Have you ever booked a horrible hotel room? You know, then, that the bad room can quickly ruin your trip. You don’t have the budget for luxurious accommodations, though. Keep reading for excellent advice on booking a great and affordable hotel.
If you take a lot of electronic gadgets with you on a trip, lock them up in the safe when away from the room. Place your iPad, GPS and other small electronics in the safe when you are not in your room.
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 place your small, expensive items such as your iPad in the safe, so you can enjoy your day knowing they are safe and secure.
If you belong to any organizations, find out if they get any discount from certain hotel chains. Some may offer discounts on hotels. Some of these discounts can be pretty substantial, but many people don’t take advantage of them. If you are planning to stay a few nights, this can really add up. It may equate to one whole free night.
Take a look into organizations you are part of. You may be able to receive discounts on hotel through these organizations. It is easy to forget about the discounts. These discounts can save you quite a bit of cash, particularly if your stay involves several nights. Over the course of a week it’s nearly a free night!
When thinking about the type of hotel you would like to stay at, there are plenty of options to consider. You should look at the price, but you should also look at the location that is most convenient for what you want to do. Other amenities, such as a swimming pool, an onsite restaurant and free continental breakfast are important to travelers. Choose a hotel that meets all of your needs.
Figuring out which hotel you want to book isn’t an easy process. Price is always important, of course, but you might also want to find a hotel near a certain attraction or business. Amenities that help you choose a hotel are free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, exercise room, pool, and a restaurant on the premises. Seek to locate a hotel that provides lots of attractive amenities.
Prior to making a hotel reservation, check for deals online. The reservation clerk won’t offer these details to you over the phone. So, it’s up personally to you to go searching for such discounts. Use popular websites such as Jetsetter, SniqueAway, or RueLalaTravel.
Inspect your room before unpacking your bags. Is it clean? Do the plumbing fixtures function 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.
There are three things to do ahead of time if you want to bring your pet to a hotel with you. Take time to ensure that the hotel you’re booking is, in fact, pet-friendly. Gather plastic grocery bags so you are able to clean up any pet messes. If you can arrange a corner room, there will be less likelihood of your pet disturbing other guests.
Ask when you’re able to check into the room. If you show up too early, you may find yourself sitting around the lobby, waiting for your room to be ready. Call and ask if you think you’ll be early.
If you want a couples massage, book early. The best massage therapists are usually booked up for months ahead of time, and you don’t want to miss out.
Plan your trip as far in advance as you can to ensure best rates. Some hotels have great discounts when you book a couple of months in advance. You may even be able to cut the price down by half!
See if you can get a hotel discount through AAA if you are a member. You might be surprised to learn that your membership to the auto club also includes discounts on hotels. Membership in AARP, a union, an auto club or even being a police officer can get you a discount. This can add up on a long trip.
If you’d like to bring Fido on your next trip, you must make some advance plans. Make sure the hotel is actually pet-friendly. Pack a supply of plastic grocery bags with you – you will need to clean up any pet waste. Ask for a corner room since this can reduce the number of guests disturbed by a noisy pet.
Take your GPS watch with you on vacation and some running clothes. Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you should skip on your daily running regimen. Get up early and dress for a jog in the early morning. Even if you are running down roads or down city streets, you’ll get a new perspective on the city you’re visiting before you’re done.
To ensure that you and your special someone get the right couples massage during your stay, book your appointment as early ahead of time as you can. Resorts that have masseurs often have very fully booked massage schedules, so it is important to plan ahead.
Timing matters when booking a hotel room. Hotels price rooms in part based on availability. Try booking your hotel room within 24 hours of your stay. This will usually ensure that you receive the best available price. A room that’s empty won’t help the hotel, so generally they will get the price lowered.
Join a frequent customer program if you stay at the same hotel chain a lot. They work a lot like frequent flier miles do with airlines. You earn points in a similar way. Use them for discounts, entertainment tickets and other things.
Sign up for AAA to ensure easier hotel arrangements when traveling. AAA members are given many discounts and booking privileges on hotel rooms and rental vehicles. Those who have small children will be pleased to find car seats available for free.
People who care about the environment may be more comfortable staying in a hotel that is eco-friendly. Luckily, you can choose from quite a few green hotels these days. Many newer hotels are environmentally friendly. Some older hotels simply choose a variety of eco-friendly practices to be environmentally aware. Request the help of the travel agent in identifying hotels that are environmentally friendly.
Try not to 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. A lot of hotels offer wi-fi, making it possible for you to use Skype. Take advantage of these options to keep in touch with family, friends and coworkers rather than incurring high costs by using the hotel’s phone system.
Become a AAA member if you want to make arranging hotel accommodations a bit simpler. Not only will AAA members receive discounts for a lot of hotel chains that make it worth getting into, you may also find rental cars more easily than those without the membership. If you have young kids, find out if they have a free car seat service.
When you look for bed bugs, start in the bathroom. Bedbugs are least likely to live here. 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.
Avoid making long distance calls from the hotel room phone. Make use of the Internet, instead. Skype connections that are accessed through Wi-Fi are offered by many hotels. This can be a much cheaper option than calling from a hotel room and getting hit with lots of fees.
Inquire if the hotel is a non-smoking hotel. If you are a non-smoker, you might want to stay away from hotels that offer smoking rooms. Nonetheless, if there are smokers in the hotel, you may have problems with odors. Sometimes, smokers rent non-smoking rooms because that is all that is available, and then they smoke in them anyway. To avoid cigarette odors entirely, opt for a non-smoking hotel.
Is your room non-smoking or not? If you are a non-smoker, you may not want to stay in a smoking room. However, even with non-smoking rooms, there’s no telling if the guy next door is smoking. Smokers often don’t care that their room is non-smoking, too. If you don’t want to stink like a cigarette when you are leaving a non smoking hotel may be a good choice.
What is the policy on pets? If you’re terrified pets or are allergic to them, it may be best to make reservations at hotels that have a strict no pets policy. Not to mention, you’ll definitely notice unwanted smells in the floor or in the linens if you don’t own a pet yourself. Some hotels have an extra fee for pets, and the charge is not much in some places. Depending on what the hotel is like, you might have to pay an extra cleaning fee.
For the sake of hygiene, avoid the bedspread provided by the hotel. The bedspread isn’t washed often, while the sheets are. This can make it full of bacteria, germs, and other unknown elements. Remove it from the bed before you use it.
If you are going to use a crib or even a rollaway bed, make sure you mention this at the time your reservation is made. Such items usually have a limited amount of such extras. Additionally, there may be an extra fee for these items. Make your needs known at the time you place your reservation so that you do not have any unpleasant surprises.
Understand your rights when it comes to hotels “walking” you. This refers to hotels overbooking their hotel rooms; therefore, the hotel room that you booked may not be available when you check in. In such cases, the hotel “walks” you, or sends you to another hotel. Getting there early can usually prevent this, but if you do get “walked,” make sure your accommodations are not being downgraded in any way.
Do not check out prior to your agreed upon departure date if you can avoid it. The hotel may charge a fee for early departure. Booked hotel rooms are taken off the market, so if you leave early, the hotel loses money. So, in leaving early you risk being charged a fee for early departure.
Having read this article completely, you now know how to find the perfect hotel without overpaying. It is easy to find deals once you are aware of where to look. Keep these useful tips in the back of your mind until you’ve committed them to memory.
Don’t use the hotel bedspread if you can avoid it. The blankets and sheets under the bedspread are typically washed between guests, however the top cover is not. It can carry a lot of germs. So take it off the bed, fold it up and stash it in a corner of the room.
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