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One of the biggest disappointments of any trip is getting to your hotel
room and realizing that it’s too small, too dirty, or too expensive. This
section offers information and advice that helps you find the accommodations
that meet your needs — and your budget.
Comparing room rates and ratings
The hotels are rated from $ to $$$$$. These ratings
are not an official ranking system, nor do they reflect the overall quality
of a hotel. Rather, these categories reflect the approximate price range
of the hotels that I recommend, related to their overall value. A ranking of
$ indicates a budget gem, $$ means a pretty cheap hotel, $$$ is applied to
moderate joints, $$$$ means more upscale accommodations, and $$$$$
is for a recommended splurge. These ratings are comparable only within
the same city, meaning that a $ joint in an expensive place like London
may cost nearly the same as a $$$$ hotel in a far cheaper area like Athens.
For the top hotels, in addition to these categories I include the hotel’s
actual rates, which should make finding something in your price range
much easier. Of course, rates can and will go up regularly, but barring
massive renovations, a budget gem or moderate choice this year will fall
in the same category next year, even if the price tags are $10 higher.
The rack rate is
the maximum rate a hotel charges for a room — they usually fix it pretty
high because, legally, that’s the most they can ever charge and they want
a nosebleed-high number in case some event or holiday comes along and
demand outstrips supply, allowing them to charge a premium. It’s the rate
you get if you walk in off the street and ask for a room for the night. You
sometimes see these rates printed on the fire/emergency-exit diagrams
posted on the back of your door — and at least posted, in most countries
by law, on the wall near the reception desk.
Hotels are, of course, more than happy to charge you the rack rate, but
you can almost always do better. Perhaps the best way to avoid paying
the rack rate is surprisingly simple: Just ask for a cheaper or discounted
rate. You may be pleasantly surprised. You’ll stand a better chance of
receiving a lower rate if you’re traveling in the off-season or if you’re
staying several days at that one hotel. If you’re booking ahead, many
hotel’s Web site often run specials that clock in well below the official
rack rates.
Room rates (even rack rates) change with the season as occupancy rates
rise and fall. But even within a given season, room prices are subject to
change without notice, so the rates may be different
from the rate you receive when you make your reservation. If you’re booking
at a major international chain, be sure to mention membership in AAA,
AARP, frequent-flier programs, or any other corporate rewards programs.
You never know when the affiliation may be worth a few dollars off your
room rate. (Mom-and-pop hotels or European chains, of course, couldn’t
care less that you have a membership in some American automobile club
or senior citizens’ network, so don’t bother asking them.)
Something else that applies only to major international chains: Reserving
a room through the hotel’s toll-free number may also result in a lower
rate than calling the hotel directly. On the other hand, the central reservations
number may not know about discount rates at specific locations.
For example, local franchises may offer a special group rate for a wedding
or family reunion, but they may neglect to tell the central booking line.
Your best bet is to call both the local number and the toll-free number
and see which one gives you a better deal.
Settle all hotel charges when you check in. You don’t need to pay in
advance (though occasionally, a budget hotel may require it), but make
sure that you and the hotel clerk agree on the rate. Does it include breakfast,
taxes, and showers? What are the phone rates (although you should
never make long-distance calls from the hotel)? Do they charge even for
you to dial your calling card’s toll-free number? Also, be sure that the
quoted rate is per room, not per person, as may be the case in resort-type
coastal towns and islands.
In most European destinations, taxes are automatically included in the
quoted rates. However, in some countries (often in Spain, where it’s 7
percent; in England, where it’s 19 percent; and in France, where it varies
depending on the classification of the hotel), these local taxes are not
included in the price quoted over the phone. Always ask, “Does that
price include all taxes?”
When you check in, always take one of the hotel’s business cards. You’d
be surprised by how many people forget their hotel’s name or location
after a long day of sightseeing. Many cards have a little map on the back.
If you’re clueless about where your hotel is, hop in a cab and show the
driver the card with the hotel’s address. He can get you home.
