TIP: Keep Your Travel Cost Down

When I was just starting out, another MCT told me that it is all about raising your rate. You know, that daily chunk of change that we charge our clients to provide trainer. There is another way to maximize your profits/lower your cost. Should you be in the position where you need to preset an all inclusive price, you may want to consider using one of those online bidding sites for your hotel.

Before you start bidding, wouldn’t it be nice to know what hotels in the area are accepting? Try http://www.biddingfortravel.com/. I personally use this site to determine which hotels accept what offers. I have one of those sleep comfort beds. It rocks. I also know that Ramada has them. I was able to use the information from BiddingForTravel.com to get Ramada to accept my offer.

By keeping your lodging cost low, you can maximize your profits after costs and even provide a better rate to your clients without cutting your profit.

How to do it:
- Browse to the site.
- Select the State.
- Take note that large metropolitan areas may be listed with the state.
-Locate the city you want and take a look at what they are accepting.
- You are usually going to stay in a good hotel if you do not go below 2.5 stars. I’ve stayed at 2 starts before and was perfectly happy.
- On your bidding site, offer about $5 under what they are accepting (unless a hotel you do not want may accept it) and at a star level one higher.
- On offer #2, raise the offer to the expected price and at the same star level as the hotel.
- If they do not accept, offer a few bucks more, but do not go below 2 stars.
- Remember, they tack on taxes and services fees once the offer is accepted.

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Jason Yoder, MCT

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