Don't Let A Bad Hotel Ruin Your Vacation, Use These Tips To Find The Best
Don't Let A Bad Hotel Ruin Your Vacation, Use These Tips To Find The Best
When you are going on a family vacation, making a hotel reservation is an important part of the planning process. However, it is all too easy to end up choosing a shabby hotel that overcharges you. Use the following tips to make sure that you choose a great hotel at a good rate.
To accommodate a small family without having to pay for more than one hotel room, look for a location that offers suites. Often the rates are competitive with single-room rates at other hotels, but the addition of a living area (and a fold-out bed) means that more of you can sleep comfortably.
To save money on a minibar or vending machine at a hotel, pack a cooler before you start out on your trip, and throw in some six-packs of soda or beer and a bottle of wine. When you get to the hotel, if you have a small fridge, you are all ready. If there isn't a fridge, use the ice machine and your cooler to keep things chilled.
To make sure that you don't have an allergic reaction to the soaps and shampoos that you find in hotel rooms, bring your own, particularly if you have sensitive skin. While it's nice to find the freebies, the rash that sometimes results is quite unpleasant. Take along your own things to keep things clean.
If you've left amenities at home, ask the front desk. Often you won't need to go out to buy things like toothpaste and toothbrushes. The front desk typically has the staples available to customers at no cost whatsoever. Sure it's only a few dollars saved, but every dollar counts.
To keep your physical fitness going when you are on the road, when you check into a hotel, check out the fitness center. Even in gyms where you only see a treadmill or two and a set of dumbbells, you can still get in a bodyweight workout and a cardio routine. It may not be ideal, but it gets you through until you are back on your home turf.
Use Twitter to your advantage. Prior to booking your hotel, tweet the property and see if there are any discounts available. Social media is becoming more popular than ever, and hotels use this medium to get the word out about the specials they have out there. If you aren't very familiar with tweeting, you can simply use the search function on Twitter.
Your children will be happy when you call the hotel to make sure their pool is open and working. There is nothing worse than having to tell your excited kids they cannot swim.
Follow a hotel chain you are thinking about reserving with on social media. Deals and promotions are often promoted first or sometimes only on Facebook and Twitter. Introduce yourself to hotel employees through social media to see if you can get any tips from them on booking a great deal.
Nothing can ruin a family vacation more quickly than a stay in a dirty, grimy hotel. You want your family to remember the good times about the trip, not the disgusting hotel room that you had to stay in. Remember the advice you have read here to make the right hotel reservation.