After making a hotel reservation, have you found that your room is not what you expected? If you have, you understand how this situation can ruin your vacation. However, you aren’t going to have to pay way too much on a hotel that’s nice, either. The information below will help you find a wonderful hotel at an affordable price.
Room service is great for late meals. It may cost more, but it’s convenient when you don’t feel like leaving.
Use websites like Orbitz and Expedia for great prices. If you are a member of the hotel’s loyalty program, don’t forget to add that information as you check rates. If you have a membership in any other organization, put that down as well.
Consider your organizational memberships. Some offer big discounts on hotel rooms. Many people forget to do this and miss out on saving a sizable amount of money. This can help you to save some cash, especially if you’re going to be staying for a few nights. This can mean a lot of savings over a full week stay.
Use the closet safe to protect your electronics. This safe will store your small important items, such as your iPad, iPod, GPS, jewelry, etc. By doing this, you can keep these items secure and enjoy your day without fretting about someone stealing them.
Check your hotel room prior to unpacking. Is it tidy and sanitary? Do the sink, shower, and toilet all work properly? Do you have enough towels and linens? 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.
Consider the benefits of any organization memberships you have. Some organizations offer discounts on hotels to their members. People often forget about these discounts, which can be 10% or more. They can save you plenty of money, especially for prolonged stays. Within a week’s time, you are basically getting a free night’s stay.
Verify the check-in time at the hotel. If you don’t know when you can check in, you may find your room is not ready when you arrive at your hotel. Call and ask if you think you’ll be early.
Prior to booking your hotel room, search the Internet for deals. Many times, the reservation specialist won’t tell you of discounts when you call to book your room. You have to look for the discounts. Sites, such as Jetsetter, will let you know of any discounts available.
If you plan on taking a family pet with you to a hotel reservation, do three things in advance. Make sure the hotel is actually pet-friendly. In addition, take along some plastic bags to pick up your pet’s mess. You should also see if you can get a room near the end part of the hallway to make sure other guests don’t have to put up with pet noise.
To benefit from the best prices at hotels, start planning your trips several weeks or even months in advance. If you can book a couple of months early, a lot of locations will give you a steeper discount. This will allow you to save up to 50 percent even when staying at an elite hotel.
Be sure to consult AAA to help you make excellent plans for your entire vacation. Your membership in this auto club has just such a discount available to you. You may save 5% or even more on nationwide hotels. This is a savings that can really add up over several nights.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking all hotels will accept pets. So call ahead and make sure you understand if there are extra fees or a limited number of rooms available. Get the term “pet-friendly” defined, as well. The hotel may not allow large dogs or certain types of pets.
If you like running and frequently stay in hotel rooms, be sure and pack up a GPS watch, along with your favorite running clothes. If you want to jog early in the morning, don your gear and then go for it. Spending time on the road with your own two feet will give you a perspective that you’ll never get while riding in a car.
If you tend to stay at the same hotel a lot, see about signing up for their frequent guest program. You should be able to earn points every time you are visiting one of the hotels. You might earn free stays and discounts, show tickets, or other things.
The amount you pay for the hotel room is determined by when you book it. The price is subject to the laws of supply and demand like any other product. Try to always book your hotel room only a day in advance. This will get you the very best rate on your hotel room. Empty rooms don’t make money, so hotels slash prices to fill the building.
Get a membership to AAA to make booking hotel arrangements a breeze when you travel. AAA members are given many discounts and booking privileges on hotel rooms and rental vehicles. Some places provide free car seats too.
Call the hotel before you arrive to make sure the swimming pool is in working order. It can be extremely frustrating if you arrive at your hotel only to find out the pool is shut down for maintenance.
In hotel rooms, avoid calling long distance if possible. Use the Internet, instead. A lot of hotels offer Skype connections over Wi-Fi. You can stay in touch with work or family without the high cost of a call from the phone in your room.
If you are going to inspect if your hotel room has bed bugs, then start looking in the bathroom. The bathroom is not a common place where bedbugs would be. This makes it an ideal spot to put your luggage as you check out the rest of your room for bedbugs. It’s also safer to the pets and kids you may have.
The bathroom is the first place to go when checking for bed bugs in your hotel room. This is where you are least likely to find bedbugs. That makes it the perfect place to store your luggage while you inspect the rest of the premises for bedbugs. It is also a safe spot for your pets and kids.
Before making a hotel reservation, learn the hotel’s policy on smoking. If you don’t smoke, you may wish to avoid those that have smoking rooms. Even if you reserve a non-smoking room, the smell of smoke can circulate through the hotel’s air vents and cause your clothes to pick up the odor. There are times when smokers light up in a non-smoking room. If you don’t want to smell like cigarettes after leaving your hotel room, you might want to look for a non-smoking hotel.
