There is one rule of thumb many people use to save money when booking hotel rooms - stay at cheap hotels and motels. This may end up being an adequate strategy until the inevitable happens - you get mugged and your trip is destroyed, you don't get your wake up call and miss your flight thus causing you to pay more for a ticket than what you reserved or there is no room when you arrive.
Any of these could happen at even the best of hotels but the fact remains that cheap hotels are cheap for a reason. The location is dicey, the clientele is even MORE dicey, guest safety is an afterthought and service is generally below minimal standards. And this doesn't even begin to account for the lousy rooms you end up with. If you think I am exaggerating, log on to any major hotel booking and review site, find the lowest priced properties and start reading the reviews. You may be surprised at what you DON'T know!
One of the problems with low priced properties is that they tend to have long-term residents staying there and people paying $400-$600 per month for housing are usually not people that care much about anybody else. You will often read reviews that say there were parties going on all night 'and the desk didn't seem to care'. The desk doesn't care because the owner doesn't - they just want the money and are not going to chase out a monthly resident because they happened to have 5 friends over until 2am.
What is the alternative? There are many and it isn't always to just to stay at $200 per night properties, though these WILL tend to have much higher standards and less trouble surrounding the property. You can find perfectly good intermediate properties and though the price will be higher, you will probably get a better location (not near a major highway), a better guest roster and staff that cares. But how to you find these properties?
Again, a search of reviews can tell you much. Looking for properties OTHER than the lowest priced is another way of weeding out the trouble spots. Look for hotels and motels with better ratings and lots of positive feedback. Find out where they are located and then check out the area. If you plan on being out late into the night, you do not want to find the route back to your hotel dark and secluded at 1am. You also want to save money on your booking which is perfectly understandable so you will need to research your area and the competition somewhat to find the best location for you.
All of this may seem like a lot of work, but you will regret not doing it when you can't sleep all night because you are worried about the filthy linens and parties going on near you. A good nights sleep before a day of traveling will often be worth far more than the $25 you saved by booking the cheapest hotel in the area.
David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who offers common sense, money saving advice on how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination 'specials'. If you would like to learn more about saving money on hotel bookings, go to: [http://www.cheaphotelforyou.com] and learn how to save money AND reserve a hotel you will recommend to others! Use promo (coupon) code 'April May Discount' to get 30% off!
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