After making a hotel reservation, have you found that your room is not what you expected? If you’ve been through that, you’re well aware that this can make your entire stay miserable. At the same time, that doesn’t mean you need to break your wallet to guarantee you get the best possible room. Keep reading for excellent advice on booking a great and affordable hotel.
Before making reservations at a hotel, check the online review sites. These sites will allow you to see previous guests’ experiences at the hotels you are considering. Factor former guests’ reviews into your final decision.
If you belong to any organizations, find out if they get any discount from certain hotel chains. You may be able to receive discounts on hotel through these organizations. You may save ten percent or more. If you are planning to stay a few nights, this can really add up. A stay of 5 days or more could add up to one free hotel night stay!
Keep your electronics secure by using the hotel safe located in your hotel room. Put all of your valuables and small electronics into the safe, such as your jewelry and iPad. They’ll be safe in there and you can leave the hotel room without worry.
When thinking about the type of hotel you would like to stay at, there are plenty of options to consider. Price is always a big factor, but you also need a hotel that’s geographically proximate to your target destinations. Amenities, such as a gym, room service, or free Wi-Fi, might be of importance to you. Find a hotel room that includes all of the features that you demand. There’s sure to be one out there.
Be sure you inspect the room you are given at check in before you start unpacking. Make sure there is no mold or mildew anywhere in the room. Do the plumbing fixtures function properly? Do you have the blankets, pillows and towels you need? This quick check can keep you from discovering a problem later, after you have unpacked and all other good rooms are taken. Tell the front desk immediately.
Once you get to your hotel, do not unpack until you check the room. Is the room clean? Are the toilet, shower and sink functioning properly? Are there enough linens and towels? If you notice a problem, be sure to inform the front desk right away to have these problems resolved.
To get the best prices on hotel rooms, start your trip planning weeks, or even longer in advance. It’s not uncommon for a hotel to offer a discount if a room is booked a couple of months ahead of time. Some of the most popular hotel chains can end up giving you up to 50 percent in savings.
To get a good price when you want a hotel room, get your trips planned quite a few weeks or so in advance. Most hotels have serious discounts for early booking customers. Some of the most popular hotel chains can end up giving you up to 50 percent in savings.
If you need to have a pet stay with you in your hotel room, do a few things ahead of time. Find out if the hotel allows pets. Take some bags to clean after your pet. When making your reservation, ask for a room at the end of the hall to spare other guests your pet noise.
Think about these three things if you plan to bring a pet with you during your hotel stay. Check to see if the hotel actually permits pets. Pack a supply of plastic grocery bags with you – you will need to clean up any pet waste. When you make a reservation you should see if you can stay near the back of the hallway to keep other guests away from your pets when they are making noises.
If you’re interested in the massage services of a hotel you intend to stay at, reserve your appointment ahead of time. The best professionals are often in high demand, so get in while you can.
If you stay at the same hotels all the time, check to see if they have a frequent-stay program. Similar to frequent flyer programs with an airline company, hotel programs will typically give you points for each visit. These points can add up to hotel restaurant discounts, spa deals, free nights and much more.
Remember that hotel chains often provide loyalty programs offering excellent discounts. Similar to frequent flyer programs, some hotels have programs that give point for each stay. These points add up to restaurant discounts, free nights, tickets to a show, spa treatments, and more.
Think about going on a “green” vacation. Fortunately, there are many green hotels available nowadays. Some of the newer hotels were built with green standards in mind. Some older hotels simply choose a variety of eco-friendly practices to be environmentally aware. You can ask a travel agent to pinpoint eco-friendly hotels, thus making sure your vacation doesn’t hurt the environment.
The price you pay at a hotel often depends on the time frame in which you reserve the room. Hotels price rooms based on availability. If possible, try to book your room 24 hours or less in advance. In this way, you will get good rates. They’ll lower the price to fill the room.
The price of a hotel room is often a mix of many factors. Hotel rooms are priced based on how many are available. If you can, make your room reservations only a day in advance. You can often get the best price if you do it this way. Hotels don’t like to have vacancies so they often provide better prices.
If you wish to get a lot out of a hotel stay, especially if you’re traveling for your business, get a membership program and join it like what the Marriott or Choice Hotels offers. Each hotel stay can accrue points towards vacation perks.
Sign up as an AAA member to make hotel arrangements easier when you are traveling. AAA members can receive great hotel discounts as well as locate a rental car much more easily. If you are a parent of a young child, you may even be provided with a free car seat.
If you are inspecting a room for bed bugs, then the bathroom is the best place to start. The bathroom is not a common place where bedbugs would be. That is what makes it the best place to start. You can store your luggage there and search the rest of your room for those bedbugs. It’s also safe for pets and kids this way.
If you’re traveling with kids, be sure that you check on the pools to ensure they’re open and in service. It can be extremely frustrating if you arrive at your hotel only to find out the pool is shut down for maintenance.
Determine whether or not the hotel you are considering allows smoking or not. If you are a non-smoker, you might want to stay at a non-smoking hotel. You can still get a room that’s non-smoking, but the smoke can flow in the air and get on all your clothes. It is not unheard of for those who smoke to stay in non-smoking rooms and proceed to smoke. Instead of choosing a non-smoking room, you can actually find an entire non-smoking hotel if you really want to avoid nasty, secondhand smoke.
If you are searching a hotel for bed bugs, you should check the bathroom first. The bathroom is not a common place where bedbugs would be. You can leave your bags there while you investigate the remainder of the room for bedbugs. It’s also safer to the pets and kids you may have.
Always find out the pet policy at any hotel you stay at. If you’re scared of pets or have allergies, you may not want to stay in a pet friendly hotel. Hotel floors and linens can glean unpleasant odors from pets. There may be an extra fee to have a pet stay. The fee may be for any cleaning that needs to be done.
One should always be aware of the hotel’s policy on pets. If you fear pets or have allergies it may be best to make reservations at hotels that have a strict no pets policy. Usually, hotels that do allow pets will have a strong odor coming from the linens as well as the carpeting. You may get charged extra for having a pet, but a lot of places don’t charge all that much. The fee may cover the cleaning, and it may not.
Unless it is an emergency, always stay for the total number of nights that you have booked. The hotel may charge a fee for early departure. When you reserve a room, the management of the hotel removes that room from the market, so if you leave early, the hotel loses some money. As a result, hotels will attempt to regain some of this lost revenue by charging you a fee for leaving early.
If you are going to use a crib or even a rollaway bed, make sure you mention this at the time your reservation is made. Hotels don’t typically have a lot of these, so be sure to ask in advance. On occasion, these services may require an additional charge. Before making reservations, explain this.
Do not drink the bottled water in your room. When you arrive at your hotel, you might be very thirsty. That’s what the hotel owners had in mind when they packed the min-fridge with delicious, yet expensive, refreshments. There is a huge mark-up in price because the hotel knows this fact. Sometimes you can get a free water bottle in the hotel gym. A better idea is to bring a few of your own bottles.
Now that you’ve read this, you should know how to find an affordable hotel. It is easy to find deals once you are aware of where to look. Just use these tips to guide you and start planning your next great getaway.
Don’t pilfer the hotel towels or linens. You will find yourself receiving a nice bill in the mail later. Ask if you can buy the linens from the hotel if you like them a lot.