Making reservations
I always reserve at least the first night’s stay before leaving home, especially
if I’ll be arriving on a weekend. Having somewhere to base yourself
right away minimizes the stress and uncertainty when you arrive tired
and in a strange place. But don’t book the room for more than a few days;
having the option of changing your travel plans at the last minute or looking
for other accommodations if your choice isn’t what you expected is
nice. I often book my first night’s stay in a new city simply by phoning
from the train station when I arrive.
You should be aware that making last-minute arrangements can cause
headaches. If you’re traveling with young children, you don’t want to
be fumbling for coins in the train station as you simultaneously try to
reserve a room and keep the kids from running off for parts unknown.
You should also find out whether you’ll be arriving in town during a festival
or trade fair. If you are, the gala may be the highlight of your trip, but
you could end up sleeping under the stars if you haven’t booked a room
well in advance (before you leave home).
If you reserve a room before leaving home for your vacation, always confirm
the reservation with a follow-up fax. Most hotels prefer this, and it
gives you printed proof that you’ve booked a room. Faxes to hotels
should use simple language and include the following:
- Your name
- The number of people in your party
- What kind of room you want (Make sure you say “double with one
bed with private bathroom” or “double with two beds and a shared
bathroom,” and specify “two adults, one child, in the same room.”)
- The number of nights you want to stay
- The date of the first night
To avoid confusion, always spell out the full name of the month —
Europeans numerically abbreviate dates day/month/year, not month/
day/year as Americans do (so “5/6/2004” would be read May 6 in the
United States, but June 5 in Europe).
Smaller, less expensive hotels often won’t take reservations for short
stays (fewer than three nights). This policy protects them from cancellations,
which can be particularly damaging to smaller hotels’ bottom
lines, and no assurance you offer will convince the hotelier that you’ll
show up. Even when you have a reservation, these hotels will hold your
room only if you call from the station to say you’re on the way.
Using a hotel booking service
Either the train station or the local tourism office in most European towns
has a desk that serves as a central reservation service for the city. To use
the service, tell the people working there your price range, the part of the
city you’d like to stay in, and sometimes even the type of hotel, and they
can use a computer to find you a room.
Here are the advantages of booking services:
- They do all the legwork for you. Staff members speak English, and
many individual hoteliers may not, so they can act as interpreters
while calling around for you.
- They’re helpful when rooms are scarce. If everything’s booked —
during a convention or festival, or maybe just in high season —
they can often find rooms in hotels that aren’t listed in the guidebooks
or other popular resources.
- They know the hotels. The best ones can find accommodations
that perfectly match your needs and price range.
But booking services do have their drawbacks:
- Contacting hotels directly is generally cheaper. Booking services
usually charge a fee — a nominal one (say, $3–$10), but a fee
nonetheless. And in many countries, hotels often charge higher
rates for bookings they receive through services.
- A tourism office booking-desk clerk offers no opinion about the
hotels. Agents just provide you a list to choose from that may
include amenities and prices, but little else.
- They may be biased. A booking agency, especially a private one
(which is probably run by a group of local hotels), may try to steer
you to places on its “push list.” Rather than an honest evaluation,
its “advice” is frequently a biased sales pitch dictated by the hotel
itself.
You get mixed results from the information that booking services provide.
I’ve found wonderful little bed-and-breakfasts in Ireland through
the glossy promotional catalog the tourist office sent me. I’ve also had a
Prague hotel agency stick me in what appeared to be an old high school
almost an hour from the city center; the room made me long for my college
dorm. The only way to protect yourself is to read promotional fluff
with a skeptical eye and ask tough questions when you call around.
In most cities — Prague and Rome come to mind — and on popular
islands, hotel reps will swarm you as you step off the train or boat. Some
are honestly drumming up business, but others are out to fleece you. If
an offer interests you, make sure the rep pinpoints the exact location of
the hotel on a map and get the price in writing before you go off with
him. Pay close attention to any photos he shows you — a little photo
retouching and some strategic furniture rearrangement can make a
dismal cell look more like a palatial suite.
