Hotel stay? If so, then hotel chains need to start building some multi-thousand capsule bedrooms at 100 square feet for the masses who want to visit Paris, New York, or Miami during their lifetime.

Did you really think 10+ percent rate increases were sustainable? How many people make 10% raises per year?  Hotels quickly priced out a large portion of the traveling population in just a couple of years.

The data I have compiled is a reality check. There are still some high average daily rates in several market segments that I do not see as sustainable in the long run for travelers. Business has cut back significantly leading to a drop in the upper high-end rates typically commanded during conferences and peak holiday seasons. I still think there is room on the low-end of upscale hotels for reducing rates more for leisure travelers.

The Economy Hotel market segment is where I predict the real damage will be felt this year and into 2010.  Economy hotel prices are already low in most market segments, yet the occupancy rate is still plummeting despite average rates under $50 per night in many locations.

Offer: Triple Stay Promotion earns 10,000 frequent flyer miles for stays in three different Wyndham Rewards hotel brands through September 10, 2009. You can earn 10,000 miles with one of these 10 airlines or Amtrak:

1.      Air Canada Aeroplan

2.      American Airlines

3.      Continental

4.      Delta

5.      Midwest

6.      Northwest

7.      Spirit

8.      United

9.      US Airways

10.  Sun Country (100 UFly points)

11.  Amtrak Guest Rewards (10,000 points)

Rates are $50 or less per night for many of these brand hotels in many locations across the USA. You have a great opportunity to save money on hotels while earning a substantial boost to your frequent flyer account.

Register: for this miles promotion or enroll in Wyndham Rewards at this link: http://www.wyndhamrewards.com/triplestay

Important: Your Wyndham Rewards account earning preference must be set for miles instead of points. Change this yourself online or call Wyndham Rewards Member Services at 1-866-996-7937 to enroll in promotion and set your earning preference to miles. You must select a frequent flyer program for miles.

Wyndham Hotel Group consists of 11 brands:

1.      Days Inn,

2.      Super 8,

3.      Ramada,

4.      Travelodge,

5.      Howard Johnson,

6.      Knights Inn,

7.      Baymont Inn,

8.      Hawthorn Suites,

9.      Microtel Inn,

10.  Wingate

11.  Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

Wyndham Hotels is the largest hotel chain in the world with over 7,000 hotels. The 11 hotel brands are primarily in the economy market segment and about 80% of the Wyndham brand hotels are located in the USA. Days Inn, Super 8, and Ramada are three Wyndham brands in the top 20 brands in the world by number of hotel rooms.

Apparently, Travelodge in Canada does not participate in Wyndham Rewards, so keep that detail in mind when fulfilling this promotion.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: I missed this promotion when I wrote my InsideFlyer column for July 2009 on earning airline miles with hotel stays. I like this deal for its ability to earn 10,000 airline miles on budget-price hotel stays. The value of the miles can be worth as much as the three hotel stays.

I personally have a couple of accounts where 10,000 miles will put me at an award level for travel and I look forward to some cheap rooms and air travel. Considering airlines typically sell miles at $25 per 1,000 I view this promotion as a cheaper way to miles without flying.

10,000 Mile Action Plan for a Monterey Vacation (or in my case Staycation)

Come to Monterey for a midweek vacation and earn some Wyndham Rewards miles while basking in the sun or bundling up in the fog. Monterey has two streets with a high density of hotels. Munras Avenue and Fremont Street both have several Wyndham Rewards hotel brands within a few blocks of each other. Both of these locations are located in the Monterey sun belt.

This past week on the Monterey Peninsula has seen constant fog in Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Pacific Grove while Monterey has enjoyed a cool sun with the fog sitting just hundreds of yards away along the ridgetop of the hills separating the city of Monterey from Carmel and Pebble Beach.

Here are the rates from last night, a Tuesday night, at six different Wyndham brand hotels in Monterey:

Knights Inn Carmel Hill $49 (Munras Ave)

Howard Johnson Express $50 (Munras Ave)

Monterey Bay Travelodge $50 (Fremont St.)

Super 8 Monterey/Carmel $54 (Munras Ave)

Ramada Limited $59 (Fremont St.)

Days Inn Monterey $65 (Munras Ave)

Days Inn Monterey Downtown $69 (Abrego St.)

Ramada Limited Carmel Hill Monterey $69 (Cass St)

I was blown away that rates are so low in the summer for Monterey. These are truly tough times for hotels. Weekend hotel rates are always higher in this tourist location.

And if economy lodging is not your style, then the three resorts at Pebble Beach just over the hill are still running $595 to $845 per night. Pebble Beach Resorts are offering free golf, but no miles.

