So since TreeFrog kept going on and on about how GREAT his hotel was in Carlisle at $83 a night (grin) I decided to call them this weekend to get rate information for a block of rooms.
As with the other places, a sales person wasn't in, so they called me today.
I gave them my information, some information on our club, and how many rooms I needed (asking for 17 now based on our vote and leaving a few rooms open.) She put me on hold for a while to find out what the "best price" was she could get me. When she finally got on, she said that based on the weekend, etc, she'd have to give them to me at regular pricing.
"Okay, how much?" I asked....
"For the double rooms, $190 a night, and for the singles, $205 a night..."
She started going on about features, and I cut her off.
"I'm sorry, but one of our members has already booked his room at your hotel for $83 dollars a night. If I go back to these guys with a rate of $190, I'm going to get laughed right out of the club!"
Suddenly the story changed to, "Well can I call you after our general manager returns?" To which I thought, "If he's not in, then who did you ask to secure that 'best price'?"
So we'll see if they ever call me back.
I'm thinking next year I'm going to just pick a hotel, and tell everyone to call on their own. It seems to me like getting a block of rooms works AGAINST you in regards to price...
ViperMan