NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
If you usually book your hotel room online in hopes of saving some cash, a new Consumer Reports study suggests you pick up the phone instead.
After getting hotel prices on-line, Consumer Reports researchers were able to get better prices, three times out of four, by calling on the telephone and haggling.
Consumer Reports assigned one of their reporters to call hotels for their lowest rates. When the hotel gave the reporter a room rate, the reporter would then use a rate found on the Web as leverage for a better price.
If the reservation agent couldn't go lower, the reporter asked for a different sort of discount, such as reduced parking or a room upgrade.
When discounts were offered, the difference between hotel's standard room price and the price offered over the telephone was $83 per night. For travel sites, the average difference was only $61.
The odds of getting a better rate are improving as supply outstrips demand, Consumer Reports says. During the downturn following September 11, 2001, hotel chains didn't stop building although the number of visitors fell.
According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, an industry trade group, 40 percent of the nation's total supply is empty every night.
Travelers can certainly use that knowledge to their advantage. Among the negotiating tactics Consumer Reports recommends:
Be flexible: Bypassing a holiday or lengthening your stay could give you more negotiating clout.
Compare prices: Check the travel sites before calling the hotel's toll-free reservation number and then the specific hotel itself.
Speak up: If you want a lower rate, ask for it. Consumer Reports said bargaining with a reservations clerk over the phone was their most effective technique.
Book early or late: When dealing with a hotel directly, the reservations clerk might be willing to give you a good rate far ahead of time to lock in your business. The also might be willing to give you a lower rate if you book at the last-minute as a way of filling a room that would have gone empty.
Be willing to walk away: This is a buyers market; if one hotel balks at accommodating you, there's no shortage of options.
Hot hotel picks
The study also found that travelers got what they paid for as luxury hotels fared better than their cut-rate counterparts.
"Almost seven of 10 readers were very or completely satisfied with their experience, however one-third had at least one complaint," the report said. "Not surprisingly, the problems grew as the hotel category fell from luxury to budget."
Among the luxury hotels -- those with rooms that typically run $90 to $500 a night -- the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons had the highest ratings. Walt Disney Resorts, Embassy Suites, and Harrah's fared the best in the upscale category, or hotels with rates between $80 to $150 a night.
SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Wingate Inn did well in the moderate category which includes chains with rooms from $60 to $100. In the $40 to $70 a night budget category, Sleep America, Extended Stay America, and Microtel Inn Suites garnered the highest ratings.
Poor room lighting, unattractive decor, and excessive phone charges were cited as traveler's chief complaints.
Consumer Reports contacted 100 hotels to find the best deal on a room for a three-night getaway over a weekend in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. Their latest hotel ratings are based on what 35,000 readers said about nearly 55,000 hotel stays which covered more than 157,000 nights between January 2002 and April 2003.
The report is available in the July issue of the magazine, which is published by the group Consumer's Union.
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