Cheaper airline tickets and hotels with EP passport?

[Steverino3006]

My girlfriend, who is in the process of getting her dual passport from another EP country, keeps saying EP citizens get better deals on air tickets and hotels. Any truth to this? If so, what's the secret handshake?

[liviomoreno]

What does EP stand for?

[Steverino3006]

Europe.

[matta]

I know that when I call a hotel, I get cheaper deals then if I book online, especially if it's a US-based hotel chain.

I also know that when a friend calls with her natural accent, she usually get better deals then when I call with my accent (even though we're both speaking the native language).

So there are cases where a person can help you with a better room or lower rate, and they're more willing to do so for residents than tourists. And there are obviously cases where certain restaurants have "English menus" with higher prices.

But I don't think there's a magic "click here for secret citizen prices" button on online search sites. If there was, how could they monitor it? I can use a proxy server based in Europe from the US, so IP address isn't a good method.

[JamesBianco]

I also know that when a friend calls with her natural accent, she usually get better deals then when I call with my accent (even though we're both speaking the native language).

There is something just so very wrong about that!

[PeterTimber]

Price changes occur not because of your accent but because of availability. Hotel rooms, air fares and everything else charges on that basis. The only other consideration is time of day a reservation is made and whether fares or costs can deescalate if prices drop after reservations are made. =Peter=

[johnnyonthespot]

Price changes occur not because of your accent but because of availability. Hotel rooms, air fares and everything else charges on that basis. The only other consideration is time of day a reservation is made and whether fares or costs can deescalate if prices drop after reservations are made. =Peter=

Peter, my wife has been a travel industry professional for more than 25 years and I can tell you unequivocally that pricing is far more complex than you allude to above.

[matta]

Price changes occur not because of your accent but because of availability. Hotel rooms, air fares and everything else charges on that basis. The only other consideration is time of day a reservation is made and whether fares or costs can deescalate if prices drop after reservations are made. =Peter=

Obviously revenue management plays a role, but hotel employees at all levels are given a range of discretion that they can use. Being a native just seems to be one way to get more used in your favor.

It's sort of like how, if you're nice to the hostess, you often get to sit in a "good seat" in a restaurant, whereas if you're a jerk, you sit next to the bathroom or kitchen. Sure there's a algorithm that tells the hostess where to sit you (based on balancing waiter work load), but the hostess has some discretion.