Bay Area hotels: Beware the weekend two-night minimum
I’m going to San Francisco this coming weekend (Thursday to Sunday) and though mostly visiting with friends, I wanted one romantic night in a nice hotel Saturday, preferably north of the Golden Gate bridge where we have to be Sunday morning, and ideally not spending more than $250 for the room. Unable to find a room that meets these criteria, my requests have made me feel like I’m that annoying, atrociously high-maintenance diner that asks the waiter four questions before ordering her entree and follows it with substituting the steamed broccoli for the mixed vegetables only to then request all dressings on the side to boot.
Oh these rooms are out there, they just often have a two-night minimum attached. Is that what a down economy means to the hotel industry: Make them stay two nights versus we’d love to have your business for one and be thankful for it?
Tips for booking in Marin:
I’ve found good deals on Hotels.com before so I started with them. They did return results for a Marin County search, but my idea of a romantic night out wasn’t at a business hotel in San Rafael such as a Four Points Sheraton or an Extended Stay. Even the newish Marin Suites in Corte Madera didn’t quite seem charming enough. Cavallo Point would be terrific, but at $275 a night for the cheapest rooms, it was a bit high, plus I’d heard some word of mouth info that said the rooms you really want to stay in are not the cheapest ones.
Trip Kick: If I knew that I wanted to stay at a romantic or boutique hotel, Trip Kick was the online concierge to help me out. The only problem was that these would all be San Francisco hotels, and when I clicked “Romantic Getaway,” the results led to some pretty high-end hotels. That’s fine, but I didn’t want to give up on Marin just yet.
Where do your friends stay? I have friends that have enjoyed Casa Madrona but it wasn’t on the Hotels.com list. I knew it was in Sausalito and looked at the Casa Madrona website but nothing was available.
Inns versus hotels: I knew there had to be other accommodations that I wasn’t thinking of (and that weren’t coming up on Hotels.com or Orbitz) and if Casa Madrona wasn’t on the Hotels.com list (it was on Orbitz for $403, including tax), there could be other boutique hotels that weren’t also.
Next up I checked the California Assn. of Bed & Breakfast Inns. They even had a North Bay/Marin category. The Gables Inn Sausalito sounded perfect, and the 27th was available on their reservation calendar, except for the line at the top that said “Minimum stay of 2 days required for stays that include Saturday.” I’d soon find that this was a common response when searching for reservations online and over the phone.
When I looked at the Mill Valley Inn, they sent me to their sister property, the Acqua Hotel (both can be found at MarinHotels.com). Everything looked good until I tried to book the room –- “There is a minimum stay requirement of 2 days.” I even called to see if maybe talking to a live person would get me around this problem, but no. And the Joie de Vivre reservationist couldn’t tell me which of their hotels didn’t have a two-night minimum, I’d have to ask her about each individual hotel separately.
Calling in your reservation: We finally lucked out with the Lodge at Tiburon that did not have a two-night minimum. Even better, they had a AAA discount. Rooms were available online but you had to fill out a whole page of information and trust the online reservation. I opted to phone it in instead. The best deal they had was for their spa room. The AAA discount brought it down from $249 to $225 plus tax. The total including tax came to $250 and included free parking, Wi-fi and of course a European-style deep water tub.
Have you run into any two-night minimum rules that made your travel booking process more frustrating than it needed to be? How did you get around it?
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: thelodgeattiburon.com]
4 Comments on “Bay Area hotels: Beware the weekend two-night minimum”
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September 22nd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Most hotels in the North Bay(Napa, Sonoma, Marin and Mendecino Counties) have two-night minimums during our high season because the vast majority of our guests do want to stay two nights, and without the minimum for at least Saturday night we would fill up with guests who only want to stay Saturday night and we would sit empty on Friday and Sunday nights. In other markets that are more corporate in nature and less leisure you would not find this to be the case. Hotels do need to maximize occupancy and income when they can in order to be able to stay open during slow times.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Cavallo isn’t that bad, really. Ask if their occupancy is low, and if there is a possible upgrade. It is really one of the best locations in the bay, and the beds are DIVINE! Just a thought!
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I grew up in Marin,have worked in the hotel biz in S.F. since the 70’s and have seen my share of shocking hotel policies but a 2 night weekend minimum stay at a B&B or boutique hotel is NOT one of them. I agree with Kris - it’s only common sense and economic survival for highly sought after properties. Try seeing their rates on a rainy Monday in February if you want good deals.
What I am shocked at is a travel ‘writer’ being surprised by this as well as stating you ‘usually find good deals on Hotels.com’. Anyone in the business for over a year knows how much the 3rd party sites rip you off and should be avoided at almost all times. To use them as research is fine but to say they have good deals is almost comical.
Only when combined with airfare (and almost always you have to leave or arrive at terrible times) and car rentals is it even possible for them to charge less and I have yet to find a case where I couldn’t match or beat their package deals.
To answer your question however, just find the lowest price you can for 2 nights and pay for both nights but only stay one. I’ll bet THAT is almost cheaper than Orbitz $403 PLUS PLUS PLUS for the Madrona!
October 1st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Ummmm.. the two night minimum? I work in the hotel biz and have for years. On the business end of the deal I understand the whys; however, on the personal side of things, I don’t and never will stay anywhere that demands that I purchase anything that I do not want to purchase. Including my own franchise. I will pack a tent or sleep in my car( and I have several times) before I will plan my trip around their profit margins. Once a franchise or resort or whatever has attempted this policy with me I keep note and regardless of where my travels take me I never stay at that “brand” again. So, one location does ruin them all for me. I travel enough (216,000 miles on my car in three years) that I alone do make a difference. I have gone on trips knowing that to avoid the two night minimums I will have to drive until 3:00a.m. or later to get to somewhere that does not require this and I am more than happy to do that as to not be controlled and suckered into their demands. I have even called these properties late at night on the nights that are high demand and have the minimum stays in place and, surprise, they still had rooms available; and I do make it very well known why I am not staying there and then from that point on I will contact them and let them know that I am coming through again and won’t be booking with them. One hotel alone has been a total of 71 nights in the last two years for a total of approximately $915.00 and I am only one person. Just think if everyone kept track. Most of my trips and vacations are planned to cover as much land as possible and staying two or more nights in one location is not what I am looking for. I have a very hard time making these sales at work. In the last two days I have kept track of the turn downs on reservations and today alone was 31 people that I walked for this coming Saturday because of the two night stay policy. Many of those who do agree to the two night minimum stays to begin with usually end up canceling or attempting to change their reservations as the dates get closer. Or they end up figuring out a way to throw a big enough fit about something and end up with their entire stay refunded even when the complaints are not legit. The problem is that people continue to give in to these demands to gain the one night they want when if they spent some time they would be able to figure out a way around them. The hotels benefit because people agree to give in. Don’t forget about the small “ma and pa” properties. Most of these are decent properties. They are just not advertised as the larger franchises are. But you will get a much better rate and usually get great customer service. They seem to appreciate the business. They have to work of it. It isn’t handed to them through the large franchise advertisement and promotions deals. They may not be as updated. I have found that if I call the town’s chamber of commerce or the town’s library inquiring about these properties you will generally find a chatty person that will give you the local low down on these properties. I have yet to actually end up in a “ma and pa roach motel” or one with that appearance. However; I have walked out of popular big name hotels due to just down right disgustingness! Also, as the economy continues to drop I think that these hotels will need to re-think their ways. People aren’t quiet ready to give up yet but they will. If people voiced their opinions more publically things might change.