If you're a deal savvy traveler you're likely always on the hunt for the best price when booking hotels and you're well aware of the high competition of booking sites.
Many hotel programs offer a best rate guarantee that gives you a discount or even a free night if you find a lower advertised price on a third party booking site.
Hotel programs offer this because they want you to book directly through their website as it saves paying a commission to a third party booking site. It also often makes it more difficult to find a lower price than booking directly.
How to Find a Lower Price?
This is where membership hotel booking websites come into play.
If you read the fine print of most, if not all, best rate guarantee programs will exclude membership websites. This is because it is possible for membership websites to often offer lower prices.
Now you're probably thinking...how do these websites make money if they are selling hotel nights for less than the hotel. They make it up through their membership fees.
The savings may only be some 2-3% so if you don't book a high volume of hotel nights per year the membership fees may not make sense.
However if you can get that membership fee waived the first year, then you have nothing to lose.
This is exactly what a new membership website called Club1Hotels is doing. They are offering a free 1 year membership trail on its new beta program.
But first, let's first take a look to see if the program has anything to offer.
Club1Hotels Benefits
With a Club1Hotels membership you get access to special hotel prices through there website. Clearly the main benefit is just getting access to booking cheaper "wholesale" hotel rates.
Here is a full list of benefits that come with a membership:
Note that the trial membership does not come with the Priority club or airfare discounts.
Price Comparison
After signing up to try the free membership trial I wanted to see how their prices stacked up.
Before I went and compared a bunch of randomly highly sought after, high-priced hotels I thought the best unbiased way to compare their prices would be to compare prices at the last several hotels I have stayed at this year.
| Hotel | Club1Hotels | Hotel's Website | Kayak.com | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Regency Vancouver | $430.09 | $769.06 | $751.08 | ~43% |
| Residence Inn by Marriott Bozeman | $425.57 | $363.38 | $379.02 | None |
| Hilton Munich Airport | $847.24 | $1,002.46 | $1,007.00 | ~15% |
| Park Hyatt Vienna | $1,672.51 | $1,711.70 | $1,721.00 | ~2% |
| Grand Hotel River Park, Bratislava | $687.92 | $547.70 | $542.00 | None |
| Hilton Prague Old Town | $530.50 | $586.84 | $533 | ~0.5% |
The results show that there are savings to be had, but not with every hotel and every date.
The takeaway is that Club1Hotels could be a great place to double check that you're getting the lowest price. After all spending another search that could save you $100+ it's worth it!
Plus, Enter to Win $100 Club1Hotels Voucher
I'm always for giveaways and this time around I have a $100 Club1Hotel voucher to give away to a blog reader.
It's simple to enter. All you need to do is follow these rules:
- Sign-up for Club1Hotels free 1 year trial membership.
- Leave a comment below with a destination you would love to use the $100 stay credit at.
Your prize is $100 to spend on hotels/flights/car hire on Club1Hotels.com
Giveaway details: The deadline to enter is Thursday, October 6 at 5:00 PM EST. You must be registered for the free membership in order to win. A winner will be randomly picked from the entries using random.org and notified via email. Once the winner is notified they have 3 days to reply in order to claim their prize, if they do not reply within the time period the prize will be forfeit and a redrawing will take place. Club1Hotels is solely responsible for providing prize to winner.
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card | |
|---|---|
  | Quick review: You'll earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of signing up. Plus continue to earn 2X points on travel and dining. The card does have a $95 annual fee. Why we like it: For anyone new to travel rewards credit cards, this card is the best place to start. With a modest annual fee you still earn 2X points on travel and dining. You earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that are extra valuable when you transfer them to transfer partners. Not to mention the 60,000 bonus point welcome bonus gets you off to a great start on earning free flights and hotel stays. |
