If you are looking for a cheap hotel down the road or across the country, here are some thoughts and tips to keep in mind to help you reach your goal. With the low numbers of people who can actually afford to travel in this current recessionary climate we are all living in, it is quite a competitive environment throughout the travel industry, and the rewards are there for all of us to reap, if we choose wisely.
Low Price Doesn’t Always Have to Mean Low Quality
With all of the affordable hotels and motels competing for your business at the moment, you don’t have to settle for some flea bag joint with cockroaches climbing the walls and sharing your bed at night. There are plenty of nicer places out there fighting for your business right now so you can really be choosy, as it is a traveler’s market by far. The phrase expect more, pay less has never been truer than it is now. You can expect to get free breakfast, free cocktail hour with happy hour food buffet, free airport shuttle and often, much, much more for a screaming deal in today’s hotel market. And if you don’t like the price, you can now ask for a lower price and if they don’t bite, go to a hotel that already offers the lower price or will honor your request. And don’t be afraid to ask for more. Ask if they offer any free dinner coupons or the same for free or severely discounted concerts, plays, sightseeing trips or outdoor activities in the area.
Hotels need to be going above and beyond to attract your business right now, and if they aren’t, they don’t deserve to be in business and shouldn’t survive this down economy. Support the hotels that care about your needs and appreciate your business when there isn’t much out there on the roads right now. Make them work for it and you can enjoy your dollars and cents going a lot farther than they have at hotels around America for the past several decades. And don’t ever accept any extra fee or up charge scams. If you show up and the price is anything other than advertised, walk out and spread the word to others on the web and in person not to patronize such shady establishments.
