When staying in a hotel, you don’t want to feel as if you’ve been taken advantage of. A horrible hotel experience, regardless of the reason, can ruin the entire trip for everyone involved. The following advice will help you avoid these issues.
Use the closet safe to protect your electronics. You can place your costly items that are small into their safe, and then you won’t have to worry about these things as you go out.
Check with the organizations that you are a member with. Some organizations offer discounts on hotels to their members. A lot of people don’t use these discounts, and you may save 10% or even more. These discounts can save you quite a bit of cash, particularly if your stay involves several nights. This can mean a lot of savings over a full week stay.
Take advantage of search tools online. Any of those types of sites will help you get a great discount. They can tell you what the average rate at a hotel is, ensuring you know the general pricing. They might even offer some decent entertainment venues that you should experience while you’re in the local area.
Search online tools for hotels. There are a lot of websites that have great deals and other useful tools to help you comparison shop to find the right hotel at the right price. They can also allow you to look at the average rates of a hotel. They also can help with figuring out when the ideal time to go on vacation is and what you can do once you are there.
Before you book a hotel, look for deals online. Sometimes, the person at the hotel desk might forget to mention a discount for booking online. It is your responsibility to scour the Internet for these savings. Look at Jetsetter, Enrovia and Hotels.com.
Check your room when you arrive. Is it clean? Are the facilities operating correctly? Do you have an adequate number of towels? If any issues are immediately prevalent, call the front desk that instant so they can address them or move you to another room.
In order to get the best prices for hotel stays, you will want to plan your trip several weeks or months beforehand. If you can book early, you may get a huge discount. This can save you as much as 40 percent off of the cost of your hotel.
Know your check-in time in advance. If you show up too early, you may find yourself sitting around the lobby, waiting for your room to be ready. If you’re going to come to the hotel before you should be checking in, call them first to see if there’s anything they can do for you.
Always book early for that special couples massage for you and your loved one. The best professionals are often in high demand, so get in while you can.
To benefit from the best prices at hotels, start planning your trips several weeks or even months in advance. There are quite a few hotels that will reward booking your room a few months in advance with nice discounts. You might only pay half price for premium hotels.
If you are an avid jogger, a GPS watch is a great investment so you can always find your way back to your hotel. Also, don’t forget your exercise clothes! Simply set an alarm or get a wake up call and take an early morning run. Running down city streets or country roads can give you a fresh view of the place you are visiting.
If you are traveling with a pet, it is best to find a pet friendly hotel ahead of time. Even if the website says they are pet-friendly, always call in advance to verify. A hotel may be pet-friendly, but still has restrictions against certain breeds or animals. Find out ahead of time if your pet is acceptable.
Do you care about your environment? If so, a “green” hotel may be for you. There are many hotels that feature green amenities. Some of the newer hotels are built in a way that they get certified green. Also, older hotels often make several changes to become eco-friendly. Request the help of the travel agent in identifying hotels that are environmentally friendly.
One of the best bonuses of a AAA membership is great discounts on booking a hotel. It may surprise you that AAA gives hotel discounts, but most of them do. It can save you 5% or more on hotels all around the nation. The more nights you stay, the more you will save.
The time you book the room will change how much you’ll pay. Rooms in hotels are often priced based on their availability. Don’t book a room more than a day in advance. This gives you the best prices in reserving hotel rooms. A room that’s empty won’t help the hotel, so generally they will get the price lowered.
Be sure to follow your fitness regimen while staying in a hotel by packing your workout clothes and any other equipment you may need. If you want to jog early in the morning, don your gear and then go for it. Even if you stick to city streets, you will gain a better perspective on your destination city before you leave.
Join a membership program if you travel frequently. These points can translate into some major perks when you’re vacationing.
If you tend to return to the same family of hotels for your vacation, consider joining their membership reward programs. Similar to frequent flyer programs with an airline company, hotel programs will typically give you points for each visit. These points add up to restaurant discounts, free nights, tickets to a show, spa treatments, and more.
Being a AAA member has many advantages when it comes to booking a hotel room. AAA members are given many discounts and booking privileges on hotel rooms and rental vehicles. Parents of small children will probably like the car seat that’s provided for free in a lot of locations.
If you are an environmentally conscious traveler, you should look into “green” hotels. There are many hotels that feature green amenities. Some hotels are certified to be green. Some older inns just select one or more of several eco-friendly strategies to show environmental awareness. Ask your travel agent to help you identify environmentally friendly hotels.
Find out if the hotel you’re staying at has a functioning pool for the kids. There aren’t many things that are as frustrating as going to your hotel with kids that really want to swim only to see that it has been closed.
Find out about hotel transfer costs prior to booking a room to avoid hefty fees. If the rooms are cheap, the transfer could ruin the deal. You will save more by asking about such a thing in advance.
Start by inspecting the hotel bathroom if you need to make sure there are no bed bugs. You probably won’t find any bedbugs in the bathroom. Stow you suitcases and other items here and then take a good look at the rest of your room. Not to mention a great place for your children and pets too.
Become a member of AAA in order to make your travel arrangements easier. AAA members can receive great hotel discounts as well as locate a rental car much more easily. You might even get a free car seat if you have kids.
Find out if the hotel you want is smoking or non-smoking. If you aren’t a smoker, then you want to avoid smoking rooms and maybe even smoking hotels in general, but most hotel chains do have smoking and non-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. Also, people may rent a non-smoking room and smoke in it. If you don’t want to smell like cigarettes, consider staying at a hotel that’s non-smoking.
Be sure you understand your hotel’s smoking policy if you smoke. A lot of places will have smoker’s rooms. If that is the case, you should ask for one of those rooms. If you don’t, you can be hit with some major penalties for lighting up in a non-smoker’s room.
Find out what the policy on pets is. If you dislike or are allergic to pets, you should avoid hotels allowing them. Rooms that allow pets may also have the odor of animals. This can be in the linens and carpet. While some hotels charge fees for pets, they don’t always charge a lot. Depending on what hotel you choose, the fee charged might or might not cover any extra cleaning required.
Allow Pets
The bedspread might not be the cleanest linen in the room. Hotel sheets are laundered daily; however, bedspreads are not. It may be a carrier of bacteria and germs. Remove the bedspread and use your own travel blanket or comforter, instead.
Review the pet policy at the hotel. If you dislike or have allergies to pets, steer clear of hotels that allow pets. Rooms that allow pets may also have the odor of animals. This can be in the linens and carpet. Some hotels are pet-friendly and don’t charge for it, while other hotels will add a hefty fee for keeping a pet. It might not cover deep cleaning.
You can get better hotel rates when you don’t book during peak tourist seasons. That’s when it costs the most. If you can, try to reserve rooms during the low season. This is when the hotels are anxious to fill their rooms. You should get a much better price.
In order to make sure you avoid hotel stays that are distasteful, follow the advice that has been provided to you here. When you learn up front what to look out for, you’ll be far more likely to stay in a nice hotel with no troubles. Your stay at a hotel should be relaxing and positive.
If you’re on the road and need a hotel to stay in, ask others for hotel advice or check into a tourist center to look for brochures. This way you can just call ahead to book a room instead of driving around looking for a good bargain.