Discovered A New Discount Affiliation - Kaiser Permanente

Today I was firming up the details of our upcoming spring break trip when I discovered another discount affiliation angle I have not used before.  I had called about a hotel room in the San Francisco area for one night on Monday and was told that I could have a AAA (Automobile Club of America) rate of $119 for one room with 2 double beds.  I needed to check with my husband and I also wanted to confirm that I could not get a cheaper price.  I was going to call the hotel back the following day after speaking with my husband.

By the time LIFE calmed down and I was able to make the call back to the hotel, it was 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.  The hotel personnel told me that the $119 rate was no longer available and that the cheapest rate they had was $139.  Also, after having checked several hotel deal sites I found that the $139 was indeed the lowest price. 

I did not totally click with the hotel staff person and I had to look for my credit card so I told her I would call the hotel back later that day (as it was 2 a.m. when I had made this call).  Many hours later I called the hotel back.  I explained what happened on Monday and I asked if there were any $119 AAA rates available.  I was told no.  Then, the gal at the hotel says that she is "in training" and transferred me to the reservations manager. 

The reservations manager was amazing.   She asked me about my employer.  I am self-employed so I knew for a fact that her hotel did not have a corporate relationship with my business.  She then asked me about husband's employer.  I told her that he worked for Kaiser Permanente the hospital.  She cheerfully informed me that Kaiser had a corporate affiliation with them and gave me a rate cheaper than the $139.

So, I just learned a new lesson which I am sharing with you.  Consider ALL of your relationships.  Especially those relationships you have with large organizations (e.g., employers, membership associations, unions, etc.) because you may find that these large organizations have negotiated a discount for its members.  I also learned that if I am booking a stay at a hotel that is typically used by business people (versus a hotel for tourists), start off by discount search by identifying all of my business affiliations/associations.