Tips For Hotel and Motel Booking Success

The following is some of what we have learned thus far about booking a room for the night at a hotel. While it might seem rather straight forward, getting the highest success rate for a satisfactory night stay, takes some effort on your part to ensure the hotel staff get it right.

When you find a hotel you want to stay at as a walk-in client vs booking a room via the Internet you can get their best rate by simply asking for it. When they quote you a rate for a room, simply ask if that is the best they can do. They will usually ask you if you are on business, have a hotel rate card, a points card etc, and even if you don’t have one, ask if they can extend one of those special rates to you anyways. If you are or even were a member of the military – you too can be eligible for special rates. If they won’t budge on the price walk away and tell them you are staying down the road at their competitor’s hotel. This last strategy works best at smaller hotels and inns where the owners are present – and especially so during an off-peak period. The walkaway will almost always get them to drop the price!

Some hotel chains offer their best rates via the Internet. What we do is pull up in front of the hotel we want to stay at and using the Internet check the rate available there before entering the hotel. With that rate in mind ask what the walk-in rate is and of course take the best one. Ask the front-desk staff to extend to you the Internet rate if it is lower than their walk-in rate.

When asking for your room some great things to keep in mind are the location of the room in regards to what is around it. If you are sleep sensitive or just want a perfect restful night’s sleep, always book a room on the top floor in a corner unit. If there is a busy road or highway near the hotel always ask for a room on the opposite side. If the hotel has exercise rooms, spas and similar amenities these can also bring with them lots of noise so ask about these up front and ensure your room is far from them. Also never get a room near the elevator whenever possible as this is a high traffic area replete with all the noise that comes with it.

Even if you have asked for all these things and gotten it, don’t be afraid to ask for a change of room if it still doesn’t meet your total satisfaction. Inspect the room for cleanliness, does the heat or air conditioner work properly, is the water running as it should, are the towels and sheets clean and are floors tidy? Hotels are in the service industry and making you happy should be their overriding operational goal.

We have also learned that avoiding hotels with pubs, bars, lounges etc is also a good way to avoid undue noise and problems. This is especially so if the hotel is near full as some of the loud bar patrons may be staying the rooms near yours.

If you find that the problems with your room are so terrible you can’t stay there – don’t. Immediately ask for a new room or your money back in full. Do it quickly and don’t hesitate. One way to guarantee a full refund is to always pay with your credit card. Paying for your room with your credit card can not only earn you points or money back with your credit card company, it can help you get your money back if the hotel refuses to reimburse you for any stay. You can simply do a charge back on your credit card by calling your credit card company. They will ask you for complete details before awarding you your money, so always keep detailed records of any problems and be sure to call them as soon as possible.