Finding Hidden Hotel Discount Codes

Do you remember that TV Series The X-Files? It was a show about the exploits of two FBI Special Agents who investigate cases involving paranormal activities. It was kind of spooky. It won a lot of awards. Anyway, during the opening sequence of the show, a haunting voice whispers, “the truth is out there!”

That’s how I feel about hotel discounts: the codes are out there! You just have to know where to look. These days, most of my hotel stays are booked with points, so they are free, but there are still occasions when I want to stay in a boutique hotel that doesn’t have a loyalty program and isn’t available on Expedia or a similar discount site. The Hotel Le Marais in New Orleans fits into this category.

My friend Ginger and I stayed at this property last year, and we really enjoyed it, especially because I managed to score a hefty discount by finding a code online. The first thing I did was to do an online search for Hotel Le Marais Promo Code. You might be surprised at how many codes you can find with this simple method. The trick is that many times, codes are buried several pages deep within the search. In other words, things start getting good at around page three or four.

Here is a sampling of what I found:

You will probably notice a pattern here, which is that all of the codes can be found on the same website and are in the same format (words only). I played around on the hotel site and discovered that if I typed in New Orleans-y kinds of words, they often matched up with some sort of discount. For example, I typed in SAINTS…bingo!

So that is my first tip for finding hidden discounts. My second tip is to scrutinize the hotel site to see what wording they use for promo codes. In the example below (from the Kimpton website), the phrase they use is “rate code.”. If you use that exact term for your search, it will often yield increased and/or more fruitful results. I was able to find discounts at Kimpton properties ranging from 10-30% when I used this method.

Another tip is to simply ask. A friend and I are going to a wedding in Portland later this month, and we decided to stay at a Kimpton property. In my search for a discount, I found a deal online for “travel professionals.” While my friend sometimes books hotels for work, she is not a travel agent, a tour operator, or an airline employee. However, she called the hotel and nicely asked if perhaps she might qualify for the discount…the answer was yes.

Hopefully these little tips will score you a discount on your next stay at a boutique hotel. Let us know if you have any other tips to share!

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