Phuket Thailand

rufreelately · #1 04-02-2005, 15:22

I will be coming to Patong on 22 Feb till 26 Feb. Can anyone let me know if it is cheaper to book a room via internat or is it cheaper to walk in. Let's say if I approach a tour guide there, can they offer me cheaper rates as compared to walk in?

LivinLOS · #2 04-02-2005, 17:46

Walk in rates and haggle usually win but of course you dont have the security of knowing where you stay before you set off..

Ziebart · #3 04-02-2005, 18:16

Booking throught the net through a hotel agent or direct with the hotel gives you assurance prior to arrival. Some even gets you meeting and transfer from airport. Usually this is the preferred method of tourists and newbies. If you are looking at a pricier hotel, then net bookings gets you a discounted price. Walking in will seldom get you a discount at 5 star hotels.
Since you use the word "cheaper" in your question, pardon me if I guess that you are looking at a budget accomodation of about 500-1200 baht/night. If that is what you want, then my advise is to book 1 night in a guesthouse/hotel and then go room hunting. Prices differs very greatly between guesthouses of similar quality. Some have started offering low season prices whereas some still stick to high season prices. I have booked an a/c room from 11/2-17/2 and 12/4-17/4 near Bangla/Patong at 375 baht nett/night.
If you come to Phuket by air and you take the cheapest transfer of a minibus to patong at 150 baht, then you will have to do a compulsory stop at a travel agency for them to sell their services...rooms,tours,transfers etc. My advise is to check out the road side travel booths in Patong and compare prices and specifications of tours.
These are my personal opinions and pointers and I belong to the budget traveller category but if you do have the means, then just let the people earn what they can from you.

joeblow · #4 04-02-2005, 18:36

Except for high season I usually do not plan my whole trip as I like to see what happens and play it by ear. So I usually only book my first night and then just take it as it comes. If you know a hotel/guesthouse has a cheap internet rate then you can always just walk into an internet cafe and book it, same goes with flights.

I also find that especially here in Australia it is much cheaper to book any tours when you arrive at your destination.

ancientmariner · #5 04-02-2005, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziebart

If you come to Phuket by air and you take the cheapest transfer of a minibus to patong at 150 baht, then you will have to do a compulsory stop at a travel agency for them to sell their services...rooms,tours,transfers etc.

I took the 500 baht taxi from the airport to hotel and I had to went through the tour sales touture as well. I guess the driver wasn't expecting a tip.

gregor200 · #6 04-02-2005, 22:12

I think, with budget hotels you can bargain, since the owner is living nearby or the office staff has more responsibilities.

Regarding four or five star resorts, I think it is nearly impossible, since the staff has only very limited freedom to set the price. Maybe they can give you an upgrade to a better room, but they cannot make the price. This would lead to an additional staff income, which is not in the sense of the management (give me the room 1000 less per night, and I give you 500 cash). Here the best way is looking up internet (for short term : www.latestays.com) or travel agencies who are marketing surplus rooms. I always book my first night(s) short term on internet.

dizbuster · #7 05-02-2005, 01:45

Why not do a search on google and then compare a few prices ?? That way you will get an idea of how much various hotels are going to charge. Then try calling one or two hotels (or emailing) and get them to quote you directly over the phone and see how much this differs from what you have seen on the internet.

Ziebart is pretty much spot on and I can't disagree with anything he says, his advice is good.

Good luck and enjoy
Diz

rufreelately · #8 14-02-2005, 16:53

Many thanks guys. Sorry for the late reply. Was away on festive holidays. Will try to follow your advices.

Tim26swe · #9 18-02-2005, 23:04

I was looking for hotel for me and 3 friends.. and we did some read here and decided to go for expat hotel.

we did plan to take one of their large family rooms and 3 smaller ones.
price on internet low season 2005 family room B1190 and small room B890
For 28 nights stay that will be B33320 large room and B24920 for each smaller ones with ac
I did send them an email about what best price they could offer us and first reply they say that we could get a 20% off the big room and pay ordinary for smaller rooms.

componed another reply to them with an offer to pay 25000 for big room and 20000 for each one of the smaller rooms. and they did accept the deal.

Total ordinary price 108080 baht and after dealing with them total got to 85000 baht that makes 78% we pay of the ordinary price.. or a 22% lower roomrate

But this might have to do that we did book 4 rooms at once and its low season. But hey sure there is possible to bargain with the hotels a little.

I dont know how low they drop prices if you walk in and bargain but it feels for us a little better to have the hotel and everything fixed with prices before trip and use the time there in LOS to funnier things.. like party all day and night long at bangla road!

// Tim