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Picking What Kind of Hotel

Resorts

Swimming pools, restaurants, and room service – count me in!! This is the perfect type of hotel if you are interested in relaxing and having fun!

Vacation Rentals

How does a full kitchen, living room, multiple bedrooms, and privacy sound? Sounds good to me! Renting a vacation rental could be the perfect choice for your trip!

Extended Stay Hotels

Try to find a home-away-from-home when searching for your hotel. If you are staying several days, maybe opt for a suite or extended stay hotel. Generally these hotels will have separate living spaces then your bedroom and even en-suite kitchens. Sometimes when you are away from home for an extended period of time (even a week counts) you want your home-away-from-home to feel like, well, HOME! 

Amenities to Look For

Free Breakfast

When searching for your next place to lay your head – look for hotels that offer complimentary breakfast. Even though the complimentary breakfast may not be stellar; at least its one less thing you have to pay for. Breakfast can get expensive – imagine paying for a family of four to eat at a restaurant – ($10 a person x 4 + tip) = $50-$60 for breakfast (usually the cheapest meal of the day).

Hotel Pool

If your hotel has a pool and you opt to use it, visit it before changing into your bathing suit to ensure it is open, looks clean, has towels, and is not too busy. Its never a fun day when you get changed, waddle down to the pool to find no towels and a crowded pool.

Laundry

If you plan to stay for several days, it may be beneficial to find a hotel that has a laundry room inside the hotel (so you can do laundry, duh).

Parking

Look for hotels that provide complimentary parking as parking can be very expensive. Sometimes hotels have one flat fee for your entire stay while others charge per day. $20 a day can add up very quickly, so this is a tip you definitely should follow!

Location, Location, Location

The Closer, the Better

Choose a hotel close to all the action you want to experience. Yes, sometimes staying 20 minutes away from the theme parks saves $50; but think about the driving, the parking, the tolls, the gas, and take it from us – the fights before you get to the park! Sometimes it is better to be within walking distance to where you want to go! For heavens sakes – if you need justification, say its to save your marriage! 

Picking the Right Room

IF you have the option to – ask for a room away from the elevator and ice/vending machines. These locations can be some of the nosiest areas in the hotel.

How to Save Some Money

Become a Hotel Rewards Member

Not yet a hotel rewards member? Why not? Its free to join and you get points for every time you stay at that brands hotel. Then when you acquire enough points, you can cash them in for free hotel nights!

Credit Cards

Our biggest advice is – credit cards! If you plan to travel a lot and if you are able (we don’t want to be to blame for overspending and credit card debt) apply for a hotel credit card. We have one and almost every time we go to stay at one of their hotels, our hotel room is free (by using points earned by our regular daily spending!) Depending on the hotel type, location, ratings, etc. determines how many points it costs per night.

Discounted Booking Websites

Why would you want to pay full price when you could get 25, 50, or even 75% off? I know I like a discount! Do some research and find hotel deals. There are a lot of deals out there so don’t pay full price!

Need to cancel but its past the cancellation timeframe?

I actually just learned this online the other day… change your reservation to the following week AND then cancel that reservation. Now you are within the cancellation window. WALA, PROBLEM SOLVED!

Happy Hotel Searching! xoxo, Megan & Sean

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