The next big decision in your road
trip planning is what hotel you want to stay in. If you are going on a road
trip with no set destination in mind, it is hard to plan your route and plan where
you will stay each night. If you have a set destination, it is best to plan
your stay before you leave, distinguish how long you want to drive each day and
factor in the daily stops along the way.
Benefits of booking your hotel stays
earlier is better rates, ease of mind at the end of a long day of driving and checking
to see if the hotels are sold out before you get there. If you are to stay in a small town along the
highway you can usually just pull in and get a room, but the big cities can
sometimes be difficult to find a room some nights. There can be big corporate
conferences in town or festivals that take up the rooms. For example, in
Calgary majority of hotels are sold out Monday thru Thursday because of
corporate meetings and conferences happening with the large oil companies. Weekends
you should have no major issues, unless it is the two weeks of Calgary Stampede.
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| St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia (Bay of Fundy) |
If you use websites like Expedia,
Travelocity or Hotels.com, majority of the rates you will pay is non-cancellable or non-refundable, so if you are to book with those sites, you have to be 100% sure
you are staying there. Your best bet is to book through the hotel website itself.
Most hotel rates on their websites are the lowest rates you will find. Always
read the fine print to make sure of the cancellation policy before you book
anything.
I'm Expedia-obsessed; but the last time I booked a hotel through their website, I had a hard time cancelling. I think I'll take your advice and use the actual hotel websites next time.
ReplyDeleteYes, Only way Expedia or any site like that will cancel a reservation is if they can get the hotel to agree to cancel it without charging Expedia, if Expedia gets charged, you get charged. It has to be a REALLY good excuse.
DeleteGood advice Megan.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has worked in the hotel industry for over three years now, I can definitely vouch for going straight through the hotel as opposed to a third party booking website. I can't tell you the number of times - and it happens at least several times a week - I've had complaints from guests who were promised certain amenities from Hotels.com/Travelocity/Priceline/Expedia representatives in some call centre on the other side of the world, only to find out when they get to the hotel that the information they were given was incorrect. I've even helped out a guest whom Expedia had booked into a hotel that closed down several years ago!
If you want the most accurate, up-to-date information about a hotel - definitely go through the hotel itself. And often enough, front desk representatives will offer you discounts off your room if you're super nice to them. ;)
lol yes, I agree Kelly, I worked front desk at a hotel for two years also and learned the hidden tricks to help out when traveling.
DeleteIt's a great advice Megan even though I prefer travelling with my sleeping bag. It's much cheaper and more convenient as can be used everywhere))
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nadiia. I do love to camp also Nadiia.
DeleteVery useful information! I do want to go to Calgary this summer and now I know I should book ahead. I have never used those websites, but I guess it will be good to make sure the hotel is up to good standards before I pay.
ReplyDeleteIf you need any advice as to where to stay or go while in Calgary let me know, I would be happy to help!
DeleteWhen I traveled from Niagara to Vancouver in the smallest car ever with one of my besties, her dog and my 6 month old we didn't book ahead and just lucked out along the way. We had a few places to stay at and those really were the places we most looked forward to. The best though was finding a beautiful place with a lake view in Northern Ontario, meeting the owner and her cockatoo and not wanting to leave we loved it so much. Don't know if I'd do that now with my girls. Probably be more organized. Probably. :) Keep enjoying your travels... totally worth it!
ReplyDelete