You're welcome, and thanks for the compliment!
As to your question, we assume you're referring to the monthly room-rate listings we provide in the LVA newsletter (click the link to read a free sample issue, if you're not already a member). These are compiled by checking the rates at a selection of low-end, mid-range, and high-end properties for the following three months, using the hotels' own websites.
We list these rates just as a thumbnail guide to give readers a good general impression of the absolute lowest rates likely to apply for the following three months, as quoted at the time the newsletter goes to press. Note that we try to select the cheapest week for each month -- avoiding major conventions, holidays, and other factors likely to push up room rates -- and then quote the lowest rate we found for each property, even if it is only available for one night for the duration.
Of course, room-rates are subject to change on a daily or even hourly basis, so they certainly can't be guaranteed and should only be used as a guide snapshot taken at a particular moment in time. Even so, we're used to receiving feedback from people complaining they couldn't book the quoted rate, even though any vaguely seasoned traveler knows that rates are subject to constant change as properties and OTAs (online travel agents, like Orbitz, Expedia etc.) adjust prices to manage their inventory, just as airlines do. And, as explained above, the best rate we find might be available only for one night across a whole month.
As to how these rates compare with other sources, here's the lowdown and it's complicated, so be warned. Hotels, like other retailers, are keen to save money on manpower and encourage customers to book online, rather than over the phone with a human being. Hence, you're likely to get a cheaper rate if you book your travel plans yourself via their website. If you're willing to give them your email address for future marketing initiatives, you can sign up to receive email notifications from your favorite hotel(s), which will offer you even lower rates.
If you've been following recent developments in the airline industry, you'll be aware of a revolt by certain carriers like American Airlines, who are sick and tired of being squeezed by the OTAs and are refusing to work with them anymore. Hotels are feeling the same way but are often trapped by contracts that prevent them from offering rates to the general public lower than those available through the OTAs. The new Cosmopolitan announced only this week that it was refusing to work with Expedia.com (which also owns the Hotels.com and Hotwire.com brands), and typicaly takes 20% of the rate per room.
There's another route the hotels can take, however, in the form of exclusive member-only discount codes. In order to become a member, usually all that's required is the provision of your email address, which is how our new LVA Gold program works. This, to the best of our knowledge, is the absolute cheapest way to book a hotel room (aside from being comped), but there are some provisos.
The hotels use discount codes to manage their room inventory and the rock-bottom rates are often available only for a limited duration, normally with certain blackout dates (weekends, holidays, big conventions, and so on). If you need something fairly last-minute, and/or are flexible about where you stay (regardless of lead time), you can pick up some steals using our codes, but not all hotels are prepared to work in this way, and those that do will have great offers only sporadically.
You can sign up -- for free -- for our new LVA Gold membership program, which grants you access to the lowest rates the hotels and shows are offering. While the first wave of the program is fully up-and-running (see the top-right box on our home page for the best current LVA offers) we're actually currently beta testing the next incarnation and would welcome your feedback, in terms of the quality of offers compared to what you're finding elsewhere, usability of the interfaces, and so on. Click the link and browse around, regardless of whether you're in the market for booking anything right now, then let us know what you think. Plus, you can join the LVA Gold mailing list to receive an exclusive weekly email with updates about current and imminent special offers.
We're canvassing your feedback via a new LVA Room & Show Deals thread in the Free-for-All area on the LVA message boards, so feel free to post your comments and observations there.
One last point: If you're wedded to staying at a favorite property for which we don't have a current code, or if you can't find a discount code for the dates you're looking for, our preferred OTA is i4Vegas.com, which from our experience (and that of many LVA readers who've reported back to us), has the best rates and lowest booking fees, and is renowned for great customer service.
