Tour Question- Why tell hotel you're with RS?

I believe it's so you can stay in the same room.

Ah ok, I didn't think of that since I didn't want to pay the solo supplement so I figured no matter what I'll have to keep changing rooms.

We’ve never received a discount on our room when arriving earlier than the tour. We always ask what room to reserve in advance for extra nights so that we don’t have to change rooms.

Thank you for your answer. I didn't want to pay extra for the solo supplement so I think I'll have to move anyways. Just surprised the hotel didn't give a discount to tour participants but this is my first tour ever, I normally travel alone so this is all new to me.

I've never emailed a hotel regarding a room....I just book thru the hotel website. When I arrive I also tell the person at the desk I'm with the RS tour and ask if I can stay in the same room, but I always "buy up" to the single supplement.

You are probably right that if you are sharing a room you'll likely have to move. Not a big deal when it's within the same hotel. Often they will volunteer to move your bags for you or sometimes you will take your bag down to the left luggage area in the morning before you go out then re-check in when you come back from your day's activities.

I'm surprised at the hotel RS uses in Istanbul. It's on the pricier end and is a spa. I am shopping around to see if it would be better to move to save some money since there is no benefit for me.

Thank you for your reply!

I shared a room once on an RS tour. I arrived a day early and they put me in the room that I eventually shared. My roommate arrived a day after I did, so I had the room to myself for about 24 hours.

I almost always arrive a day or two early (10 tours and counting). Some hotels have indeed given a small discount. In a couple cases, they included breakfast when the non-RS rate did not. I think I have been able to stay in the same room in every case.

The Istanbul tour is great! Enjoy!

That's so wonderful they let you into the same room! Thanks for sharing your experience

Sometimes you will get the tour rate. It's up to each hotel, the tour timing, availability, etc.

As one manager told me, they are used to working with RS tours and know that some members will be looking to book extra nights. Some of the hotels said they set aside a block of rooms, first come, first served, that will be blocked from their website or 3rd party websites for this reason, as a convenience. So contacting directly early enough might get you in when otherwise the hotel looks full. It does help them plan out room arrangements, since not everyone arrives at the same time.

At a few hotels, I've been told they have RS tours arriving every few days, so there can be overlap and they have to keep things straight.

Is your tour sold out already? You can call the tour office and ask if there are other solos on the tour. They won't tell you if they paid the single supplement but it will give you an idea about the potential to move rooms for sharing purposes. I've been on tours where all the other solos paid the supplement so by default I got my own room; this happened for one of my tourmates on Best of Turkey too.

If the price of the RS hotel is outside your comfort zone there are a million other choices in Istanbul. If your tour is staying in Sultanahmet area, you might want to book something in another neighborhood for a change of pace.

We've been on a number of RS Tours and I've always conversed with the hotel via email when I make our early arrival reservations to ask about staying in the same room as well as a RS discount. Staying in the same room has never been an issue and so far we have received a discount on the posted room rates. We paid 15% less than the posted price on our 2023 Best of London Tour.

Yes I have been speaking directly to the hotel. No discount is being offered.

What hotel is RS staying at for your tour?

Hotel Levni Spa Special Class

We are doing the 20 September 13 Day Turkey tour. I wrote the tour hotel, Demiray Hotel and Spa, and asked for rates for additional night before the tour. I referenced the “SRM” code RS Tour office suggested I use when booking additional nights.
Today I heard back from the hotel about my email request. Rates quoted in the email were considerably less than hotel was quoting me directly from their online website. In addition breakfast is included whereas website inquiry charges extra for breakfast.

Has anybody had a Turkish Bath and what can I expect to pay. I am not a user of Spa Services but am considering it.
Thank you.

It's entirely possible the Levni hotel is new to the RS tour scene and may not know if they want to offer discounts just yet. The hotel is not in the RS guide and is mentioned only twice in this forum, once 7 years ago and one other time as discussed recently in this thread, that notes the original tour hotel had been changed to the Levni: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/13-day-turkey-tour-4-27-5-9

sallymoxley you might want to start a separate thread on baths so you get on-point responses. I went to Hurrem Sultan Hamami (the Hagia Sofia's bath) and it is probably the most expensive option in Istanbul. But it's grand and posh and a wonderful experience convenient to the tourist area. Current price for the 45 minute basic bath (no massage) is 95 euro.

Thank you CL

We are also doing the Oct tour of 7 days in Istanbul and there is a hotel change

Hello fellow Oct member! I did see the hotel changed, it's very nice! I was surprised about the price though I may not stay there for extra days because of it.

You might try asking if there is a discount for paying in cash.

@5olympicrings - I sent an email to the hotel because we are arriving two days early. I will let you know when hear from them.

Thank you Sjay let me know

@5olympicrings Got an email from hotel. Quoted me rooms for less $210, $230 and $250 but still expensive. Also offered pick up from airport for $60 for 2 people. Added that whatever we opted for we would stay in the same room during the tour. We are going to opt for other cheaper options for the 2 nights and looks like we will land at Henna Hotel. Hope that helps!

@sjay- you are amazing! Thank you for sharing all this great info. That's great they give you a price break but yeah that's still pricey. I'm going to shop around too. Take care ans see you in Oct!

Our starting hotel for the Rick Steves Switzerland tour offered us a 10% discount for additional nights when we inquired. They also promised to keep us in the same room.

@sallymoxley Would you mind posting what "considerably less" at the Demiray Hotel would be? Perhaps in % of posted rates, or even better, the actual rates? Thanks!