RateDrop - Anyone else using this?

[goldenhorn]

Not sure how many people here are across RateDrop, but I've been using it for about a year now and thought it was worth sharing.

It monitors your Accor hotel bookings, alerts you if the rate drops after you've booked, and rebooks you at the lower price. You then log into your account, and you cancel the higher-priced booking. Obviously, this only works with flexible bookings. Pretty simple concept but genuinely useful in practice.

I'm not a heavy Accor user by any stretch. Maybe 15-20 bookings a year. But I've saved close to $1,700 over the past 12 months, which honestly surprised me. The service has paid for itself many times over.

I'm on the gold plan at $15/month and can track up to 10 bookings. There's also a free tier if you want to try it out, which lets you track up to three bookings at a time. If you're doing Accor stays reasonably regularly, you could give the free version a go.

I don't have any connection to the guy who built it (Cameron Redgwell), though he has helped me out with a couple of bookings directly, which was a nice touch.

Anyway, just sharing in case it's useful. If you want to sign up with my affiliate link, DM me - you and I get some extra booking slots. But the main site is here: https://ratedrop.net/

 

[SeaWolf]

I have seen it, but was honestly a bit suspicious. How is it making the new booking, do you just give them your details (presumably including ALL number) and they make a new booking acting as a travel agent on your behalf?

I think I'd feel more comfortable with it if it just alerted me to the price drop and then I could decide what to do myself, but I guess the website is funding this service by getting the travel agent commission.

Sounds like it's working well for you though, so I'd be curious to hear any other success stories as well.

 

[serfty]

@goldenhorn , interesting. I'm sure Accor don't like it.

I recall one of our members here spent 18 months playing whackamole with Hilton with a similar product before deciding on other things. (It would email rate drop advice for you to consider rebooking).

 

[oz_mark]

I think I'd feel more comfortable with it if it just alerted me to the price drop and then I could decide what to do myself, but I guess the website is funding this service by getting the travel agent commission..

When the guy running it first announced it I thought the same. I haven't signed up as I'd prefer to do the rebooking myself

 

[goldenhorn]

I have seen it, but was honestly a bit suspicious. How is it making the new booking, do you just give them your details (presumably including ALL number) and they make a new booking acting as a travel agent on your behalf?

I think I'd feel more comfortable with it if it just alerted me to the price drop and then I could decide what to do myself, but I guess the website is funding this service by getting the travel agent commission.

Sounds like it's working well for you though, so I'd be curious to hear any other success stories as well.

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I wasn't sure whether it uses AI or automations, but the alerts sometimes come through in the middle of the night, so I assume there's some kind of automation.

When I created an account, I had to enter my Accor login details, so Cameron or his team must be logging in to my account and making a new booking.

Of course, if you get the price drop alert, you just go into your account, and you don't have to make any changes. You can just delete the new booking if you want.

The other benefit I've experienced is that sometimes, when I've made a booking, say, for 3 nights at a Sofitel, the new booking has put me on a "book two nights and get one night free" offer, and it's added a US $100 hotel credit. That's happened 3 times now, which has been a nice surprise. I believe Cameron is a HERA agent, so I assume he's tapping into the current agent offers and receiving the agent commission.

@goldenhorn , interesting. I'm sure Accor don't like it.

I recall one of our members here spent 18 months playing whackamole with Hilton with a similar product before deciding on other things. (It would email rate drop advice for you to consider rebooking).

Yes, I had the same thought...

 

[SeaWolf]

Other question that just occurred to me, is it able to take into account access to special rates like the 15% discount that Accor+ Explorer members get?

 

[goldenhorn]

Other question that just occurred to me, is it able to take into account access to special rates like the 15% discount that Accor+ Explorer members get?

Yes, I believe so. I just found out my Accor Plus membership didn't renew in July last year (even though I had paid), and I hadn't even realised. It had expired on 31 Dec.

Cameron sent me a message to let me know about the A+ membership sign-up bonus - that's when I realised it hadn't renewed. Once I got A+ to sort it and renew me for another year, he rebooked my bookings at the 15% off rate.

However, I haven't seen anywhere on the dashboard that you can add your A+ member number. So I'm not sure if you need to contact the team directly or whether they automatically know you're an A+ member from your general Accor membership number.

 

[jase05]

Seems to working well for you so a good find.
Not sure it would work for us as Flex rates are usually about 10-20% more and as a rule we don’t book flex rates