Having a disastrous hotel stay is something that almost everyone has experienced. This can be a costly mistake that should not be made more than once. This article will give you some important tips on getting a great room at a great price.
Think about using room service if you want to enjoy late-night dining without needing to leave your hotel room. While it may cost more, it is more convenient to remain in your room while satisfying your hunger.
Make sure you check out online review websites prior to making a reservation for a hotel. These sites will allow you to see previous guests’ experiences at the hotels you are considering. Find out what actual customers say about the hotel and it can help you avoid a costly mistake.
Put your electronics into the room’s safe. You should put any expensive items in the hotel safe.
If you belong to any organizations, find out if they get any discount from certain hotel chains. Hotel discounts are often one of the benefits offered. These discounts can be as much as 10 percent or even more. This is a good discount that only gets better the longer you stay in a hotel. If you are staying for a week, you can pay for a whole night’s lodging with these discounts.
Make sure you check with any organizations of which you are a member. Hotel discounts are often one of the benefits offered. These discounts are often forgotten about, and they can provide significant savings. This is especially useful if you plan to book a longer stay. This can rack up a free night over the entire course of a whole week.
Know the hotel’s check-in time. If you don’t know when you can check in, you may find your room is not ready when you arrive at your hotel. Therefore, if you anticipate arriving early, call the hotel in advance and see if it is possible to check in early.
Use hotel search tools online. These sites allow you to find great deals quickly. Being able to comparison shop helps you find the best value, while getting the amenities that are important to you. They might even offer some decent entertainment venues that you should experience while you’re in the local area.
Be sure and take care of three important things before bringing a pet on your trip to any hotel. Make sure the hotel is actually pet-friendly. Take some bags to clean after your pet. Be kind to other hotel guests by requesting a room that is as far away from other guests as possible, so they won’t be disturbed by any noise your pet may make.
Before you book a hotel, look for deals online. The reservation clerk won’t offer these details to you over the phone. It is your duty to perform due diligence. Look at Jetsetter, Enrovia and Hotels.com.
Book Early
Be aware in advance of the check-in time. If you don’t check, the room may not be ready when you arrive. If you think you will arrive before check in time, call the hotel and ask if you can come.
Always book early for that special couples massage for you and your loved one. Frequently, the best massage people will be booked by name. This means that if you book early, you’ll have a better experience.
For the best hotel rates, plan your trip weeks or months ahead of time. There are quite a few hotels that will reward booking your room a few months in advance with nice discounts. Even high end hotels can offer you a substantial savings this way.
If you travel often, it’s a great idea to enroll in a hotel’s loyalty program. These programs provide benefits to guests who book the same hotel regularly. It is possible to earn perks such as free stays, extended check out times and other upgrades.
If you like running and frequently stay in hotel rooms, be sure and pack up a GPS watch, along with your favorite running clothes. Jogging around the city before you start your day will add enjoyment to your vacation. You’ll get plenty of good exercise and a better understanding of the city around you.
How much you’re going to pay for your hotel room will depend on when your room is booked. The prices are based partly on availability. Try to always book your hotel room only a day in advance. A late booking when the hotel is slow often results in a bargain. A room that’s empty loses money for the hotel; so, they usually cut the price.
If you travel frequently, it is wise to enroll in hotel loyalty programs. These programs provide perks to those who stay at a particular chain regularly. You might receive an upgrade at no cost or be allowed to check out later than others with your points.
If you don’t want to get a big expense on the hotel bill you get, speak to the place about hotel transfers prior to booking things. If the room is the bargain, then an expensive transfer can ruin the whole savings. You will save more by asking about such a thing in advance.
If you must make a hotel transfer, find out about the fees. If the rooms are cheap, the transfer could ruin the deal. Ask the hotel representative ahead of time to make sure you get the most savings.
Maximize your hotel stays with membership programs like the ones that Marriott or Choice Hotels offer. This way, when you stay at a hotel, you can get points and then turn those points into free stuff that you can do with your family.
Get a membership to AAA to make booking hotel arrangements a breeze when you travel. AAA members get good hotel discounts and can also find good car rental rates much more easily. You might even get a free car seat if you have kids.
Distance Calls
Don’t call long distance in your hotel room. Make use of the Internet, instead. Skype connections are available in many hotels these days using Wi-Fi. But the Internet is infinitely useful while traveling so it is usually worth it.
Do not make long distance calls from your hotel room. If you don’t have a cell phone or the Internet, buy a calling card to keep with you during your trip. You’ll often find hotels have free Wi-Fi, which allows for Skype calling long distance numbers for free. You can stay connected with people back home by using this instead of making expensive long distance calls from your hotel phone.
Make sure to ask up front if the hotel allows smoking or does not. 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 non-smoking rooms because that is all that is available, and then they smoke in them anyway. If you don’t want to smell like cigarettes, consider staying at a hotel that’s non-smoking.
Find out if the hotel you’re staying at has a functioning pool for the kids. It will be a huge disappointment if you arrive at the hotel with the kids ready to swim and they are not able to do so.
Do you smoke? If so, it is important that you are aware of a hotel’s smoking policy in advance. Many have designated nonsmoking rooms. If this applies to the hotel of your choice, request that type of room specifically. There are hotels that will charge you quite a bit if they find out that you were lighting up in the room that wasn’t for smoking. This is why you should stick to the rules.
When you feel the need to check the room in your hotel for signs of bed bugs, begin in the bathroom. You probably won’t find any bedbugs in the bathroom. That makes it the perfect place to store your luggage while you inspect the rest of the premises for bedbugs. Put kids and pets in there, too.
You should be aware whether or not the hotel allows pets. If you have pet allergies or the noise from pets bothers you, you might want to avoid these hotels. If the hotel does not have good cleaning practices, you may be bothered by pet odors. 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.
Check to see if the hotel allows pets. If you fear pets or have allergies it may be best to make reservations at hotels that have a strict no pets policy. Also, pet friendly hotels may have lingering odors that have been absorbed by carpeting or linens. Depending on the hotel, you may be expected to pay extra for keeping a pet, but it isn’t usually a large sum. If the hotel you are staying at does not incorporate much of an extra fee, the cleaning service might not be up to par.
You should be aware that early hotel check ins are not always possible. Be sure to plan your arrival with that in mind, or you may be sitting in the lobby area for some time. Hotels usually need to get the room cleaned and ready before you check in. If you do arrive before the normal check-in, you can ask if it’s possible to do so early, but this should not be expected.
Early Departure
If you are going to need a rollaway bed or crib, specify this when booking your room. These items are not available at all hotels. When they are available, they are often in limited supply. Some hotels will include an additional fee if you want to rent these items during your stay. Therefore, when booking a hotel room, make sure you ask about these things so that you are prepared.
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. The hotel might charge you an early departure fee. 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. Therefore, some will charge the early departure fee.
Don’t check out early, if possible. If you do, you may be charged a fee for early departure. Booked hotel rooms are taken off the market, so if you leave early, the hotel loses money. As a result, hotels will attempt to regain some of this lost revenue by charging you a fee for leaving early.
Staying at a bad hotel can be a real nightmare. If you have a lousy experience, the cheap price will not matter. The trip will be a bust in any event. So finding the right hotel at a price within your budget is a vital part of having a great trip. You can also save a lot of money by finding the right discounts.
Beware of an establishment that attempts to “walk you.” This happens when the room you requested is unavailable because of overbooking on the part of the hotel. In these situations, the hotel may try to book you at another hotel, or “walk” you. Try not to let this happen to you, but if it is unavoidable, be sure that that you are getting a room that is at least as good as the one that you paid for.
