How To Get Discounts For Weekend Stays In Scottsdale!

Scottsdale is an interesting mix of luxury and resort hotels, boutique hotels, limited service hotels, extended stay hotels and economy hotels that all claim to cater to a certain "niche" market. In the case of both N. Scottsdale and Old Town Scottsdale most of the hotels direct their efforts to what is referred to as, "the local corporate" market, businesses that are either headquartered here or travel here frequently to conduct business with a Scottsdale firm. A hotel's Sunday through Thursday stays are the heart and soul of their business for most of the year. If a company's business is repetitive and substantial, measured by the number of annual room nights produced, they are contracted with "negotiated" rates which are discounts off the highest seasonal rate or "rack" rate. The more room nights produced the deeper the discount.

My point in telling you this is to help you understand that while a hotel might do well with their corporate stays most of them are hurting for weekend guests, primarily in the off-season, which in Scottsdale can cover almost eight whole months! Popular chains like Hilton and Marriott even offer incentives to capture those precious weekend guests, cool stuff like free golf or restaurant coupons. When gas was over the three dollar mark some of them were even offering it "free." All you had to do was stay a Friday or Saturday and you got a $20. coupon for gas! Scottsdale hotels define the "leisure" traveler as; visiting friends & relatives, wedding parties, golfers, students, sports teams, horse and dog lovers, classic car and hot rod enthusiasts, anyone that is not here for business. You, the leisure traveler are the "gravy" in hotel budgets, especially in the Spring, Summer and Fall and that puts you in the drivers seat.

During most of the year the mix of business in a typical Scottsdale hotel is 80% corporate and 20% leisure. The leisure traveler spending a Friday or Saturday night with them is like gold because it balances their "stay patterns" where the business execs, computer geeks and sales people head to the airport on Friday morning, are back again on Sunday night and hotel people scramble to fill their weekends. So, if you want to plan a weekend in Scottsdale during the "shoulder" seasons of Spring, Summer and Fall, my advice is to ask for their best rate. And I don't mean just the typical 5% - 10% off for AAA or AARP. They can go much deeper than that if they really want your business. Don't settle with a measly 10% off rack rate offered by a front desk clerk or especially those people in central reservations. They are not empowered to negotiate beyond the normal discounts that vary by hotel. Call the property directly and ask for Sales. They have the power to deal and they can be especially generous with a good sized group. Be bold and let them know that you know how slow their weekends can be in the summer. Tell them you will eat every day in the hotel restaurant and drink like a sailor at their bar, anything that will get you the better deal! Hotel sales people are suckers for a good story and with so many hotels in Scottsdale not many will turn down a reasonable offer. Savings of up to 40% are not out of the question.

All Bets Are Off In High Season

Having said that you will notice that I did not include Scottsdale's High Season in the previous paragraph because come mid- January all of that changes. Those "deals" you got on a "shoulder season" weekend are now being held dear. Hey, the weather here then is nothing short of spectacular, The PGA Tour is in town, our world-class golf is in perfect condition, classic cars and rock stars are "seen" all over at the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction and celebrity watching in our restaurants is a local tradition. NOW that mix of business for the hotels does a complete reverse. The leisure traveler is now the higher percentage of traveler while corporate business has dropped off to a trickle. People in Minnesota, Illinois and New York want to get out of the cold and spend time in the sun while the typical corporate customer will curtail it's travel to Scottsdale until the rates drop - usually around mid to late April. The hotel that bent over backwards to provide those great fall rates for ABC Corporation now has to up the ante. Business is business and demand dictates the higher rates.

I Have To Stay How Many Nights? 

Most of Scottsdale's busier hotels will impose restrictions on the number of nights required to stay during our peak season (January 10th to mid or late April depending on what they have on the books) because a hotel is in business for one reason only - to maximize revenue for their owners and investors. Hotel people can lose their jobs if their "ADR" (average daily rate) or occupancy is not pushed to the limits. So if Bob & Carol, relatives of yours coming for a short visit, now call a hotel for a Friday night arrival with a Sunday departure (like they did last summer) not only can they go into sticker shock over the rate but they need to steel themselves against the dreaded, "I'm so sorry but your dates do not meet our minimum stay requirements." Front desk people are not supposed to say it that way but hotel training aside, that's how it comes out. During some special events like the FBR Open, the closer you want to stay to the TPC of Scottsdale, where the PGA Tour Pro's battle for millions in prize money, the more it's going to cost you because most of the hotels in that area will want a minimum of a five night stay and some will want seven! It's a tricky little game they play with the tourists dollar but you can't argue with demand. Scottsdale has the fantastic weather, the killer attractions, the big events and the exciting atmosphere that combine to bring visitors to Scottsdale from all over the world. The hospitality industry has only about three and a half months to "make hay while the sun shines."