Just about everybody has a story to tell about a bad hotel experience. It can become a costly mistake and people should avoid making it twice. Use the following tips to make sure that you get a nice hotel room without having to spend a lot of money.
Before you choose a hotel and make reservations, check online review sites, such as TripAdvisor. Websites like TripAdvisor will give you some first-hand accounts of hotel experience from actual customers. These reviews can help you decide which hotel you should select.
Online travel sites like Orbitz and Expedia can help you find the lowest rates on hotel rooms. As you check your rates, don’t forget to include that you’re a loyalty program member. You may also be able to get discounts through AAA or AARP.
If you take a lot of electronic gadgets with you on a trip, lock them up in the safe when away from the room. You can put just about anything in there, as long as it isn’t too big, and you won’t have to worry about it.
See if your organizational memberships offer any benefits. Sometimes you can get discounted hotel prices through these organizations. Some discounts can be over ten percent! This can help you to save some cash, especially if you’re going to be staying for a few nights. If you are staying for a week, you can pay for a whole night’s lodging with these discounts.
Consider your organizational memberships. Some groups provide members with discounts on certain hotels. It is easy to forget about the discounts. This can result in significant savings, especially for longer stays. That’s almost an extra free night throughout an entire week.
When you’re looking for the perfect hotel, there are a few different things you should always check for first. Price is always a big factor, but you also need a hotel that’s geographically proximate to your target destinations. Other amenities that people look for are a gym, pool, free local phone calls, free Wi-Fi, and free breakfast. Look for a hotel that gives you a lot of the things you are looking for.
Prior to emptying out your suitcase, carefully look over your room. Is the room clean? Do you see any mold or mildew? Do the sink, shower and toilet work properly? Are you given the linens and towels that you’re going to need? If you see any issues, be sure to tell the front desk. This way, they can fix the problems or switch rooms for you.
To get the best hotel rooms, use a website online that will help with this. These websites can help you get great deals quickly. They display the average rates of hotels so that you can see if the deal you are getting is good. Finally, they can help you determine when you’d like to travel and what you’d like to do when you’re there.
Ask the hotel about their check-in time.. People sometimes forget when they will be let into their rooms, showing up early only to learn that their room isn’t ready yet. If you can’t help your arrival time being early, you can ask for an early check-in but it might cost a bit extra.
If you and a loved one are wanting to go to a hotel and get massages, it is important that you book the appointment way in advance. Many of the top masseuses out there are booked far ahead of time.
To get the best prices on hotel rooms, start your trip planning weeks, or even longer in advance. If you can book early, you may get a huge discount. You can save up to 50 percent, even on elite hotel chains.
If you belong to the AAA, see what kinds of discounts the hotel offers. It may surprise you that AAA gives hotel discounts, but most of them do. It’s possible you could save 5 percent or higher on hotels across the United States. Those discounts add up to great savings, especially if you will be having an extended stay.
Don’t assume your hotel is pet-friendly. Put a call into the front desk just to be sure, no matter what it says on their website. Also, speak to them about what they’re meaning by pet-friendly because they may not allow specific breeds or certain sizes of pets.
Loyalty Programs
If you’re thinking of taking your pet to a hotel with you, there are some things you need to do first. You want to ensure you’ve chosen a pet-friendly hotel. For easy cleanup, make sure that you have brought along an adequate number of plastic bags. 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 travel a lot, you should consider joining hotel loyalty programs. Loyalty programs provide frequent guests benefits for booking with them on a regular basis. You might receive an upgrade at no cost or be allowed to check out later than others with your points.
Book any massage appointments you make early. Most of the best masseurs will be reserved by name ahead of time. You’ve got to get in your reservation early to get the best masseur or masseuses.
If you often frequent the same hotel chains, look into their frequent stay membership programs. Like the programs for frequent flyer, these programs the hotel offer give you points whenever you stay with them. These points can be used to earn free nights, discounts and more.
If you are a runner, be sure to bring your running clothes and shoes. Head out early in the morning after donning your running gear. When you go running in a new city, you will get a free tour, up-close and personal.
The amount you pay for the hotel room is determined by when you book it. Rooms prices are based on their availability. Try booking your hotel room within 24 hours of your stay. You’ll end up with a great deal this way. A room that’s empty won’t help the hotel, so generally they will get the price lowered.
If you care quite a bit about your environment, consider taking a “green” vacation. Green hotels can feature specialized recycling programs, may only use recyclable products and use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. Some of the newer hotels were built with green standards in mind. Older hotels might change practices to be more green. Speak with a travel agent to see if they can help you pick out hotels that care about the environment.
To get optimal value from a hotel stay, especially if you find yourself traveling a lot for your business, sign up for membership programs such as those offered by Marriott or Choice Hotels. This allows you to get more points with each stay that you can convert into free rooms and other benefits on your next family vacation.
The timing for your booking of a hotel room has much to do with what you pay. The price is subject to the laws of supply and demand like any other product. If you can, make your room reservations only a day in advance. This will get you a great price on your room. An empty room will earn the hotel no money; so, they generally slash the price.
Don’t call long distance in your hotel room. Instead, use the Internet. You’ll often find hotels have free Wi-Fi, which allows for Skype calling long distance numbers for free. Use this type of thing to get with people you know while you’re in your hotel room so you can save quite a bit of money.
Being a member of AAA can save you money on hotels. AAA members not only get discounts at many hotel chains, it will also make it much easier to rent a car. If you are a parent of a young child, you may even be provided with a free car seat.
Nobody wants to stay in a terrible hotel room. Saving a lot of money isn’t worth being uncomfortable in your room. Your vacation will be a failure. This is why you should use these tips to help you find a hotel that’s right. Once you choose a hotel, be sure to get all the discounts you have coming to you.
If you want your family to have a happy stay, call the hotel ahead and ensure that their swimming pools are available and in good working order. It is extremely frustrating for you and your children to arrive at a hotel expecting a pool and/or other activities only to discover that there are none.