Prices of rooms used to be dictated by the seasons. Today hotels are using "yield management," the same system airlines use to ensure their seats don't go empty. Some tips:

• Hotel chains periodically offer special promotions. Check newspapers. And if you book early, you may get a beter discount.
  
• To learn more about hotels in different cities, visit hotel websites like www.hoteldiscounts.com.
  
• At check-in, Ed Perkins of the American Society of Travel Agents says: "Politely ask, 'Can you upgrade my room?' A hotel would rather have a happy customer than an empty room." Dare to bargain.