Save Big At Hotels By Booking Connecting Rooms Instead Of Suites

A multi-room hotel suite gives your party a common area to hang out in, but also allows everyone the privacy of their own room. They’re great for family reunions, weddings, and bachelor or bachelorette parties. The trouble is, these types of suites are often staggeringly expensive. Here’s how you can get a suite-like experience for a lot less.

Photo: Malmaison Hotels

The trick is booking what the hospitality industry calls “connecting suites” or “connecting rooms” instead of traditional suites. These are hotel room configurations where more than one bedroom is connected to one another, either via a common area, small corridor, or a door that opens up between them.

Each room of a connecting suite also has a door that opens out to the main hallway so guests can go in and out without bothering the room they’re connected to. Also, connecting rooms guarantee that each room has their own private bathroom, whereas some suites may only have one.

After analysing data from Suiteness, a site dedicated to booking hotel suites, Priceonomics found that connecting rooms are typically half the price of a traditional two-bedroom suite.

For example, a weekend stay in a two-bedroom suite in a major US city costs about $US2665 ($3517) on average. A connecting room, on the other hand, only averages about $US1484 ($1958) – that’s the same stay for $US1181 ($1559) less. In some areas, such as New York City, you can save a whopping $US5409 ($7138) on average by booking connecting rooms over suites.

Of course, you could also go for a weekend stay at a two-bedroom Airbnb if you’d prefer for about $US1300 ($1716) (not including platform and cleaning fees). But then you miss out on some of the amenities hotels have to offer, especially if you’re staying in a place such as Las Vegas, where all the action is centralised at hotels.

So how do you book these magic, money-saving connecting rooms? Call the hotel and ask. Almost every hotel has them, but they may not be listed on third-party booking sites, so check with the hotel front desk directly. That said, be sure to call for a connected room far ahead of time. These types of rooms are popular – for obvious reasons – so don’t hesitate to book early if you want to save some money.

How to Hack the Price of a Hotel Suite [Priceonomics]