Will you spend on hotels?

[audreyh1]

That's interesting. I've never been anywhere where a hotel didn't handle their own reservations but have never been to Europe or Asia. Just US travel. Certainly it makes sense to use a third party when it's the only option.

We used a smaller inn in Hallstatt Austria that told us to use booking.com to book, so we did that. A nice surprise was that breakfast was included, when booking.com indicated otherwise. I’ve also run into cases a couple of times where the hotel only offered pre-paid rooms directly, but you could reserve rooms with cancellation policy on a third party site. In one case I booked a cancellable room through a third party site and when we were very sure of our dates and not far off, I went ahead and did the direct pre-paid room and canceled the other.

But it’s been a long time since I used third party booking. A couple of decades ago I arrived at a very busy large city hotel and they couldn’t find my Expedia reservation! They got on the phone with Expedia and straightened things out, but after that I booked directly unless directed otherwise by the hotel web site.

 

[Cujet]

Hotels matter, they make a trip great or terrible. And when it is so poorly configured that your spouse falls climbing out of the shower, you now have a disaster.

This forum is populated with the intelligent, thinking types. Choose hotels wisely! At the end of the year, you might be surprised at how little you spent on hotels in total. 2026 I'm doing some traveling but 2024-5 I did nearly none after retiring from Aviation.

When I stay in Eastern TN, I stay at the Carnegie Hotel. $160+ and they allow dogs. Really comfy. Same price as the Holiday Inn down the road.

 

[imjustawarrior]

The last hotel I stayed in was in ND for $109/night. It was a high school converted into a castle at the end of the Enchanted Highway. It is a must see if you are ever in the area.
Enchanted Castle

 

[OldConch]

we built a trip around a two night stay at this place on the Vancouver Island coast last spring. It was our first nibble into the ~$500 a night territory and we liked it.
To answer the OP, yes I think we will.
Akua Cabin | Nami Project

We stayed at a lovely AirBnB in Eucluelet and the price was about the same. Well worth it to us. Had a momma dear and her babies come visit every night. Views were amazing.

 

[Fermion]

Just finished our Disney - Miami - Key West trip planning. Sixteen days and hotels averaged $821 a night. We stayed at Disney BoardWalk and resorts along the way, but how else would you enjoy a trip like that? There's no option where you can spend less than $4-500 a night.

I get the Disney prices but anywhere else at $800+ a night there damn well better be a mint on my pillow.

 

[TripleLindy]

I get the Disney prices but anywhere else at $800+ a night there damn well better be a mint on my pillow.

Too funny. I don’t get the Disney prices because I have no desire to go to a theme park with a gazillion other people, especially in hot and humid Florida. But a lodge on a lake at the base of a mountain with hiking trails just outside of our door? Ski-in/out? Yeah, I’ll pay for those experiences.

Different strokes!

 

[brett]

We used a smaller inn in Hallstatt Austria that told us to use booking.com to book, so we did that. A nice surprise was that breakfast was included, when booking.com indicated otherwise. I’ve also run into cases a couple of times where the hotel only offered pre-paid rooms directly, but you could reserve rooms with cancellation policy on a third party site. In one case I booked a cancellable room through a third party site and when we were very sure of our dates and not far off, I went ahead and did the direct pre-paid room and canceled the other.

But it’s been a long time since I used third party booking. A couple of decades ago I arrived at a very busy large city hotel and they couldn’t find my Expedia reservation! They got on the phone with Expedia and straightened things out, but after that I booked directly unless directed otherwise by the hotel web site.

The ability to cancel without penalty, or a cancel window that is closer to our arrive date has been one driver for us to occasionally book 3rd party. No unusual for us to differences between the hotel's web side booking terms and the terms attached to thier 3rd party listing.

When we do, we typically compare expedia, booking, agoda, etc because we sometimes find differences between the three, same for same, between room offerings, room prices, and our key desire for a shorter cancel window.

We often use the hotel chain websites to book. Marriott, Hilton, Acor, etc. They all claim that the lowest rates are their direct rates.

While this may be so as it pertains to 'on line' rates our experience is that from time to time, depending on where, when, and how close to arrival one is booking, a better price or a better room for the same price can be had by calling the target hotel's front desk directly (and not letting them forward you to the chain's 1800 booking center). Just ask for the best available rate.

 

[djsander]

Ours varies. Location is always high on the list. On the overnight stops on our way to or from we will get various chains. We avoid places with outside room entrances. Some places we look for a good bed and breakfast. Some we will get a nicer local hotel. Some the chain hotels. It depends where we are at.

 

[disneysteve]

Ours varies. Location is always high on the list. On the overnight stops on our way to or from we will get various chains. We avoid places with outside room entrances. Some places we look for a good bed and breakfast. Some we will get a nicer local hotel. Some the chain hotels. It depends where we are at.

Same here. My wife hates those. She just doesn't feel safe there. The one exception is a lot of Residence Inn properties are set up that way, especially the older ones.

 

[brett]

I usually let me wife check in at the large chain hotels. She has a knack for smiling, and asking for a room upgrade.

The worst thing they can say is no.

It works best if the person ahead of her in the line is one of those entitled folks who by nature is rude, condescending or demanding of the front desk folks.

