There is no such thing as a fixed price in hotel industry or travel industry. If you are flying by air, or staying in a swish five star hotel there are bargains to be had, even at the top end of the market. Every price, especially during these credit crunch times, is negotiable. It is just a question of knowing how to ask, what to wear and not taking ‘no’ for answer. 

Hotel want bodies in beds so if you tip up in reception late in the evening you can chance it and haggle for a price of a room - offering cash is better than a credit card. Also if you are leaving early for a flight from an inner city hotel, you can always ask for a discount - as it gives the hotel an opportunity to sell the room again to guests coming off the red eye flights. Regular customers should always ask for suite up grades and if you ever want to go somewhere smart for dinner, talk to the bloke wearing the golden keys motif and he’ll be sure to get you a table. However, check the price of the cab that he books you. He’s on a cut of your fare, so it is often cheaper to walk around the corner. Never use the mini bar, always ask for tap water and beware the soft drinks as they have one of the greatest mark-ups.

Flying well is a little more problematic. There are a few upgrades available to those who dress well, ask nicely and arrive late enough for economy to be full up. However for those who fly long haul often, it is good idea to by one Club or First Class ticket from a cheaper airline like Thai Airways and then buy an economy ticket after that, forever getting them to upgrade with your air-miles.  

Or alternatively if you want to make money and never fly, you could always become one of the professional ‘compensation fliers.’ They book the cheapest non-refundable tickets on very over-subscribed flights and turn up late, in the hope that there is no room on the flight. The money for Denied Boarding Compensation can be quite substantial - between £300 and £600 a flight. There are some people who spend whole days booking themselves onto flights out of Gatwick and never going anywhere at all. 

But then again that may sound familiar to anyone who’s tried to fly out of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 recently-  got any travel stories? Been delayed? Any other tricks of the trade? Have you managed to fly and eat for free? I’d love to hear from you…