Hotels vary from the luxurious resorts to shabby motels that are downright scary. Staying in a nice hotel can make your trip nice, and a bad one may ruin your trip. Keep on reading if you want a little help finding the best hotels.
Use Orbitz or Expedia to find a great deal. If you are in a hotel loyalty program, put your information in. Find out if you can get a discount for being an AAA or AARP member, too.
Prior to choosing and reserving a hotel room, check review sites online like TripAdvisor or Expedia. These reviews can give you a customer’s perspective of the hotel you are planning on staying at. The information provided by patrons of the hotel will help you make a good choice of where to stay.
Make use of the room safe to ensure the safety of your electronics when you are not in your room. Place all electronics there along with important documents, such as your passport or plane tickets.
Consider ordering room service during your stay. You will probably pay more for this meal, but for the convenience of having it delivered to your room, it is worth it.
Find out if any organization to which you belong offers good discounts. Some of them may provide discounts on hotel stays. Many people forget to do this and miss out on saving a sizable amount of money. If your stay will be for multiple nights, these discounts can save you lots of money. This adds up to a night’s stay that is almost free.
Be sure to put all valuables, such as jewelry and electronics, in the hotel safe. You can place your small, expensive items such as your iPad in the safe, so you can enjoy your day knowing they are safe and secure.
Don’t book a hotel room without looking for online deals. The hotel representative is unlikely to inform you there are better deals online. That’s why it’s always your duty to search the web for better deals whenever you are booking a hotel room. Use popular websites such as Jetsetter, SniqueAway, or RueLalaTravel.
Consider the benefits of any organization memberships you have. You may be able to receive discounts on hotel through these organizations. Discounts of 10% or more are often available, and people sometimes forget that they are eligible to claim them. For extended stays, this can really add up. If you are staying for a week, you can pay for a whole night’s lodging with these discounts.
When you arrive at your hotel, thoroughly inspect your room before unpacking. Is the room free of mildew and mold and clean? Do the toilet, sink and shower work properly? Do you have an adequate number of towels? If you find obvious problems, notify the front desk right away so the hotel can correct the problems or they can assign a different room.
When picking a hotel, there is a lot to think about. Of course price is a big deal, but a hotel close to where you are head is a big consideration. Other amenities, such as a swimming pool, an onsite restaurant and free continental breakfast are important to travelers. So decide on the amenities that mean the most to you and start looking.
Be clear about check-in time at the hotel you have booked. Many people forget the time, then they show up early and the room isn’t ready yet. If you might be arriving before the check-in time, ask the hotel whether it’s okay to come.
Always look for online deals before booking a hotel room. Often, the reservations clerk will not advise you that a better deal is available online. So, it’s up personally to you to go searching for such discounts. Websites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Jetsetter always have promising bargains for certain hotels that you won’t find anywhere else for a better price.
In order to get the best hotel deals, always plan your trips weeks ahead of schedule, or even a few months. If you can book a couple of months early, a lot of locations will give you a steeper discount. Doing this could save you up to 50 percent off your room, and this holds true with the more elite brands as well.
You can get better deals on hotel rooms if you book several weeks or months ahead. Most hotels have serious discounts for early booking customers. You can expect savings up to fifty percent if you book months in advance.
If you’re taking a pet to the hotel, do some things beforehand. Check to see if the hotel actually permits pets. Take some bags to clean after your pet. When you go to make the hotel reservation, see if there is room on the end that would prevent the other guests from hearing a noisy pet.
If you have a AAA membership, it may qualify you for a hotel discount. It may come as a surprise to find that an auto club membership offers hotel discounts, but that is the case. It will let you save 5% or so on hotels that are around the nation. Those discounts add up to great savings, especially if you will be having an extended stay.
Do you travel on a periodic basis? If so, consider joining your hotel’s loyalty program. These programs provide perks to those who stay at a particular chain regularly. Rewards can include free hotel stays, upgrades and late check-out times if you save up enough points.
Do you travel on a periodic basis and use the same hotel chain? If so, check out the loyalty programs provided by that hotel. They offer benefits to people that stay at the same chain quite often. You can often earn free upgrades, free stays, and complimentary late check out with enough points accrued.
Do you use the same hotels on a regular basis? If so, check out their membership programs for frequent guests. Similar to frequent flyer programs, some hotels have programs that give point for each stay. In time you may even get to stay there for free!
If you are concerned about the environment, you may want to take a “green” vacation. The number of “green” hotels is steadily growing. Some of the newer hotels were built with green standards in mind. Other older hotels will just provide green options for you. A travel agent or similar source can help you find hotels that are considered ‘green’.
Going green is a growing trend so it is no surprise that hotels are going green as well. Fortunately, many green hotels exist nowadays. Some of the newer hotels are built in a way that they get certified green. Older hotels may choose to take “green” standards seriously, which is a great thing. Talk to your travel agent in order to find the best green hotels for your needs.
A lot of people just book the first room that they find and don’t bother doing research for the perfect one. However, this hit or miss approach can really backfire on you. Nobody want to settle into a hotel room that’s dirty, so keep this advice in mind to help you avoid that.
The cost of your hotel will vary depending on when you make your reservation. Availability sets pricing. Whenever you can, maker your room reservation no more than a day ahead of time. A late booking when the hotel is slow often results in a bargain. Hotels are often happy to slash prices on impending vacancies since they will get nothing if they can’t book the room.