Putting my feet up in Florence
Just ask.
Travelers seem to have mixed feelings about asking for discounts. How does it make them look? Will it result in poor service? Will the all-powerful concierge at the other end laugh at your request?
The truth is, I’ve never regretted asking, even when I received a negative response. The best result is you have more of your hard earned money in your pocket to do with it things that you enjoy. Here are three examples of times where asking, worked.
1. Florence, Italy. February: During my Grand Tour, I took two months to travel in Italy. I wanted this portion of the trip to be slower, to have ample time to both explore the sights and linger for entire afternoons at cafes and restaurants. When it was time to head for Florence, I realized that our trip had coincided with a very slow time for tourism in Italy. I began to set my sights a little higher: on bed and breakfasts with spacious rooms and glimmering white bathrooms, in prime locations, with luxurious amenities. I also knew that my desire to stay in Florence for a week, and not just a night or two, might earn me a discount. In the end, I received a double discount, for off season and for length of stay, from a great spot in the center of town. Tourist House on Villa della Scala was comfortable, spacious, and included breakfast with each night of our stay. I began to look forward to the perfectly made morning cappuccino before I even went to bed at night.
2. Venice, Italy. Late February: After hearing about the expansive markets in Venice, I had high hopes for securing an apartment rental to live the dream of cooking up a storm in my own Italian apartment. A quick check on Craigslist and I had found the perfect apartment: a recently renovated studio with a small kitchen, dining table for two, and a soaking tub. With my initial enquiry, I let the owner know a bit about myself: an American poet, traveling for a year, serious interest in cooking. A combination of these personal details and the off season earned me a discounted rate.
Cooking with fresh pasta in Venice
3. Dubrovnik, Croatia. Late April: At this point, towards the end of the trip, I had realized that any sort of personal statement in an enquiry email couldn’t hurt. Hotel / hostel / bed and breakfast owners deal with plenty of demands from rude customers, and asking politely has earned me an unexpected upgrade on more than one occasion. When I was traveling to Croatia, I mentioned to the guesthouse owner that I’d be interested in a room with cooking facilities. He initially told me this was unavailable. Upon arrival, I had been upgraded to a room with a kitchenette, because someone else had cancelled a reservation. Just asking earned me an upgrade, and I didn’t even have to pay the difference for the 2 types of rooms.
And just for the sake of argument, one time where asking did NOT work was in Cinque Terre, Italy. I don’t think there was one hotel in Monterosso that was going to budge on their rates, even in the off season, even if they were empty. Some of the hotels seemed to look at guests as a bother, and simply wouldn’t negotiate the rate, even by as little as 10 euro a night. Perhaps it was some sort of pact between the local people, that they wouldn’t go below a certain rate. I liked this respect for each other and common decency. And I still didn’t regret asking, as it made for a hilarious afternoon, to be running around Monterosso, seeing every available accommodation, just to come up with the deal I KNEW was out there, but wasn’t.
When it comes down to it, hotels and restaurants are run by people, and these people are in the business of bringing pleasure to other people. You’ll be surprised what showing interest can earn you: from a special tasting compliments of the chef to an especially quiet, comfy room at a hotel.
My father always told me, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