Promotion Terms and Conditions fine print:

To qualify for the Triple Stay promotion and earn 10,000 airline miles, rail points,or 100 Ufly Rewards Points the member must (i) choose to earn airline miles or rail points in his/her Wyndham Rewards member profile, (ii) register at wyndhamrewards.com/triplestay or at 1-866-WYN-RWDS (1-866-996-7937), (iii) book a reservation for, and complete a total of three (3) stays at three (3) different hotel brands participating in the Wyndham Rewards program at a qualifying rate between May 14, 2009 and September 10, 2009, and (iv) complete his/her hotel stay by October 10, 2009. Members who check-out after October 10, 2009 will not receive the 10,000 bonus miles. Members will receive, the regular two (2) miles per dollar spent for all qualified stays at participating hotels in the following Wyndham Rewards hotels brands: Baymont Inn & Suites®, Days Inn®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Microtel Inn & Suites®, Ramada®, Super 8®, Travelodge® (U.S. hotels only), and Wingate® by Wyndham. Miles are earned on the qualifying room rate only, not on taxes, food and beverage or other incidental expenses. For stays at participating Hawthorn Suites® (U.S hotels only) and participating Wyndham Hotels and Resorts properties members will receive the regular five hundred (500) miles per stay. For the full list of countries in which there are participating hotels please vist http://www.wyndhamrewards.com/earn/hotels/countries/ Members should allow six to eight weeks after completion of registration and stay for the standard airline miles, rail points or Ufly points to be credited to their account, and six to eight weeks after the completion of promotion for the bonus 10,000 airline miles, rail points or 100 Ufly Rewards Points to be credited to their account. Rates offered by most on-line travel agencies and certain other rates do not qualify. One stay includes all consecutive nights at the same hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs. Currency for Amtrak Guest Rewards program is points.

Airline and rail programs participating in the Triple Stay Promotion include: Aeroplan, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, Sun Country Airlines and Amtrak.

I was developing a piece on Best Western’s Free Night summer promotion and today I came across Tim Winship’s piece on SmarterTravel.com. I hadn’t considered the airline miles earning angle in my Best Western promotion analysis. Ironically, the central topic my July InsideFlyer column is earning airline miles from hotel stays. Since I did not include Best Western Rewards in my magazine column, I will present the airline miles option here with a discussion of the free night promotion for two stays.

Best Western Rewards loyalty program offer: Summer promotion 2009 earns a free night voucher for every two stays between June 21, 2009 and August 16, 2009. A maximum of two free night vouchers may be earned.

There is also a Best Western Rewards online booking bonus of 250 points per completed stay for reservations booked online during promotion.

Restrictions:

- Promotion limited to residents of US, Canada, and Caribbean Islands.

- Free Night Voucher is equivalent to a level 3/16,000 points voucher – a relatively low level hotel redemption.

- Free night voucher expires six months after issue.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

My first thought on reading the terms and conditions of this promotion is a 16,000 points voucher is not valid for many hotels in my area. I made a survey of the hotel category for the 66 Best Western properties shown within 100 miles of Monterey, California.

Best Western free hotel nights are based on the hotel level. There are eight Rewards levels for Best Western hotels starting at 8,000 points per free night and increasing by 4,000 points for each level. A Best Western hotel will be categorized at one of the eight redemption levels for a free night:

Level 1 = 8,000 points

Level 2 = 12,000

Level 3 = 16,000

Level 4 = 20,000

Level 5 = 24,000

Level 6 = 28,000

Level 7 = 32,000

Level 8 = 36,000 points

Hotel Level for 66 Best Western Hotels within 100 miles of Monterey, California

* NA = Four hotels were not available using points for the date I checked. The hotel level was not indicated for these four hotels. I did not bother to search for an available free night date to find the hotel level for these four hotels.

To see the redemption level for a specific hotel requires the Best Western Rewards member be logged into the website and search for hotels using points. There are 66 Best Western hotels within 100 miles of Monterey. Only 6 of these hotels are at level 3 which is the free night voucher level. The other 60 hotels are higher points levels for the free night. It is unclear from the terms of the promotion whether a 4,000 points upgrade voucher can be used with this promotion to get a 20,000 points room.

My free night hotel choices within 100 miles of Monterey consist of 6 Best Western hotels. Nothing here looks too enticing for my travels. These are all inland valley places and I try to stay along the California coast as much as possible.

1.       Best Western Apricot Inn, Firebaugh, CA

2.       Best Western Villa del Lago, Patterson, CA

3.       Best Western Pleasanton Inn

4.       Best Western Luxury Inn, Tracy

5.       Best Western Town House Lodge, Modesto

6.       Best Western Executive Inn, Manteca

Best Western can be a good program for padding airline miles

While the free night voucher may not be a widely useable free night, I find there are good miles earning options with Best Western Rewards. There are 17 airline partners for earning miles from your hotel stays and most earn 250 miles per stay. Southwest is 0.5 credit and Miles & More is 500 miles per stay.