Moking Rooms
Know your hotel’s policy on pets prior to booking with them. If you have an allergy, or you just don’t like dogs, it may not be in your best interest to book a hotel that lets guests bring their pets. If the hotel does not have good cleaning practices, you may be bothered by pet odors. Some hotels only allow pets in certain rooms and charge more for the room because they do extra cleaning to ensure it is up to standards after each guest. The fee may cover the cleaning, and it may not.
Think about whether or not you are going to be staying at a smoking or nonsmoking hotel. If you’re someone who doesn’t like cigarette smoke, you may want to find a different hotel. Even non-smoking rooms can have smoke billow in from next door. Sometimes, smokers rent and smoke in non-smoking rooms. If you just can’t stand the smell of stale smoke, look for a hotel that doesn’t allow it at all.
It is usually not possible to check into your hotel early. Plan for this, or you may risk waiting in the hotel lobby for an hour or more. Before you can enjoy your room, hotels need to clean the room properly. If you do happen to arrive early, check with the desk to see if you can check in, but don’t expect that request to be honored.
Do you smoke? If so, it is important that you are aware of a hotel’s smoking policy in advance. Most hotels have designated smoking rooms. If they do, ask for this type of room. If you smoke in one of the hotel’s non-smoking room, you can be charged hefty fees.
If you book a room during a heavy occupancy period, don’t be surprised if you have a mandatory stay of a few days or more. If you do, you may be charged a fee for early departure. By booking a room, you are preventing other potential guests from staying in the hotel. Therefore, by leaving early, you are costing the hotel extra revenue. That’s why they will charge you a fee for early departure.
Ask about a rollaway or crib when you book your room. Not every hotel features these options, and the ones that do only have a few. Hotels also charge extra for these items, sometimes. Let the hotel know what you need to avoid anything that you will turn in a bad surprise.
For hygienic purposes, you may want to avoid using the bedspread that the hotel provides. While the staff may have washed the sheets prior to your stay, the comforter is not always washed. For this reason, there’s no telling what might be on that bedspread. Pull it off for peace of mind.
For hygienic purposes, you may want to avoid using the bedspread that the hotel provides. Although the blankets and sheets are cleaned when guests check out, sometimes the bedspread on top will not be. That can mean it is full of germs, bacteria or who knows what else. For your health’s sake, remove the bedspread.
Don’t let a hotel take advantage of you. This is when a hotel is overbooked and they have no accommodations for you. The hotel will attempt to foist you off on another hotel. Avoid getting “walked” whenever you can, but if you have to switch hotels, be certain that your reservation there is equivalent or even an upgrade.
Leave the bottled water alone in your hotel room! You may arrive at your destination exhausted and thirsty. You can be tempted to casually open that bottled water beckoning on the mini-fridge. Hotels are really aware of this, and the water will cost you quite a bit more than it really should. Check out the gym instead; they may have free water. It’s best to simply pack your own bottled water.
Whatever you do, don’t open the bottled water. You are very likely to be tired and thirsty when finally arriving to a hotel. It is tempting to simply grab that refreshing bottle of water conveniently available in the mini-fridge. Hotels are aware of this, that bottle of water will be much more expensive than if you bought it elsewhere. Look for free water in the gym or lobby. If possible, bring your own bottled water.
Don’t give into the temptation to take hotel linens home. It seems like a common thing people try to get away with, but the hotel will know when you do this and may charge you later for the missing items. If you really have to have the stuff, see if the hotel will sell it to you.
Don’t take anything from the room when you depart. As soft and luxurious as they are, the housekeepers will likely notice that things are missing, and you might get a bill from the hotel for them. If you just fall in love with the towels or pillows, ask if you can buy them directly from the front desk of the hotel.
When traveling, booking your flight and hotel together will save you money. Online sites allow for bundles which lead to great discounts. Then, compare rates for several airlines and hotels for the best price.
Save your money when on the road by making your flight and hotel reservations together as a bundle. A lot of websites for travel will give you quite a bit of savings for you if you reserve a hotel and a rental car or flight together. You can make the most of this deal by comparing rates across several websites.
You can often get a free upgrade of your hotel room. To help you get an upgrade, arrive at the front desk at check-in time. It’s likely that the room isn’t ready, so you might get a free upgrade.
If you wish to get a low hotel rate, you shouldn’t book when the tourist season is at its peak. Hotel rates are very high during tourist season. Instead, book during off-season for the best prices. You will have a better chance in getting a good rate.
You should know how to get a good hotel without paying too much. When you know where to look, finding deals on hotel reservations is a snap. Remember these tips.
You can reap some nice benefits when booking a hotel room when you are celebrating a special occasion. Some hotels may give you something special if your stay is for your birthday or anniversary. You might be able to wrangle a free bottle of champagne or something similar. However, you should not be dishonest about it because that is not right.
