How to Get Top Deals in Vienna’s Most Expensive Hotels?

Austria's capital, and once the seat of the all-powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire, is a bastion of refinement. This city is a historic hub of classical music, modern design and café culture. Here you will see mesmerizingly elegant Baroque and Classical palaces, many today transformed into the best downtown hotels in Vienna, well worth their price. It is really true, Vienna has it all, from galleries and museums, to fine dining restaurants and amazing coffee houses and nightclubs, you just name it. Hence, many tourists constantly search for the best deals they can get at some of the most luxurious hotels. Having this in mind, we have composed a few very useful tips and tricks on how to get the best deals at the most expensive hotels in Vienna. All you need to do is to get your airport shuttle and you’re there.
 

The “front-door charm” trick

If you want to really get your hands on a sweet hotel deal, many advice that it is best to call the hotel directly and talk to the person who has real influence on your hotel rate – the person at the front desk. Jacob Tomsky is a former front-desk clerk and author of the hilarious service-industry book “Heads in Beds”, advising you to call your hotel of preference directly. It is also best to avoid peak times, like 11 a.m. checkout, or 3 p.m. check-in, when the staff is extremely busy. The best time to call is later in the evening, when the duty manager - being the highest-ranking decision maker - is there and has time to talk. You can simply introduce yourself and state when you’d like to stay, together with the rate you’ve found online. In this case, most of the staffers would reply very politely.

From Tomsky’s experience, the staffers sees a person who tries to get the best deal as more endearing then a guy holding a Black Amex, mainly because they are common people themselves and most of them cannot afford those kind of rooms themselves. Most of the time, you will manage to get a great rate. However, you should be encouraged to hustle a bit more when checking-in by sliding a small gratuity over with your credit card, showing kindness to the person at the front desk. Make sure to ask about the rates once again at the desk, since they may be able to offer you a last-minute deal, or upgrade you reservation and throw in some extras. Many staffers sometimes cancel guests’ first reservations on the spot, and rebook them at the new rate, taking only 30 minutes to appear in most computerized reservation systems. You should just tip the staff and wait around for your new booking.  
 

Give auctioning a shot

Often there are extremely low hotel rates hiding in plain sight, and if you know where to look, you’ll get them. Many hotels have their own loyalty programs, where you can join for free most of the time, and get first-hand information on some last-minute bargain deals, or deals with top rates up to seven days in advance.

If you still haven’t found a deal, visit some “auction” sites, like Hotwire and Priceline, where you can find eBay-style travel deals. There’s one unfortunate drawback though - the deals are usually top-notch, however you have no room or hotel details until you pay the full amount, up front. Nevertheless, you can dig them up, or as the travel blogger “Johnny Jet” advises, once you’ve found listings for the destination and dates you want on Priceline, head over to the message boards at biddingfortravel.com since this is the place where the Priceline users share their secrets about what they actually booked (which city, hotel, and how much they paid), giving you a pretty good idea where you would be going. He also recommends bidding on nice boutique hotels for travel in the middle of the week (since they are mainly full on weekends). If you plan on staying during the weekend, try some big-chain properties like Marriott, which are booked by corporate travelers during the week, but otherwise face less traffic.
 

Try the new money-back apps

The shortest way to a cheap room can be traced through Tingo or DreamCheaper for example, being just a few among the new money-back apps working as an insurance against price drops with one easy premise - you book and agree to pay a rate, and they promise to keep checking for even lower rates, rebook your reservation and refund the difference. All you need to do is to initially book a rate marked as “refundable.”

These apps allow for all bookings to go through the portal on its home page, meaning that you’ll pay the full price up front. If anyone, anywhere books the same room for the same night for a lower price, the app will automatically refund you the difference. These types of apps can typically save you from 15-20% on every initially low-rate booking, through a series of booking and re-boking of your reservation, always at a cheaper cost.

These are just a few pretty unusual ways to find the best deal out there. If you take a look at it, the more time you are willing to wait for a great low-rate deal at a luxury hotel, the more likely it will come true. For a true enjoyment and experiencing Vienna’s real “color”, try these tips to get a great hotel deal. You can always use the remaining budget to pamper yourself at one of the top Michelin star restaurants in Vienna, or rent a limousine service.

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