Report by David Banner
British people are not the bravest on the planet when it comes to haggling for a cut-price deal.
You can usually spot the stiff-upper-lip UK tourist on location at an African bazaar, shuffling rather uncomfortably as they attempt to put on a confident, cocky or downright cheeky façade to try to secure a good price for that imitation Gucci leather bag on the local market stall.
Reception
And when it comes to holidays on home shores, the majority of us wouldn’t dream of trying to quiz the manager about whether that really is the best price he can offer.
If that’s the price he says in the book, that’s what we’ll have to pay…
But fear not – if you’re one of those who are simply too shy to walk up to reception in a British hotel and haggle a deal on last minute booking, a new website is coming to your rescue.
RoomAuction.com has signed up more than 80 hotels, including 20 in the distinguished Old English Inns chain. Each one makes rooms available on the site at standard rate, inviting bids from travellers keen to try their luck.
“Bids must be at least 40 per cent of the quoted rate”, says RoomAuction.com managing director Bob Drapella. “If a room costs £100 per night, bids must therefore be at least £40” he added.
Hotels in the scheme are in the Lake District, Cotswolds, Cornwall and London, and if the project proves a success, many establishments in Shropshire, Mid Wales, and the North Wales coast are expected to be added in the coming months.
Bids can reserve a room for two years ahead, so this isn’t just a ploy by hotels to shift empty rooms on Sunday night, says Mr Drapella.
Are brochures and price lists soon going to become a thing of a past?
For more news and reviews from the travel industry – plus a chance to win a fabulous family holiday to Europe – don’t miss the Shropshire Star’s eight-page Holidays supplement, inside today’s Lifestyle.
/Under the picture/: Holidays in the Lake District could soon become much cheaper… if you are prepared to haggle with the local hotel!
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