So now you have your airfare held, or at least have dates in mind that will save you money, so you can start on your hotel. Go to one of the major websites and input your dates and then do an extended search for the amenities you need or want at your hotel such as breakfast, a pool, fitness center, etc. DO NOT BOOK FROM THESE WEBSITES! Get the names of the properties that interest you and then go to each hotel’s website if they have one and look for specials. Many times, ok, most of the time, by booking the hotel directly you will find better deals because you are not paying a booking fee to the major websites.



If the hotel website does not have a better deal, call them and tell them the rate you found online and they will either match the rate, beat the rate, or match and give you an upgrade or special amenities like spa passes, meal vouchers, etc. Start a list of what each property offers, DO NOT BOOK ANYTHING YET! Wait until you have all of your information (research) and then make an informed decision on your home away from home. This is an important decision and should not be made quickly or without doing your research. A good or bad hotel experience can make or break your vacation that you have waited and worked for, believe me!

Another bit of research you can do before booking is to check out review of hotels online and see what people are saying about the property. I am hesitant to give this bit of advice because some of these reviews can be a bit skewed and you must keep this in mind when reading them. My idea of a moderate or superior property may be totally different than someone else’s. If you normally stay at the Lah Tee Dah Hotel and book something where the housekeeping staff does not come in every evening to lay out your slippers and fluff your pillow before bed, you might give a very nice property a bad review because it is not what you expected.

However, if you normally stay at the Roach Motel and stayed at this very same property, you would think it was the nicest, most upscale property in the world! I am exaggerating here, but hopefully you understand the point I am making. When you are reading reviews, take them with a grain of salt. If there are 80% good reviews, chances are, this is a decent property. If 20 different people are talking about bed bugs and dirty sheets, keep looking!

Another step I take in my researching process is to input the address of the hotel’s I am looking at into one of the internet map tools. Look to see where exactly you are going to be sleeping. Near the beach and on the beach are two different things. Downtown Seattle is totally different than an airport property in Seattle. Las Vegas downtown, Las Vegas strip and Las Vegas off strip properties are three totally different animals. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Once you have finished your research and have found a property that you are happy with, book your airfare first (to make sure the deal you found is still available), then book your hotel. Make sure you understand your hotel’s cancellation, check-in, and check-out policies. If you are flying, go ahead and leave a credit card number to guarantee late check-in. You don’t want to have a delayed flight and go to check in to your hotel and find out that you lost your room because you didn’t arrive before 6:00 pm.

If you are not planning to rent a car, find out about hotel shuttle from the airport. I will pay a little extra for a property that offers a shuttle if it saves me $100.00 in cab fare when I arrive and depart. Know how the hotel works their shuttle system. Do you call from a courtesy phone upon arrival or are they waiting outside? Do they want you to take a cab that they will reimburse your for? Once again, do your research!

If you are planning for an early morning flight, ask the hotel if they are able to hold your luggage until check in. You don’t want to have to drag your luggage around for 6 hours while you wait for 3:00 check-in. This is research you do before you ever leave home, not when you arrive. If you leave your luggage with bell staff, remember to tip them $1-$2 per bag. These guys work hard for peanuts most of the time and rely heavily on tips. The peace of mind and convenience it gives you while you are free to explore your destination without luggage in tow is certainly worth the extra cash.

With airfare booked and hotel reserved you are now free to start on researching the “fun stuff" you will do on your vacation, meals and attractions, which I will cover in my next article. Start packing!