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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 19, 2022 17:49:09 GMT -5
Not sure if this will help but thought it might be a good idea to let us share our work knowledge to help others. This idea came about because of my profession, hospitality, ie working in hotels.
I came into work at 3 PM and we were sold out. So, as I usually do, I started looking for hotels that had vacancies for when guests called or walked in. Being our busy season and being life is getting back to normal I could not find anything within an hour or so of us. What I did find was on Priceline no name motels going for $200 in Orlando and hotels in Tampa going for $300 and up. As time has gone on, I am seeing hotels for over $500 a night. A Motel 6 in Tampa was showing $355.
So, my tip is this. If you like to be spontaneous and just drive to take a trip and stop somewhere to get a room, do your homework first. Go to an online travel agent site like Priceline or Expedia and put in some cities or towns where you think you might stop. It will give you an idea of what is in the area plus prices. That might help give you an idea if things will be busy and help avoid possible sticker shock. Nothing worse than deciding to stop at 10 or 11 at night, if not later, tired and ready for bed to find out you may have to drive an hour, 2 hours or even more to just find a room in the inn.
If you have any tips that could be helpful to others go ahead and post. Questions as well. Let's put our knowledge to work to help each other. <thumbs up>
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Post by Vegas on Feb 19, 2022 18:03:43 GMT -5
Not sure if this will help but thought it might be a good idea to let us share our work knowledge to help others. This idea came about because of my profession, hospitality, ie working in hotels. I came into work at 3 PM and we were sold out. So, as I usually do, I started looking for hotels that had vacancies for when guests called or walked in. Being our busy season and being life is getting back to normal I could not find anything within an hour or so of us. What I did find was on Priceline no name motels going for $200 in Orlando and hotels in Tampa going for $300 and up. As time has gone on, I am seeing hotels for over $500 a night. A Motel 6 in Tampa was showing $355. So, my tip is this. If you like to be spontaneous and just drive to take a trip and stop somewhere to get a room, do your homework first. Go to an online travel agent site like Priceline or Expedia and put in some cities or towns where you think you might stop. It will give you an idea of what is in the area plus prices. That might help give you an idea if things will be busy and help avoid possible sticker shock. Nothing worse than deciding to stop at 10 or 11 at night, if not later, tired and ready for bed to find out you may have to drive an hour, 2 hours or even more to just find a room in the inn. If you have any tips that could be helpful to others go ahead and post. Questions as well. Let's put our knowledge to work to help each other. <thumbs up> This reminds me I still need to book my hotel in Dallas for Wednesday night in Mania Weekend. I was originally flying into Dallas very early Thursday morning so of course I did not book a hotel for Wednesday night. But then the airline contacted me and said their flight schedule changed and I would either have to fly in on Thursday afternoon or Wednesday night so I picked Wednesday night so I don't miss two shows I want to see on Thursday. I was already thinking I need to book a room at my hotel for Wednesday too in advance since it is Mania Weekend, but now I will make sure I add Wednesday night to my Dallas hotel reservation no later than the end of this 3 day weekend. |
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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 19, 2022 18:24:29 GMT -5
The thing is look at cancelation policy. If you have for instance a 24 hr cxl policy it is best to book and if you do not need cancel. Long as you cancel before the cut off time/date.
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Post by Vegas on Feb 19, 2022 18:27:50 GMT -5
The thing is look at cancelation policy. If you have for instance a 24 hr cxl policy it is best to book and if you do not need cancel. Long as you cancel before the cut off time/date. I don't want to cancel my hotel, I just need to add an extra night to my stay in Dallas since my flight got moved up by a day.  |
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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 19, 2022 18:51:08 GMT -5
The thing is look at cancelation policy. If you have for instance a 24 hr cxl policy it is best to book and if you do not need cancel. Long as you cancel before the cut off time/date. I don't want to cancel my hotel, I just need to add an extra night to my stay in Dallas since my flight got moved up by a day. Well, I am just saying if you were not set on your plans. It is best to reserve and cancel then wait and try and add a night or book a res. In most cases at least. |
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Post by Vegas on Feb 21, 2022 16:24:05 GMT -5
I don't want to cancel my hotel, I just need to add an extra night to my stay in Dallas since my flight got moved up by a day. Well, I am just saying if you were not set on your plans. It is best to reserve and cancel then wait and try and add a night or book a res. In most cases at least. Today I modified my reservation to add the Wednesday night. It turned out to be easy as I just went to the Email confirmation and with just 3 clicks of the mouse I was able to add to my reservation while still using my Moderna money. But on_the_edge, I still thank you for making this thread because it prompted me (since my flight got moved up by a day) to add to my reservation now instead of waiting and who knows if it would have even been possible to make this change too much later as it gets closer and closer to Mania Weekend. |
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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 21, 2022 16:33:20 GMT -5
Well, I am just saying if you were not set on your plans. It is best to reserve and cancel then wait and try and add a night or book a res. In most cases at least. Today I modified my reservation to add the Wednesday night. It turned out to be easy as I just went to the Email confirmation and with just 3 clicks of the mouse I was able to add to my reservation while still using my Moderna money. But on_the_edge, I still thank you for making this thread because it prompted me (since my flight got moved up by a day) to add to my reservation now instead of waiting and who knows if it would have even been possible to make this change too much later as it gets closer and closer to Mania Weekend. Well, that is the reason I made it. We all have knowledge that can help others. I am glad you were able to get it done easy. Most times when guests call and want to add a day or more, we can do it no problem. But every once in a while, we cannot because one or more of the days they want is now sold out. It is why when people are making standard reservations and they are not sure of the dates, I suggest booking all they want and once they get final plans to call and cancel any days they want as long as done before the cutoff date for such things. Have a blast in TX. I know you will. |
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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 23, 2022 22:20:22 GMT -5
In much the same vein as previously discussed, if you think you might need a certain number of nights but might need less it is best to reserve the full amount and then adjust the reservation as needed. Of course, check with the hotel first for their policy. For instance, I have a few rooms that booked today for just one night. They are parents of a team in town for a tournament. The team won so the parents want to stay tomorrow. We are full and now they are on a waiting list. If they had booked with the hotel or thru one of our reservation avenues for two nights, they would be fine and had they lost they could have checked out tomorrow by regular check out time and not be charged for tomorrow night. Out of 6 rooms, 2 got in and 4 are hoping for someone to check out early or a cancelation for tomorrow. They think some will check out due to their team losing but I do not think we have any other rooms for the tournament than theirs. Mostly people here on work or vacation.
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Post by on_the_edge on Feb 26, 2022 18:09:17 GMT -5
Here is another one, if you reserve a room and give your credit card to guarantee it, which most hotels require, make sure the card is valid and stays that way. Often what happens is between reserving the room and arriving at the hotel the card gets compromised and a new card is issued. The new card might have the same number but will have a new expiration date. If the day is a busy one the hotel will run the card, either for $1 or for one night room and tax, to make sure it is valid. Usually, day of but sometimes the day before. If the card declines, which it would with wrong expiration date, they can and often will cancel the reservation. A good hotel will try and reach out to the guest first to get a valid credit card. If they choose not to or cannot reach the guest, they will cancel the reservation. Thus, when the guest arrives, they have no room and likely the hotel is sold out. FYI if your card is valid and they do not have a room for you when you arrive, they are required to walk you to a hotel of equal or better level and pay for one night. If you reservation is for more than one night, they should have a room for you after that first night or again, pay for you to stay elsewhere.
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