AARP's 2009 Hotel Discounts Underwhelm

Slowly but surely, AARP's hotel discounts (once a prime feature) are becoming less useful. Unfortunate though it may be, AARP's decline as a discount source simply mirrors the decrease in big-organization discounts in general. More than ever, you should view a senior (or AAA) discount as a fallback position to be used only when you can't find a better deal.

The AARP program for 2009 includes 35 brand names, but the list isn't as diverse as that might sound: All but three of the brands belong to one of only four major ownership/licensing groups:

• AARP discounts are a uniform 15 percent at all Choice Hotels brands: Ascend, Cambria Suites, Clarion, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Econo Lodge, MainStay Suites, Quality Inn, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn, and Suburban Extended Stay. That's actually a little better than last year, when the AARP formula was 10 percent off.
• AARP discounts are now a uniform 5 to 15 percent off the best available rate at all Starwood brands: Aloft, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, Sheraton, St. Regis, W, and Westin. This is down from the previous range of up to 50 percent on weekends and 25 percent any time.
• AARP discounts are a uniform 10 percent at all Wyndham brands: Amerihost, Baymont, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, Wingate, and Wyndham. That's generally the same as last year.
• AARP members receive unspecified credits and purchase discounts at resorts in the Sandals and Beaches group.

Discounts at the other three chains remain as they were last year: Best Western offers at least 10 percent in the United States, Canada, and many other locations throughout the world; Hampton, the only Hilton brand in the AARP program, offers 10 percent off select rates (which may not be a deal at all); and La Quinta offers 10 percent discounts.

Even though AARP contracts with just a few big chains or ownership groups, hotels available on the program cover the price/quality range from budget to luxury. Coverage of the top-end tier is weak, but that may be an unimportant omission for most of you.

In checking out the various individual hotel programs, I found that, in general, the AARP formula often applied to members of other large groups such as AAA. And lots of hotels that don't have a deal with AARP offer senior discounts, although some have starting age limits that are higher than AARP's 50 years.

Beyond slight adjustments in discounts, the main change for 2009 is the addition of a few new brand names by the three big ownership groups, including Ascend and Aloft. Also this year, AARP has transferred operation of its dedicated Travel Center from Travelocity to Expedia. When you book hotels through the AARP website, most chains direct you to their own websites, but other AARP deals generally go through the Travel Center.

The strategy for finding the best hotel deal remains as it has for several years. Start by looking for special promotions and sales available to travelers of any age. You can do that easily through any of the big online search programs, such as SmarterTravel.com's price-comparison tool, Kayak, or DealBase, or one of the big online ticketing agencies such as Expedia or Travelocity. Then check the AARP deals, senior deals, or AAA deals at any of the hotels that look good. If one of these deals is better, take it, but chances are you'll often be able to do better with a more limited deal available to the general public.

If you're sure you won't cancel—and will accept a "run of the house" room assignment—you can often cut your hotel bills substantially by buying through one of the two big opaque sites, Hotwire or Priceline. Even if you add in the price of the cancelation insurance, those rates can be a lot lower than the best openly posted deals.

(Editor's Note: SmarterTravel.com is a member of the TripAdvisor Media Network, an operating company of Expedia, Inc. Expedia, Inc. also owns Expedia.com and Hotwire.)