So how big a lie would you tell to get a travel discount?

by Janice Hough on February 10, 2010


So how big a lie would you tell for a discount on travel?

Americans love a bargain. And the vagaries of travel pricing certainly don’t discourage anyone from doing what they can to save money.

Many discount hunting strategies are legal, others are gray areas and some are flat out dishonest. But how far is too far over the line?

Many lies involve children. For examples, sneaking a child into Disney who is a couple months over the age limit for children’s tickets, putting three small children in a hotel room that has a maximum of two children, bringing a two-and-a-half-year old as a lap baby on a plane. (As most flight attendants will tell you, some parents will insist a child who looks ready for kindergarten is a baby.).

Other truth-stretching strategies involve asking for corporate rates on a vacation trip, booking a single room for two people, or booking senior rates for clients who are under the required age. (One client once told me “Any young kid at the check-in desk thinks anyone over 30 is ancient.”)

There’s also the particularly obnoxious (to those of us in the industry) scam of pretending to be a travel agent, or a travel writer, though hotels have been cracking down in recent years by asking for serious identification.

This week I had a relatively wealthy client whose daughter was joining friends on a graduation trip to Hawaii. The girls wanted a nice, if not deluxe, hotel right on the beach and the package rates were actually significantly discounted. (Plus they were planning to sneak a third or fourth into the room to cut costs.) But the mother wanted something lower.

I suggested some options a few blocks from the beach and the mother said she would think about it and get back to me. Over the weekend I got a cheerful email, apparently a friend of the family had been able to book a room at “Kamaaina rates” (rates for Hawaii residents only) and it was a great deal.

The resident friend who made the booking is not staying in the room, and I didn’t find out for sure if the room was booked in that person’s name. But the net result is that they are expecting to pay about half the discounted rate of $200 including tax, not to mention saving the $50 per extra person rate.

So is this a great example of bargain hunting? Or an over-the-line tactic that hurts hotels and travel agents alike. Or both?

Photo: Desktopnexus.com/wallpaper

Print Friendly

Tagged as: children's rates, Hawaii travel, kaamaina rates, lying to get a discount, travel discounts

  • Jeff L

    There’s a difference between bending the rules and outright fraud..

    I have no problem sneaking in a third child to a room, because the cost to the hotel of an additional individual in that room is negligible (one more dirty towel?) In short, the hotel is not adversely affected and would not have received extra funds had I claimed the person (other than resort hotels, there is not often an extra person charge. If there is, the above does not apply).

    Lying to get a better rate however is deliberately reducing monies earned by the hotel, and that’s fraudulent and wrong.

  • Nancy

    I HATE parents who fly their 5 year old as lapchildren. It’s inconvient for all passengers seated near them, especially those in front. I had a family with a 4 or 5 year old seated on “laps” for a 6 hour flight behind me and they dared to complain when I reclined my seat. The FA came over and told me they were “quite cramped” and to “be considerate.” I said, “That kid isn’t 2. It’s not my fault they’re too cheap to buy a seat for him.”

    I got a few dirty looks, but I kept my incline.

    The airlines should do lap babies by weight. If baby doesn’t make the weight, baby buys a seat.

  • Chris in NC

    Janice,
    Your client definitely crossed the line there. This is not bargain hunting, it is fraud. Such actions hurt the hotels, travel agents and customers that “follow the rules.” I hope for your sake, that you aren’t called in to clean up the mess when something goes ashtray.

    What if…
    There is an emergency and the hotel does not know who is in the room, or how many people are in the room?
    The daughter and/or friends decided to bill charges to the room? trash the room? or cause a disturbance and hotel security is called?
    The friend that booked the hotel is unavailable and her daughter is not permitted to check in.
    The hotel takes legal action if it finds out what really happened?

    All this to save $100 a night? What kind of a lesson is your client teaching her child? Thats its OK to commit fraud? I am shaking my head on this one.

    BTW, I would have a different opinion had the Hawaii resident booked the room and shared it with non-residents.

    Just my penny
    Chris

  • Adele

    Maybe the friend didn’t commit fraud. We once got a kamaaina rate by calling a hotel in Hawaii directly and asking if they had any discounted rooms available that night. They knew we weren’t local, but offered us the resident rate anyway. I’ve also been offered a corporate discount when calling a hotel directly and asking what discounts they had available for a leisure trip. It all depends who is working the reservations desk. You shouldn’t necessarily assume anything dishonest occurred.