 

[TripleLindy]

Same here. My wife hates those. She just doesn't feel safe there. The one exception is a lot of Residence Inn properties are set up that way, especially the older ones.

Same. I can’t remember the last time we had an outdoor entry hotel, and we’ve stayed in a few Residence Inns. The ones we’ve stayed at have either had indoor entrances or you had to go through the lobby and the rooms opened to an interior courtyard. Not like a motel.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Same here. My wife hates those. She just doesn't feel safe there. The one exception is a lot of Residence Inn properties are set up that way, especially the older ones.

My wife's just the opposite.

She wishes all the places we stayed at looked like this:

We even prefer the upper floors, even though it means lugging our luggage up a flight of stairs. Then there's nobody walking around making noise above you when you're trying to sleep.

 

[Aerides]

Just finished our Disney - Miami - Key West trip planning. Sixteen days and hotels averaged $821 a night. We stayed at Disney BoardWalk and resorts along the way, but how else would you enjoy a trip like that? There's no option where you can spend less than $4-500 a night.

Yeah high season for Florida, plus all the tourist locations. Can't do that for 400 a night even on August.

 

[audreyh1]

Ours varies. Location is always high on the list. On the overnight stops on our way to or from we will get various chains. We avoid places with outside room entrances. Some places we look for a good bed and breakfast. Some we will get a nicer local hotel. Some the chain hotels. It depends where we are at.

Yeah, I think when we switched to predominantly Hilton/Marriott properties we also changed to room doors on inside hallways, and even though you have to haul your luggage farther, we prefer those.

 

[flyingaway]

Location, private bathroom, airconditiong, and price, are the main considerations for my choices of hotels. Definitely read reviews. Usually use booking.com, expedia.com, agoda.com, or trip.com. Check Google map first to see which one offers the best prices.

 

[marko]

Location, private bathroom, airconditiong, and price, are the main considerations for my choices of hotels. Definitely read reviews. Usually use booking.com, expedia.com, agoda.com, or trip.com. Check Google map first to see which one offers the best prices.

Yeah. I've never considered checking for a private bathroom, but it would certainly be at the top of my list.

 

[djsander]

We also use google earth street view to see what the surrounding area looks like. One place we thought what looked to be an ok walk to the main area. Street view showed no shoulders, no sidewalks, basically had to walk next to road and alot of it was overgrown. Also, the street view of the B&B showed it in not so great of condition compared to their online photos.

 

[skyking1]

We also use google earth street view to see what the surrounding area looks like. One place we thought what looked to be an ok walk to the main area. Street view showed no shoulders, no sidewalks, basically had to walk next to road and alot of it was overgrown. Also, the street view of the B&B showed it in not so great of condition compared to their online photos.

I use street view for all sorts of things, like towing a trailer and checking the route and parking for it.

 

[djsander]

I use street view for all sorts of things, like towing a trailer and checking the route and parking for it.

Don't tow a trailer, but also use it for looking at different places in the area or the route to see things of interest that we might want to stop at.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah. I've never considered checking for a private bathroom, but it would certainly be at the top of my list.

Shred bathrooms - only in national park lodges or in bed and breakfast accommodations which we almost never use.

 

[audreyh1]

I use street view for all sorts of things, like towing a trailer and checking the route and parking for it.

I’ve often used it to figure out the parking situation, something that is rarely spelled on a VRBO description. Pretty critical piece of info too.

 

[disneysteve]

We also use google earth street view to see what the surrounding area looks like.

The problem with doing that is that the images can be quite old. I’ve used it to look at a property only to get pictures of a dirt lot because they were taken before the place was built.

 

[FD1000]

My go-to site is Booking.com.
Oddly enough, prices are sometimes lower on my phone than on my laptop.
I spend most of my time hunting for great deals. My must-haves are free parking, breakfast, a private shower and toilet, and AC. I strongly prefer smaller hotels and B&Bs with a personal touch, and the rating has to be high, ideally 8.5–9 or above.
Bottom line: I want everything at the lowest possible price.

 

[bluelight]

Location, quality then price withing reason. Brand is barely a thought. We generally end up spending between 250 - 350 per night. I always research beforehand and usually book directly with the hotel.

Both of my travel partners - husband and adult daughter - are spread out all over the place people, so I book a room large enough that there will be some room for me. Bathrooms are very important, especially in Europe. I won't book a room with shower over tub.

Our priciest room so far was the Wynn in Vegas. My husband and I were renting a car to do a 2 week national park road trip and the daily rate the Wynn was cheaper than from the airport or less expensive hotels. The high floor corner room with spa bathroom paid for itself.

 

[FD1000]

In Europe, the highest price we’ve ever paid is around $150. I don’t care about the lobby; I care far more about the breakfast and the essentials. Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t need much space and barely spend time in the room anyway.
The hotel doesn’t have to be in the city center. Taking public transportation for an extra 10-20 minutes in the morning or at night is a non-issue for us. Plus, restaurants in the center tend to be more expensive.
The best deals are almost never in the center, and we’re perfectly fine with that.
In most countries, there are only one or two major cities. Everywhere else, we stay outside the center and walk 10–20 minutes. We actually enjoy it—it’s part of experiencing the town on foot and seeing how locals really live. We walk about 10 miles on average.