Tag Archives: hotel

Getting More Bang for Your Hotel Buck

Is there anything more irritating to a frugal traveler than having to pay hundreds of dollars for a single hotel room that you only have access to for less than 24 hours? In many cases, hotels are cutting corners even more by pushing back check-in time to 4 p.m. and moving up check-out time to 11 a.m. What a rip-off. Fortunately, some hotels are offering budget-conscious guests a reprieve by allowing for later check-out times on Sunday morning.  For example, Westin Hotels & Resorts recently debuted a “Make Monday Better” deal for travelers looking to extend their weekend stay.  The program … Continue reading →

Hotels Helping Guests Avoid Expensive Mistakes

Typically, I don’t sleep the night before an early morning flight. I simply don’t trust myself to wake-up on time. What’s more, the cost of missing my flight would keep me up for months, so I simply remain awake at night and sleep on the plane.  This is true if I’m departing from my home or a hotel, though the latter is debuting some new practices to help heavy sleepers like me avoid the costly mistake of missing a flight or an important business meeting. Properties like The Wolcott Hotel in New York are going the extra mile so guests … Continue reading →

Save on Room Service

When was the last time you ordered room service? If you are adhering to a strict travel budget, then splurging on a formal meal to be delivered to and consumed in the privacy of your hotel room may be out of the question. Or is it? Recently, some hotels have been experimenting with a frugal version of room service much to the delight of budget-conscious guests. PUBLIC Chicago, a boutique property in the Windy City, has been garnering headlines for its affordable room service described as “fast food with little human interaction.” The service is called “PUBLIC Express,” though instead … Continue reading →

Hotels: Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck

Hotel rooms aren’t cheap.  Adding insult to injury is the fact that many properties are now moving back check-in times, so by the time you are forced to check-out you’ve barely been in the place for 18 hours. How do you justify forking over $200 for a room you aren’t given the opportunity to be in for 24 hours?  Or worse, consider having to park yourself in the hotel’s lobby after a long flight simply because you arrived prior to the set check-in time. What a waste of time; precious time that you can’t put a price tag on. To … Continue reading →

Spring Fling Without the Cha-Ching!

April showers bring May flowers… in your hotel room. It’s not often that you hear of hotels giving guests something for nothing, but this spring, the Hyatt Century City in Los Angeles is gifting visitors with the sweet smell of seasonal blossoms—for free. The popular L.A. lodging recently installed a flower cart beside its front desk. Upon check-in, guests are given a small vase and told they can design their own floral arrangement to bring up to their room, at no extra charge.  Blossoms range from tulips, daisies, and irises to chrysanthemums, sunflowers and carnations.  According to Hyatt staff, the … Continue reading →

Calling all Travelers: Prepare for Fewer Phone Books

How many times did you use the phone book during your last hotel stay? Lodging owners say not enough to make it worth keeping them around. Some major hotel chains are giving bulky telephone directories the boot from guest rooms. Earlier this week Omni Hotels announced plans to eliminate phone books from its 45 hotels. “We found that that no one uses them anymore,” a hotel spokesperson said. “They just collect dust and take up drawer space.” What’s more, the hotel points out, they aren’t good for the environment. Omni execs say they plan to recycle more than 30,000 phone … Continue reading →

How Would You Rate Your Last Hotel Stay?

Was your last stay at a hotel a nightmare? Did you have to deal with bed bugs, noisy neighbors or poor service? If you did, you aren’t alone. According to a new survey completed by 53,000 people who stayed at a hotel in the last year, their experiences were nothing to brag about. Guests didn’t hold back when it came to filling out the annual J.D. Power and Associates North America Hotel Satisfaction Survey, which found that overall guest satisfaction, which covers everything from reservations to check in, room quality, fees, food and prices, was down in all segments except … Continue reading →

Summer Travel: Mermaids for Kids and Summer Camp for Parents

Under the sea Under the sea Darling it’s better Down where it’s wetter Take it from me My 4-year-old daughter can belt out the words to Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” songs with the best of them. Which is why I would love nothing more than to take her to see the real Ariel in person. If you have a “Little Mermaid” lover in your family you might consider making the trip to Florida, or now, South Carolina. The mermaid swimmers who perform at Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida are coming to Myrtle Beach. According to reps for the swimmers, this … Continue reading →

Travel Tidbits: What Not to Pack Inside a Suitcase and What to Order at a Hotel

Note to travelers: Don’t try this one on your next trip. With the skyrocketing cost of airfare, plus a slew of new (and outrageous) service fees I’m surprised someone hadn’t tried this months ago. Sure, it really is a dumb idea, but I bet it will make you chuckle. Swedish airport officials were less than amused when they found a dwarf trying to stowaway on an airplane inside of a suitcase. The prank was short-lived as the entire scene was staged by a TV comedy show. Still, that didn’t stop employees at Bromma airport from calling police when the dwarf … Continue reading →

Protecting Yourself from Dirty Hotel Rooms

By now I’m sure you are aware that neatly folded towels and wrinkle-free bedspreads don’t equate to a germ-free hotel room. In previous blogs I have discussed the studies that prove hotel staff typically don’t have the same standards of cleanliness that most of us have for our own homes. I even shared a study, which showed that a virus can live on objects like faucet handles and ice buckets for at least a day (not exactly what you want greeting you when you wheel your suitcase and kids into a $200 per night suite). With summer vacation season in … Continue reading →