  • Ed

    If a biz is willing to sell a product for X to person X, they can sell it at X to me. If they don’t want to sell the product at X, then they should not sell it at X. Simple.

    The one difference to me is of the given person belongs to an entity that they pay to be a part of and part of those fees are given to certain biz entities that then offer lower rates to the membership. Think retainers. Also, if a given entity agrees to pay a fee if they fail to provide a minimum amount of biz to a hotel, for example. In return, a special rate is applied for all room nights purchased by that entity.

    If there is a fraud involved by a consumer unwilling to pay quoted prices, why are Priceline’s opaque auctions not considered a fraud perpetrated by the biz who participate?

  • http://leftcoastsportsbabe Janice Hough

    Ed, it’s a good point, but businesses do this all the time with corporate rates, and resident rates. (for example, Disneyland and Disney World give discounts to Southern California and Florida residents.) Priceline also isn’t selling the same product. When you book a Priceline room you give up the right to choose your hotel, and such normal extras as being able to request one or two beds, being able to change, getting frequent flier credit etc.

  • Marlin

    I never understood the “resident” discount. Why is a hotel able to give a discount to resident that they can’t to non resident? They use everything to the same degree, why the difference?

  • Jeff L

    A lot of establishments offer a residence rate to lure locals in for a night or two. Locals don’t need to plan travel so often can come on short notice for a good rate, and if they have a good experience they may be able to draw people in.

  • Paulette Baker

    @ Nancy: Good for you!

  • Paulette Baker

    “If there is a fraud involved by a consumer unwilling to pay quoted prices, why are Priceline’s opaque auctions not considered a fraud perpetrated by the biz who participate?” It’s not fraud because everyone involved knows what’s going on. The hotels offer rooms at a discount on Priceline that might otherwise go empty. The buyer takes an informed risk by purchasing a room at a property that isn’t identified until the transaction is completed. The only fraud would be if the opaque site intentionally misgraded a property; for example, listing a two-star property as a three-star one.

  • laura townsend elion

    Janice,

    I’m unaware in the current airline environment how you can sneak an older child on as a ‘lap child.’ These days they ask you for the birth certificate. I never tried to con the airline in this way, but the last few times my son flew just under the age of 2 we were asked to provide prooof of his age,

  • laura townsend elion

    @ Martin:

    I’ve always thought that the Disney residents discount for residents is predicated on the belief that if you live in the area eventually you’ll get sick of going there. Ask Chris!

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ laura townsend elion: I don’t know how many parents carry the birth certificates of their children with them nor can I recall any US-based airlines requiring parents to bring birth certificates for young children.

    I think that parents who take their 3 YO to 4 YO as lap child should be fined (double the fare) by the airlines.

  • http://leftcoastsportsbabe Janice Hough

    @ laura townsend elion and @ arizona road warrior

    Southwest is the only airline I know that requires birth certificates for domestic flights. And I like the fine idea. Back in the days when airlines served meals I remeber a flight where a woman in front of us was incensed that they didnt have an extra meal for her “baby” – who was clearly kindergarten age.

  • Bodega

    Arizona@If you are flying with an infant and get an infant fare or pay no fare for a child under the age of 2, you are required to have proof of age. If you don’t have it and are asked for proof of age, you will be required to pay full walkup price. I had a client not bring proof even though it was noted in the itineary and she was charge full price, as well she should be! Same for senior fares and military fares. You need proof.

  • laura townsend elion

    All airlines reserve the right to require proof of age for lap children and those paying reduced fares. You may be right in that its often not asked for, but the potential is always there. If you don’t have it, as Bodega mentions, you might be shocked at having to pay full fare on the spot. I have seen parents asked at the gate for the document, too (and watched the stark gut-reaching panic that ensues).

    Traveling with the birth certificate is just smart, anyway. Before we had a passport for him, we always took my son’s b.c. How else would you prove he/she was your child while traveling? (You don’t have to take the original, you can get certified copies).

    With the airlines increasingly looking to increase revenues, I’m guessing more vigilance is just around the corner. Even as a parent, I have to say this is the one area where I have no problem with them collecting. The 2 and under rule is a courtesy and those just looking to scam their way out of paying ought to be penalized.

Previous post:

Next post: