Ways to Make Your Vacation a Little Cheaper and 5 Ways To Choose The Best Hotel.
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You are planning a holiday abroad for your family, and want everyone to have a good time. You surf the internet for hotel descriptions, but from the pictures that you see and what you read, all hotels project a perfect image of themselves. How can you tell which ones are better? You have never been there and know no one at your destination. At the same time, you don’t want a hotel room that will bust your budget. How do you choose?
Recently I have been trying to plan my second trip to Japan and i am finding it incredibly hard. We had even considered just going to Europe to save a little bit of money, you know, by not traveling all around the globe. Usually I plan everything and do everything myself, but this year I wanted to do something “all inclusive” so I could actually enjoy and relax on my vacation instead of stressing out over whether everything was going as planned. You know, so I could have fun on my vacation?
Check Independent Hotel Ratings.
Well, the first step you can take is to visit hotel search engines for guest ratings for hotels represented by the search engines. In addition to pre-negotiated rates with individual hotels, most agents ask for ratings and comments from previous guests. Reading their comments will give you a fair idea on what to expect from the hotels located in your destination. Be sure to read a few comments in order to get a fair overview. Certain incidences described may only be rare occurrences that may already have been corrected.
So, anyway, I decided to go to a travel agent. My husband and I were thinking about a trip to Europe, with a few places we might want to travel in mind but no where set in stone (see, we wanted to see what the deals were), maybe a cruise or something tour bus-y. So, having never gone to a travel agent before, I set aside my pride and walked into the office. I told the woman what I have told you here, and she laughed in my face. Well, I also told her how much I wanted to spend. I think that is what made her laugh. It was only a thousand dollars less that what we spent to go to Japan before but she laughed in my face and told me that the cheapest two people could do all inclusive in Europe was $7000.00 before plane fare.
Hotel Chains and Facilities.
Are they part of an international hotel chain? Most international chains have stringent standards that are adhered to as well as a standard theme across all chains. They may have similar facilities (health clubs, spas, business centers, etc) which are important to maintain the hotel’s high standards. Other things you can look out for include concierge, shuttle services to the city, airport transfers as well as good laundry services.
Somehow I don’t believe this. She wouldn’t tell me if they had any specials going on, she told me I had to know where I wanted to go. That was not the point, I said. We were flexible, we wanted to go somewhere that was running a special. Travel Agent 007 told me that that is not how it works. I was left in wonder how all these people got great deals to go abroad and how it doesn’t work for me. I guess the bottom line is don’t get a 007 Agent to tell you where to go on your vacation. Oh, and use the internet. I just was trying the small business support and stuff, and of course as with most human interactions, it backfired in my face.
Location.
Perhaps one of the most critical things when selecting a hotel is its location. Hotels that are near to shopping areas, train stations or the city center charge higher rates as compared to those located elsewhere. Analyze a map of the area before you book to determine the nearest shopping areas or access to trains which will give you much convenience in moving around. Also, check with the hotel if they have any large tour groups coming in at the same time. Hotels charge higher rates during high occupancy periods and do not have the flexibility of late check-outs. These are important aspects which, if overlooked, may affect your tour schedule as well as your impression of the hotel’s level of hospitality.
Don’t mind me if I sound a little jaded, I was just hoping she would have been nicer, since the internet is taking her job away.
Anyway, you don’t care about that, you are reading to find out cheaper ways to travel. Now, mind you these are not all going to be luxury five star hotels, but if you can afford that, why are you reading this?
First off: plane fares. It’s nice to check all of the main sites like travelocity and orbitz, but why not go to a site that will check them all for you at once? It’s much more convenient that way. Check out sites like Air Ninja and Travelzoo that will help you to search multiple airlines at once. Another good thing to check out when deciding when to buy your plane tickets is Farecast, a website that tells you when it’s the best time to get the lowest airfare.
Rates and Discounts.
Hotel rates are a huge factor when it comes to choosing a hotel. However, paying more does not necessarily mean that you will receive an equivalent level of service and standards. One of the ways to maximize on prices would be check if they are part of an alliance with flights or car rental companies, which offer discounts to customers of their allies. Sometimes, credit card companies offer their cardholders exclusive rates to special hotels which can be pretty attractive. Additionally, if it’s possible to use your frequent flyer points to redeem hotel discounts, this could help reduce hotel costs as well.
One last thing to say on airlines, you might want to check out Love My Seat, it helps you decide where you would like to sit on the airplane.
Moving on, lets talk about where you are going to stay. Most of these sites want to book you a hotel as well, and sometimes the combo gets you a discount. If so, great for you. If not, well, lets begin. If you don’t mind staying in a hostel even after you saw that movie about the kids who get brutally murdered in a German hostel, you can do it for cheap. If you don’t mind sharing bathrooms and bunk beds, no continental breakfast (but they do serve tea occasionally), sometimes bringing your own towels (but if you’ve read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy you would know to bring your own towel anyway) and only playing as much as $20 a night for your stay, this is the place for you.
Boutique Hotels.
Finally, apart from chain hotels, boutique hotels may are great alternatives for romantic getaways for couples or families seeking hotels of a more distinctive theme. Many boutique hotels have fewer rooms but offer more value added services such as spas within the bedroom, breakfasts in bed or even in-room massages. In the end, your choice of hotel really depends on what you want out of your holiday… [read more]
Check out Twizi, where you can find hostels all around the world for around $25 a night per person. Twizi is also nice because they have travelers reviews of almost all of the hostels listed which include the anmeities you can find at these as well as the atmosphere and where it’s located.
If you are still terrified at the thought of staying in a hostel because of that Eli guy, then you could stay in a hotel. Check out this site, it searches a database of all of the hotels that have online booking features. I can’t say it will save you a whole lot of money, but it will save you time.
Well, that is all I have for you today, I might come back and so some research on how to get discounted cruises or something if I find a way. If you have anything to add, please help yourself. I always love finding a new way to travel cheap.
P.S. Here are some more sites:
- www.couchsurfing.com - if you don’t mind staying in a stranger’s home in a strange country, this is for you, staying for free!
- www.yapta.com Here is another site that helps you determine when to buy airline tickets.
- www.railpass.com and of course, I forgot the railpass. Very useful. I wish we had a great interconnected rail system in the US but I can see how it would be difficult. I still think it would make for better public transit.
Source: www.unsoughtinput.com
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