You should feel like a guest when you stay at a hotel. You want a hotel that treats you well. You do not want to spend all your precious travel dollars on just the room. You will soon know how to pick a great hotel.
Do some research on travel websites before you book any hotel. These reviews can give you a customer’s perspective of the hotel you are planning on staying at. You can make a wise choice when you know what others think about a hotel.
Keep your electronics secure by using the hotel safe located in your hotel room. 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 with the organizations that you are a member with. Many of them offer hotel discounts to members. The discounts could be 10% or even higher! This can help you to save some cash, especially if you’re going to be staying for a few nights. It may equate to one whole free night.
When get to your hotel, inspect the room before unpacking. Make sure the room is entirely clean and free from any mildew or mold. Does your shower, sink, and toilet work in the right way? Do you have all the towels and linens you 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.
Part of trip planning is knowing what time check-in is at your 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. If you will be arriving before check-in, call the hotel in advance and see if you can check-in early.
You should always start planning any serious trip months or weeks ahead of time. This will help you book early and get the best prices. Many hotels offer the best discounts if you book a few months in advance. You may even be able to cut the price down by half!
Although many hotels have certain rooms that allow pets, never assume your hotel will without researching ahead of time. Call the hotel to verify, even if it says so on the website. Be sure you know what pet-friendly means because there could be specific restrictions on sizes or certain breeds of dogs.
If you’re thinking of taking your pet to a hotel with you, there are some things you need to do first. Make sure it’s a pet-friendly hotel. Also, bring a lot of plastic sacks like ones from the grocery store so you can get your pet’s messes cleaned up. And, ask if your room can away from guests.
If you’re going to be wanting a massage at your hotel, book it well in advance. In order to get the best masseurs at these top hotels, you must plan early to ensure that you get a good experience.
If you belong to AAA, see what kinds of discounts the hotel offers. It may surprise you that AAA gives hotel discounts, but most of them do. You can save upwards of 5% on your hotel stays. It really is a savings that adds up over time.
If you travel a lot, you should consider joining hotel loyalty programs. These programs provide perks to those who stay at a particular chain regularly. You can score things like complimentary upgrades, later check-out options and even free nights once you accumulate enough loyalty program points.
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. They add up to free nights, discounts at hotel restaurants, show tickets, spa deals and a whole lot more.
If you are an environmentally conscious traveler, you should look into “green” hotels. Luckily, there are a lot of green hotels out there in this day and age. Many newer hotels are environmentally friendly. Older hotels may choose to take “green” standards seriously, which is a great thing. Talk to your travel agent about what you want to do and let them seek out a few appropriate hotels.
To make sure you don’t have an unexpected expense, ask about how much hotel transfers will cost. If you are getting a very low price on the room, it is especially important that you ask about any hidden fees that might be tacked onto your bill. Ask the hotel representative ahead of time to make sure you get the most savings.
Review the pet policy at the hotel. If you’re fearful of pets or have an allergic reaction to them, it would be in your best interest to make reservations at hotels that have a strict no pets policy. The smells tend to stick around. Extra fees are sometimes imposed by hotels for guests who bring pets, but sometimes the fee is not too high. It might not be adequate to the cost of cleaning demands.
Checking in early may not be available. Be sure to plan your arrival with that in mind, or you may be sitting in the lobby area for some time. The rooms can’t be readied and cleaned until the prior guests are gone, so this means that check-in time is usually around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. If you arrive earlier than your check-in time, you can always ask the front desk and see if they can let you in.
Establish what you needs are and what would be nice to have in a hotel and start looking. You will end up in a great hotel, now that you have read this piece. There are some great hotels out there, and you just need to find them.