Booking a hotel how to

If you don’t care about leaving a paper trail then you can use hotels.com where they list a whole bunch of rooms by area and price – but you do need a credit card (a prepaid card may be good enough).

You’ll probably get a better deal by looking and booking online rather than showing up at the lobby.

You also need a valid ID

Thanks for info papi!

I like hotwire. Online sites like that are cheaper than booking direct through the hotel. The only word of caution is you often get no choice on two queens vs one king sized bed, what the view is like, etc. When you pay full price you can ask to see the room before you book.

Sometimes you can get amazing last minute deals online. I once booked a room for $20 from my phone while parked outside that hotel at 10 PM. But you run the risk of not getting a room at all.

If a credit card is required (and most hotels do require one anymore) they don't accept prepaids. Most need regular credit card to cover any possible damages

IDK if they can tell it’s a prepaid card when booking online?

On my last SC trip; I paid for the rooms w/ a prepaid card and did not have any issues - but some hotels; perhaps the more pricey ones; may not accept prepaid cards.

I'll use my debit card

The thing with online sites like Priceline, Hotwire, and others is that you have to pay up front. If you need to cancel, well, you're stuck with the cost (unless there's some major extenuating circumstances, then they might work with you). If you can reserve a room directly with the hotel, either by phone or online, you should be able to cancel by their deadline (usually either 4 or 6pm) and not incur any penalty fees.

Also, if you want to do some online scouting of hotels, I'd suggest checking out TripAdvisor to get ideas on hotels and how good they might be.

What I often do is look for a room on hotels.com and then go to the particular hotel’s website and book there.

Solid info everyone thanks, especially you papi

Many hotels require the person to be 21.
Some even require you to be at least 25.FYI.

Most places have a check-in and a check-out time.

Check-in times means they may not have a room ready b/f that time – typical check-in times are around noon and some as late as 3:00 pm – but most places try to accommodate you whenever you get there.

Check-out times are usually b/w 11:00 a.m. and noon and is important to know since one may be charged extra if one does not check out by check-out time.

Many places have complimentary breakfast which is usually not very good but some places have decent free breakfast (breakfast may be till 10:00 a.m. or so).

25? That sucks cause im 23 but I should still be good, I'll be sure to search deeper into it

When I use hotels.com; on the left hand side of the page one can set the price filter to a max price; otherwise you get a whole bunch of rooms many of which are beyond the price you want to pay so it’s harder to find a room in the whole list.

I usually set the price range to the max I’m willing to pay (usually $70 or $75) even if I wanna pay less – this is b/c sometimes you can find a much better room for $70 for example than you would for $65 – so if I set the max at $65 I would have missed out on a much better room for just 5 bucks more.

After I set the max price; I then sort by “guest rating” so I can get a room w/ good reviews at a good price.

If you're willing to use priceline (for you more advanced online purchasers), check out
http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/
It's a clearing house for people's bidding histories, successes on priceline with bidding strategies and insight on which hotel you're likely to get in a specific zone in a specific location. Helps me avoid violating Rule No.1 of Negotiations (never negotiate with yourself).

Count me in the Hotwire camp. Good deals, low prices.

Every time I've been early to my hotel I've gotten a room within 30 minutes, often sooner. The check in time is more of a guarantee, but if you run early it never hurts to ask if your room is ready.

I'm a Platinum member for IHG (holiday Inn) and Marriott. Both have a 3:00 pm checkin. When I'm meeting a chick earlier I've made the reservation on- line and will call about noontime and ask for early checkin at 1:00 or 1:30. Only once in 10 years have I had to wait, so I cancelled and walked into a Hilton and got a room at 1:00.
I've also gotten rooms at all hours - morning, noon, and night at Super8's and Motel 6's. Only problem there is flipping the mattress to check for bedbugs.

I usually stay out at a Hampton Inn & Suites when I go out of town and the breakfast they've had is simply amazing. It's literally a full breakfast. Waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits, muffins, hot oatmeal, fruits, cereals, all the drinks and juices you can imagine. It has dramatically progressed past the old time continental breakfast you used to get and you might as well deduct $10 or so from the room rate you'd spend eating a decent breakfast after checking out. Plus, they all have some sort of gym for me to use at night.

Aravas, what area of the country are you looking at and what are you looking to spend?

Phantom- east

Aravas, sorry, but I know nothing of the East Coast. Like I mentioned earlier, TripAdvisor can be your friend.

If you're on a tight budget, check out the Drury Hotel chains. They have free happy hour snacks (can suffice as dinner) and a free breakfast. Plus free telephone, wifi, soft drinks and popcorn.

https://wwws.druryhotels.com/content/abo…

For some reason, doesn't show up on hotels.com, etc. You'll find them from MI to TX and from AZ to NC. Sadly, nowhere in the Northeast or Northwest.

The hotel I use charges $40 for 4 hours. I pay cash.

Rock, is it extra for clean sheets and towels?

I've been denied the use of a debit card. Had to put it on a credit card. Was some years ago. Likely in the earlier days of debit cards. Now I just use the CC and pay it when I get the bill.