Best prices: Advance Reservations or Walk-in??

[mgsipa]

Does anyone know if walking in gets you better rates than advance reservations? Can anyone give advice on the best way to negotiate prices?

My wife and I are going in April, which is High Season and we're hesitant about booking our stay in advance because there has been mention on some of the threads here that people can get better rates by walking in rather than reserving in advance. What's the lowdown?

PS// If anyone's going between April 1 and April 8, let us know...

[DougSR]

Definitely walk up. If the place is not full you can bargain. I'm doing Cabanas Tulum in May. Their rates are $50 but I bet I can get it for less by walking up.

[beachreader]

You can definitely get better rates by walking up. The most adventurous do it cold from the start, just driving down to one end of the beach and going from place to place.

If I were going to do it (I've meant to twice now but ended up planning in the end), I'd book the first couple of nights in one place, then use that as a base of operations for finding an even better place to stay for less money.

If I were going to do it from day 1, I'd still do a lot of research in advance. First, find the places I really most want to stay, then contact them to see if they have availability (but not book). Having a list, maybe a map marked with them, would allow me to focus the search rather than seeing a lot of places I'm not particularly interested in.

It'll work, good luck!

[mgsipa]

I'd book the first couple of nights in one place, then use that as a base of operations for finding an even better place to stay for less money.

Beachreader, you're a genius! That's exactly what I'll do. I'll book a room at Zahra or something then work on getting a better deal from there! Sheer genius. Thanks!!

[beachreader]

No genius here. Remember, I've never actually done it, but I totally would if I could just stop myself from planning all my nights! :)

[hummingbird_206]

I wish I had the courage to wing it. I'm just such a planner that I cannot ever imagine going anywhere without a hotel reservation! Of course, it really works in my favor since I do all the planning and BF does the paying...he hates to plan the vacations...can't beat that sport fans :star:

[FITZ]

Don't bet on a cabana at CT being cheaper as a walk-up vs reserving. We had reservations and brought along a walk-up with us. They charged her 10US more a night, then our reservation price.
I was surprised, thinking she would pay less then us, esp. as there was only one of her. Not.

[minniemex]

I have only done this once, and I did have 2 of my 7 days reserved. It was my 2nd trip in 6weeks to Isla Mujeres and it was at the height of "Spring Break". Our travel agent (and yes, I did use a travel agent back then) could not find us accomodations on Isla, but could find us 2 nights in Cancun so we took those and then our first day there, we took the ferry over to Isla to find a room. As it turned out we did get worried as every place we stopped said "sorry, no room." We were getting very nervous and finally got to Cabanas Maria Del Mar and they had a hidden bungalow they seldom booked and we took it!! It still is one of our most memorable trips!! The bungalow was directly on Playa Norte and we had a bar on the way to the beach!! Doesn't get any better than that!!

You are traveling in April, which is still "high season", but with Easter being so early this year, I think you will have no problems finding a room.

[PhyllisB]

Fitz, that is really interesting. I wonder if because CT is so much cheaper, in general, than the other beach hotels that they just don't want to go any lower than they already have....?

[DougSR]

Oh hell Fitz. You got me wondering now. My plan was to walk up to CT. $10 is change but I would rather spend it on something I can take with me...like a hangover.

By the way, I saw a Jimmy Buffett song this morning that tickled me silly and made me think about Tulum. It's called "Off To See the Lizard".
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s153/Stars_Fan/9-24-2007-05.jpg


Don't bet on a cabana at CT being cheaper as a walk-up vs reserving. We had reservations and brought along a walk-up with us. They charged her 10US more a night, then our reservation price.
I was surprised, thinking she would pay less then us, esp. as there was only one of her. Not.

[AdGuy]

Keep in mind that Time = Money. You spend hundreds on your airfare and will drop big bucks on food/drink/souveniers. To look at vacation logically (which is hard for this right-brainer) each waking hour is costing you money. The time you spend walking from place to place to see if they have availability and then attempting to negotiate a better rate could be spent doing other (more fun) things. Accountants call this "opportunity loss" costs. I'd be wary that any savings I negotiated would actually be less than the cost of the time I spent trying to find new digs.

[DougSR]

Keep in mind that Time = Money. You spend hundreds on your airfare and will drop big bucks on food/drink/souveniers. To look at vacation logically (which is hard for this right-brainer) each waking hour is costing you money. The time you spend walking from place to place to see if they have availability and then attempting to negotiate a better rate could be spent doing other (more fun) things. Accountants call this "opportunity loss" costs. I'd be wary that any savings I negotiated would actually be less than the cost of the time I spent trying to find new digs.

We are playing for the opposite team today Lee. I'm trying to be very right brain, random, intuitive on this trip and you have now suggested I be more logical! LMAO!

Actually, I want flexibility so that if I'm really loving Isla Mujeres I can stay an extra night. And if I am not, I pull up the tent stakes and roll. :bus: See, I'm thinking of my added cost that I would incur if I cancelled without notice on a given night.

[AdGuy]

We are playing for the opposite team today Lee. I'm trying to be very right brain, random, intuitive on this trip and you have now suggested I be more logical! LMAO!

Actually, I want flexibility so that if I'm really loving Isla Mujeres I can stay an extra night. And if I am not, I pull up the tent stakes and roll. :bus: See, I'm thinking of my added cost that I would incur if I cancelled without notice on a given night.


Now that makes logical (or is it emotional) sense! It's hard to put a price on flexibility!