Hotels

[oaklandlax]

Just needed info on hotels near Buffalo and Pitt. If someone from each team can send me some info I would be very grateful. I know some teams work with local hotels to get better rates.

[laxfan25]

I would HIGHLY recommend trying out Priceline for your hotels. You can book multiple rooms on one request and the pricing can't be beat! I have used it for all my business travel for the last 3.5 years and it is fantastic! The rates you can get are significantly lower than any I've ever found on the web, such as at Hotels.com or HotWire.
I would be happy to talk with you about how you use it, and I have web conferencing software where I could show you how it works. I never travel anywhere withoutit!!

[John Paul]

Towbey,

Last year we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Shadyside when playing Pitt. We stay in a lot of Courtyards, and this was by far the nicest we've used. It was completely remodeled. Didn't look like your typical courtyard. It's about a mile from the Pitt campus. The team rates they gave us were good for an urban hotel, less than $100 night. They had good meeting and catering facilities, good staff, parking for the bus, etc. Shops and cheap restaurants/fast food within walking distance for the guys.

I'm not sure if Priceline is the way to go for team travel. You often need to talk directly to group sales people to get the best group rates, and teams often have special needs that a website can't handle (meeting space, meals, special rooms for coaches, multiple people in rooms and special setup for some of them like rollaways, etc.) You can do much better with a lot of that stuff if you're negotiating the whole thing as one package, with one live person.

[oaklandlax]

JP,
Thanks for the info. I will give them a call today. Congrats on the big win, great for your team and good for the CCLA! Good luck vs BYU.

Thanks
Towbey

[oaklandlax]

Laxman25,
I will send you a pm later today. Thanks for your help.

Towbey Kassa

[laxfan25]

Towbey,

Last year we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Shadyside when playing Pitt. We stay in a lot of Courtyards, and this was by far the nicest we've used. It was completely remodeled. Didn't look like your typical courtyard. It's about a mile from the Pitt campus. The team rates they gave us were good for an urban hotel, less than $100 night. They had good meeting and catering facilities, good staff, parking for the bus, etc. Shops and cheap restaurants/fast food within walking distance for the guys.

I'm not sure if Priceline is the way to go for team travel. You often need to talk directly to group sales people to get the best group rates, and teams often have special needs that a website can't handle (meeting space, meals, special rooms for coaches, multiple people in rooms and special setup for some of them like rollaways, etc.) You can do much better with a lot of that stuff if you're negotiating the whole thing as one package, with one live person.

JP, while Priceline doesn't allow for special needs handling, I can tell you that I have gotten Courtyards quite often (they are a 2.5 star hotel in Priceline), and usually am paying around $60 for the room, which can be two double beds. I have been to conferences where they have negotiated conference rates. One was in Cleveland at the Renaissance. Conference rate was $145 a night, I pricelined at $80 in downtown Cleveland and got the exact same hotel! I've also gone to clients that tell me they have corporate rates somewhere for say $120, and I will get Priceline for half that. Priceline is particularly effective on weekends when hotel traffic is down with all the business travelers at home.
With Priceline you can pick an area of a city and a level of hotel, but you don't know which one you will get til your bid is accepted. This may be an issue for some teams. I'm not saying this is the only way to go, but if you're looking for best prices at better hotels I've never seen anything better. I use it religiously. I just returned from the DC area and got the Homewood Suites for $60 (and it is not located next to Homewood Field!).
There are some tricks to the trade and would be happy to share with others. I don't own Priceline stock but have saved a TON over the past few years.

[John Paul]

Not saying it's not good. Just saying that if you special needs for team arrangements, it's usually better to deal directly with the hotel. If you are just looking for rooms, it's probably a great way to get a great deal.

[Mike Messina]

We almost always use courtyards. In Oakland(thats where Pitts campus is) the Courtyard or the Wyndham are what i would recommend.