Hotel will not offer room only rate

gg2

Just wondering if this is common? I am trying to book 2 nights midweek with a hotel in wicklow and they basically said they have rooms available but only with a B&B rate. I don't think I have ever had this issue before. We never go for B&B because part of the luxury of staying in a hotel is lying in bed until late (then breakfast is over), and also because we are not big into breakfast, a bowl of cereal would be the norm the odd morning.
Just wondering is there any point in pursuing trying to get a room only rate?

schemingbohemia

What's the price difference? Hotels can offer what they want, there's no law that says they have to offer a room only rate. Just pay for breakfast and don't get up, or stay somewhere else, it's the free market baby!

gg2

I obviously don't know the price difference if they are not offering me room only rate.

I'm aware that they can offer what they want, but I think I made it clear in my initial post that I just wanted to know if it was common as I had never heard of that before and if it was worth replying to the hotel explaining the situation that I didn't want breakfast and try to push for a room only rate.

I'd love to have the money to pay for a service and just not use it, but thats not the world I live in. If they offer me room only rate I will take it, if they don't I will try to find another hotel, however this is the one that suits so ideally I would like to stay there.

Anyway if you have any experience in trying to get a room at room only rate or have heard of this before (like I said in all the years of booking hotels I have never heard of this, think its a bit ridiculous) that would be great thanks

lasno

Try the same hotel via Booking.com, hotels.com or travelrepublic.ie.
Also Trivago. They usually show all availability including room only.

gg2

lasno wrote: »

Try the same hotel via Booking.com, hotels.com or travelrepublic.ie.
Also Trivago. They usually show all availability including room only.

Tried it - only giving prices for B&B - how strange is that?

I can't figure out what the issue is, if the room is available surely it can be offered with or without breakfast

athtrasna

gg2 wrote: »

Tried it - only giving prices for B&B - how strange is that?

I can't figure out what the issue is, if the room is available surely it can be offered with or without breakfast

It's like a minimum stay requirement at peak times, the hotel is only offering a more expensive product at this time. Totally their call and not particularly uncommon

ProudDUB

gg2 wrote: »

Tried it - only giving prices for B&B - how strange is that?

I can't figure out what the issue is, if the room is available surely it can be offered with or without breakfast

The issue is that you are asking how long is a piece of string. There is not going to be one answer, as there is no internationally accepted, universally abided by policy on this, that all hotels observe. Every single hotel is free to set their own booking rates and policy & you are equally free to stay there, or go somewhere else.

The hotel has set the room rate at X euros. That is what they need to get from you to turn a profit on the room, after all of their expenses have been paid on it. They may throw a free breakfast onto the room rate, as a marketing tool, or because it doesn't cost them all that much to lay it on.

But if you want them to knock 10 or 15 quid per person off the price of the room, because you aren't going to eat the breakfast, that 20 or 30 quid, could represent a big slice of the profit that they are hoping to make on your room. So that is why they said no to offering you a cheaper rate minus the breakfast. I know a few people who runs guest hotels and small hotels in that part of the world and their profit margins are incredibly tight.

zagmund

You give no indication of prices, so it's all very hard to tell what you are looking for.

Say the B&B rate is €150. Would it help if the hotel you did want to go to said their room only rate was €150? That way you don't have to eat the breakfast they are not providing for you? How much is the other hotel that you don't want to go to, but who aren't giving you a free breakfast? How much is your bowl of replacement bowl of cereal going to cost you and where are you going to get it?

It's hard to say if it's common or uncommon. It's not abnormal, that's for sure.

z

gg2

zagmund wrote: »

You give no indication of prices, so it's all very hard to tell what you are looking for.

Say the B&B rate is €150. Would it help if the hotel you did want to go to said their room only rate was €150? That way you don't have to eat the breakfast they are not providing for you? How much is the other hotel that you don't want to go to, but who aren't giving you a free breakfast? How much is your bowl of replacement bowl of cereal going to cost you and where are you going to get it?

It's hard to say if it's common or uncommon. It's not abnormal, that's for sure.

z

That was the main point of the thread, I was just curious more than anything! Thanks for the help everyone. I decided to email to see what they could do and they offered me room only at a tenner cheaper, but have since found one for 70euro cheaper.. Its just that it doesn't have a leisure centre which was part of the reason we wanted this hotel.
Oh and we wouldn't be having replacement cereal. We prefer lie in bed til 12ish and head for a nice lunch;)If I was offered bed and lunch I woul dbe happy out:p

keithclancy

gg2 wrote: »

That was the main point of the thread, I was just curious more than anything! Thanks for the help everyone. I decided to email to see what they could do and they offered me room only at a tenner cheaper, but have since found one for 70euro cheaper.. Its just that it doesn't have a leisure centre which was part of the reason we wanted this hotel.
Oh and we wouldn't be having replacement cereal. We prefer lie in bed til 12ish and head for a nice lunch;)If I was offered bed and lunch I woul dbe happy out:p

I like a lie in, that's why I get room service for the breakfast.

Usually only a couple of quid more.

ardmacha

keithclancy wrote: »

I like a lie in, that's why I get room service for the breakfast.

Usually only a couple of quid more.

Some hotels have a B&B rate and will deliver it to the room for another few Euro. Other scabby places define their B&B as the buffet and if you order room service will charge you full whack for a room service breakfast.

dobman88

You answered your own question in the op. A lot of hotel guests don't bother with breakfast because people usually have a lie in when staying in a hotel, well I do anyway, so the hotel do B&B only so they still make money even if people don't have breakfast. I see it becoming more popular with hotels these days trying to maximise profits.

zagmund

As an aside, I don't get the whole thing about room service, I really don't. To be honest, most hotel rooms don't fill me with joy, so the idea of eating in them doesn't really appeal. Add in the fact that unless you are right beside the kitchen and they have plenty of staff, your food is unlikely to be in optimal state when you get it.

I can see there are some times when it might make sense, long day on the road, early morning, nowhere to eat in the immediate vicinity, etc . . but that would be about it. Or, the time we bought the kids pizza for room service and as many DVDs as they could watch so we could get a quiet time in the restaurant ourselves. That's about it though.

z