I picked up the phone today to make the Paris hotel reservation, for the first leg of our trip.It was a bit late to make the call -- just after 10 p.m. in France -- but the woman answered and sounded friendly.
"Hello?" she chimed.
"Hi, I'd like to reserve a room for April 14 to 17. Do you have anything available?"
"Let me see... Yes, I have two rooms."
"Are they facing the front?" This matters, because when I wake up I want to see girls in billowing scarves and Converse toting satchels of books, and guys with scragggly haircuts and skinny jeans texting one another to meet up for "un ptit cafe au ptit cafe." At night I want to hear the zydeco band that plays at the oyster bar across the street. I don't want the back courtyard, and I certainly don't want a ventilation tunnel out my window, not if I'm flying 6000 miles and running around like mad to renew my passport and --
"Yes, I have one on the third floor, just above the square."
I was about to take it. It is an ideally situated, super cheap, cute and clean hotel in Paris. A miracle, that is. I couldn't believe they had something available on such short notice. In April.
But I stopped myself.
"And what is the price?" I asked, calmly.
"49 euros."
"I see. Could we do 44?"
"No."
"That's okay." I gave her my name and told her what time I'm arriving. Then we started chatting about my trip -- how I'm passing through, what a great neighborhood she's in.
And then I asked again.
"Could we say 45?"
"Ok," she laughed. "45."
Score!
Gained: 12 euros.
I read your blog every day and I've admired your tenacity. But I have to admit I've become a little confused of late. I thought you were a struggling student but the number of trips you have taken, and the frequency of your eating out, makes me wonder if all this haggling is really necessary. Do you have any concern about haggling with people who might really need the income...like the Craigslist folks? Is your saving a few dollars always the fairest? Maybe that doesn't matter but some people are really struggling and even a few dollars can make a difference to them. Regards.
ReplyDeleteHi Escondido,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear from you! I've enjoyed your comments in the past. You raise some good questions here. A few answers:
1) Struggling student? I really and truly am. Counting down the days to where my monthly stipend becomes my weekly salary, or even close!! I do occasional side work, but any extra cash goes straight into savings. Basically, I have a liveable budget and I stay comfortably within it.
2) So how does Roxy pay for her extravagant lifestyle? The France trip, I should have mentioned in the post, is courtesy of my mom. I felt, and still feel, strange about accepting a vacation like that, but her twistedly generous argument was: "If you don't come with me, I won't go, and when else will I travel? I'm not growing any younger." So I said oui!
About eating out -- yes, I do that a lot. Too much, perhaps. On the other hand, I don't really buy clothes, no car payment, cheap rent, no credit card balances, no cable bill, etc. I spend my days in and out of cafes since it beats writing all day in an empty bedroom.
3) Is all this haggling necessary? Even if I end up a millionaire, I hope to always haggle. Now, exploiting people is not my goal, and I'll address that next. But trying to save $1 here or $12 there helps my bottom line. More importantly, it teaches me to be on the lookout for opportunities where I really can and should be asking, and it helps me build the guts and strategies for those opportunities.
4) Craigslist exploiter? I've wondered this too. I will address this in a post later this week!
I am grateful that you're following my adventures and care enough to comment. Any questions or critiques, bring them on!!
xo,
Roxy
Oh I am so envious. My mother never offered me a trip to France when she was alive, and now with her gone 5 years, that isn't about to happen. Have fun and enjoy your time with your mother. I will be thinking of you eating in cafes and breathing the air of France...you are so lucky!
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