1.       Air Canada Aeroplan

2.       Air Berlin

3.       Air France/KLM Flying Blue

4.       Alaska Airlines

5.       Alitalia

6.       American Airlines

7.       Asiana Club

8.       China Southern

9.       Continental

10.   Czech Airlines

11.   Delta

12.   Hainan

13.   LanPass

14.   Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish) = 500 miles per stay

15.   Northwest

16.   Southwest = 0.5 credit per stay

17.   US Airways

Special Bonus Miles Hotel Offers

In addition to setting your earning preference to airline miles instead of Rewards points, there are also special hotel specific bonus mile offers.

Example: Best Western Inn Santa Clara Double Miles per minimum 3-night stay. This offer will earn double the normal 250 miles for 500 miles with most airlines or 1,000 miles with Miles & More.

The best special offer I saw was Halifax, Nova Scotia for triple miles on a one night stay.

Best Western Travel Cards and Bonus Airline Miles (link)

Tim Winship mentions American Airlines miles or Southwest Rewards credits as an additional promotion bonus miles when buying Best Western Travel cards. There are actually six other airlines for earning miles with these cards. Air Canada Aeroplan and American AAdvantage have the best earning at 500 miles per $50 Gift Card. Alaska, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and US Airways are 500 miles per $100 gift card. The Southwest Rewards offer of 0.5 credit per $100 is not as good as Aeroplan or AAdvantage miles in terms of the percentage of award miles earned towards a free domestic ticket.

All in all the limitation of the free night to the lowest hotel levels diminishes the value of this promotion in my evaluation. Don’t go out of your way to take advantage of this deal.

But keep in mind the opportunity to earn airline miles through Best Western hotel stays and Best Western Travel card purchases. This is a good way to pick up miles when you find yourself needing a Best Western hotel.

Choice Privileges Armed Services Offer – Complimentary Gold Elite Status

You deserve a break today.  And if you are active military, retired military, U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, or a spouse or dependent with a military ID card, then Choice Privileges is giving away Gold.

Gold Elite status normally requires 10 hotel nights within the Choice Hotels brands, which include 10 hotel brands:

·         Comfort Inn

·         Comfort Suites

·         Quality Inn

·         Sleep Inn

·         Clarion

·         Cambria Suites

·         MainStay Suites

·         Suburban

·         EconoLodge

·         Rodeway Inn 

Choice Privileges is the hotel loyalty program for these ten hotel brands.  While being oriented primarily to the budget traveler market segment with EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, and Suburban motels, there are also many fine properties in the Comfort Inn, Quality, and Clarion hotel brands.  Cambria Suites is the newest brand and is Choice Privileges entry into an upper midscale market.

Gold elite membership rewards the frequent guest with an additional 10% bonus on points earned for hotel stays, dedicated reservations line, and special offers.  Choice Privileges has over 5,000 hotel members and makes this hotel loyalty program an ideal choice for military families repositioning around the USA.

My father, a retired Army enlisted man, had to move our family, on average, every 13 months for the first 15 years of my life as we moved from Army base to Army base around the USA and Germany.  Actually, I think my mother probably did most of the family moving which is why military spouses deserve this Armed Services opportunity too.

To learn more about this Choice Privileges Armed Services program check out the link:

http://www.choiceprivileges.com/armedservices

Loyalty Traveler wrote about Choice Privileges in this tutorial post from June 3, 2008:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/06/03/choice-privileges-summer-tutorial/

Here is a post about Choice Privileges current triple points promotion:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/09/10/choice-privileges-%e2%80%9ctriple-points%e2%80%9d/

Choice Privileges “Triple Points” promotion for budget hotel travel with stays at Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge and Rodeway Inn. 

Promotion registration is not required; simply be sure to provide Choice Privileges membership number upon check-in.

Promotion Dates: September 1, 2008 – November 30, 2008

Terms:

·         Choice Privileges number must be provided upon check-in for stay eligibility.

·         Triple Points applies only to stays at Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, and Rodeway Inn hotel brands for reservations made through ChoiceHotels.com or via Choice Hotels phone reservations at 1-800-4Choice and beginning with the 2^nd stay. 

·         Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, and Rodeway Inn regularly earn 5 points/$1 eligible hotel spending.  Triple points means 15 points/$1 during promotion. 

·         For stays booked through other channels, Choice Privileges members will earn double points (10 points/$1) beginning with the 2^nd eligible stay.  All other terms are the same. 

