Dont show up in person - its never a good strategy to get good prices.
Do:
- call and ask for resident rate
- if you dont like the rate you get, ask for the sales department and then sweet talk them into how many relatives you have coming every year etc etc
- promise them they will get all your business if they give you good rate
If you do the above, you should be able to beat the booking.com rates but only if we are not in high season or when no big shows are in town (Jewellery, Leather, Electronics etc)