I booked the hotel last night for our weekend in San Francisco, and instead of chosing The W at $299, I chose the Clift House (extraordinary!). On their website, it said the room I wanted was $255. Instead of booking online, I called them and asked if we could take advantage of their "Summer Special" which was supposed to be for bookings in the month of September (we are booking it for August 31). And, she gave it to me! The cost of the room is $189.

Plus, I told her it was our 5th anniversary getaway (which it is) and she made note of that. So, we may have something special waiting for us in our room.

It pays to talk to a human sometimes!