[Loyalty Traveler note:  This is an anomaly for hotel loyalty programs which generally do not reward any points for stays booked outside the hotel corporation’s own reservations system.]

·         Promotion valid for stays in USA or Canada for the hotel brands Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, and Rodeway Inn.

·         Promotion limited to Choice Privileges members with a USA address (or USA territories).

Choice Hotels is comprised of ten hotel brands: Cambria Suites, Clarion, Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn, Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge and Rodeway Inn.   See my Choice Hotels blog post from June for an overview of the Choice Hotels brands and hotel loyalty program.

Earning Choice Privileges points is based on a two-tier system.  Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, and Rodeway Inn earn 5 points/$1 eligible hotel spending and the other hotel brands earn 10 points/$1.  Average daily rates from the past year show the hotel brands of Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, and Rodeway Inn are the least expensive hotel brands in the Choice Hotels system.

2007 average rates in USA for the Triple Points eligible Choice Privileges hotel brands:

Suburban Extended Stay $40.13/night  (54 hotels in USA)

Rodeway Inn $53.24  (276 hotels in USA)

Econolodge $54.40  (825 hotels in USA)

MainStay Suites $70.04  (20 hotels in USA)

Is there a Priceline Master in the House?

I am not a real doctor (PhD). I only have a Master of Science. That is why I work for consumers instead of pocketing the lucrative research paycheck from the hotel industry.

The doctor, Chris K. Anderson, Ph.D., at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research has come out with a report advising hoteliers how to squeeze more pennies out of our consumer pockets. This time the research is aimed to maximize hotel profits from Priceline.

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-14705.html

The report is available for free download upon registration with the center.

Loyalty Traveler has a few comments on the report.

Cornell Report Statistic:
60% of online hotel rooms are booked through hotel-branded websites (I assume this is what is meant by “supplier-managed” websites).

Loyalty Traveler view: Hotels have provided incentive for customer reservations through hotel-managed channels by offering exclusive loyalty program benefits. In other words, Hotel points and frequent guest member perks are only guaranteed when booking through hotel-managed websites. The hotel websites generally offer a better rate , although special offer rates are often hidden from view to the casual online reservationist of a hotel room.

Report Statistic: 40% of online hotel bookings are made through online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Priceline.

Loyalty Traveler View: Expedia and Travelocity and Orbitz are convenient. Priceline and other opaque sites like Hotwire.com generally offer the best discounts on room rates. A traveler has to weigh the factor of cost with the uncertainty of hotel location and brand. A frequent guest member does not earn hotel points and the reservation is likely to be booked in lowest category hotel room on property.

Priceline Bidding data:
A graph shows the number of bids in the two weeks prior to the date of arrival for the sample hotel. Data shows about 50% of all Priceline bids occurred in the 2 days before arrival.

The minimum acceptable Priceline bid for the hotel, within a one week period, ranged from mostly $55/night to $65 per night with one outlier night at $235/night.

An interesting chart is Exhibit 8, which if I have interpreted correctly, indicates that about 1 in 25 Priceline winning bids represented a 90% discount on commonly published rates for the hotel. And about 5% only got a 20% discount on the going room rate.

The vast majority of bid winners receive less than a 50% discount on the regular room rates. About 60% of winning Priceline bids received a 28%-36% discount on the room rate. Technically, the Priceline slogan “Save Up to Half Off” appropriately represents the Priceline reality. The Cornell graph shows about 10% of bidders received between 67% and 90% off the regular room rate.

The last time I used Priceline was for a night in Washington D.C., June 2007. I ended up with the Marriott Key Bridge, Arlington, VA for about $100 and the lowest available room rate through the Marriott site was $329 for that night.

My initial analysis of the Priceline tool provided for hotel managers seems to indicate some trends for consumers.

Consumers may find the most favorable room rates booking Priceline the day before or day of arrival. Booking at 10 to 14 days in advance of arrival may also provide the best opportunity for higher discounts. The Cornell Priceline tool appears to encourage hotels to not discount Priceline inventory rooms as deeply between 2 and 10days before arrival as a means to maximize profits.

An interesting analysis would be to compare the Cornell Priceline data with consumer bidding data from www.biddingfortravel.com to see if there is useful consumer information to be gleamed from the comparison.

Anyone planning to make a hotel bid through Priceline.com or Hotwire.com should check out www.biddingfortravel.com to see what successful bids are pricing out and then try and use that data with the knowledge that 10-14 days before arrival may provide the best opportunity for deep discounts on Priceline. And if you are desperate and lucky, the day before and day of arrival Priceline bids may save you enough cash to buy gas and pay for hotel parking.

The PointsWizard blog on BoardingArea.com had a link to this article detailing strategies for successful Priceline bidding.