Surfing the Web for hotel deals
Shopping online for hotels is generally done one of two ways: by booking
through the hotel’s own Web site or through an independent booking
agency (or a fare-service agency like Priceline.com). These Internet hotel
agencies have multiplied in mind-boggling numbers of late, competing
for the business of millions of consumers surfing for accommodations
around the world. This competitiveness can be a boon to consumers
who have the patience and time to shop and compare the online sites
for good deals — but shop they must, because prices can vary considerably
from site to site. And keep in mind that hotels at the top of a site’s
listing may be there for no other reason than that it paid money to get
the placement.
Of the “big three” sites, Expedia offers a long list of special deals and
“virtual tours” or photos of available rooms so you can see what you’re
paying for (a feature that helps counter the claims that the best rooms
are often held back from bargain-booking Web sites). Travelocity posts
unvarnished customer reviews and ranks its properties according to the
AAA rating system. Also reliable are Hotels.com and Quikbook.com. An
excellent free program, TravelAxe (www.travelaxe.net), can help you
search multiple hotel sites at once — even ones you may never have
heard of — and conveniently lists the total price of the room, including
the taxes and service charges. Another booking site, Travelweb (www.
travelweb.com), is partly owned by the hotels it represents (including
the Hilton, Hyatt, and Starwood chains) and is, therefore, plugged
directly into the hotels’ reservations systems — unlike independent
online agencies, which have to fax or e-mail to the hotel all reservation
requests, a good portion of which get misplaced in the shuffle. More
than once, travelers have arrived at their hotel, only to be told that they
have no reservation. To be fair, many of the major sites are undergoing
improvements in service and ease of use, and Expedia will soon be able
to plug directly into the reservations systems of many hotel chains —
none of which can be bad news for consumers. In the meantime, it’s a
good idea to get a confirmation number and make a printout of any
online booking transaction.
In the opaque Web site category, Priceline.com and Hotwire.com are
even better for hotels than for airfares; with both, you’re allowed to pick
the neighborhood and quality level of your hotel before offering up your
money. Priceline’s hotel product even covers Europe and Asia, though
it’s much better at getting 5-star lodging for 3-star prices than at finding
anything at the bottom of the scale. On the downside, many hotels stick
Priceline guests in their least desirable rooms. Be sure to go to the
BiddingForTravel Web site (www.biddingfortravel.com) before bidding
on a hotel room on Priceline; it features a fairly up-to-date list of
hotels that Priceline uses in major cities. For both Priceline and Hotwire,
you pay up front, and the fee is nonrefundable. Note: Some hotels do not
provide loyalty-program credits or points or other frequent-guest amenities
when you book a room through opaque online services.
One of the pluses of Web sites is that they often include virtual brochures,
so you can see pictures of the rooms ahead of time. You can also usually
get the latest hotel rates, plus any discounts the booking service may be
able to secure (especially at pricier inns).
But these sites also have some big minuses. Because most of them charge
a fee to the hotels they list and the hotels themselves provide the writeups
and other info, you must take any descriptions or recommendations
with a grain of salt. Travel guidebooks like this one provide unbiased recommendations,
but most hotel booking Web sites are just a new form of
promotional material. Also, the bulk of the hotels that choose to be listed
on these sites are high-end, business-oriented, owned by chains, or all the
above. The best small hotels in the historic city centers, mom-and-pop
pensions, and outright cheap places are usually absent.
Some lodging sites specialize in a particular type of accommodation,
such as bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs), which you don’t find on mainstream
booking sites. Others offer weekend deals at chain properties, which
cater to business travelers and have more empty rooms on weekends.
Finding deals at the last minute
If you arrive at your destination with no hotel reservation, a guidebook
like this can come in very handy. Before you get to town (perhaps on the
train ride in), study the hotel reviews and figure out which ones best fit
your taste and budget. Then rank your top choices by writing 1, 2, 3, and
so on in the guide’s margin. Prioritizing the hotels prepares you to move
quickly to the next-best option if your first choice is full.
After your train pulls into the station, get some change or buy a phone
card at a newsstand and immediately start calling hotels to check for
vacancies. This strategy gives you a head start on the many people who
look for a room by marching out of the station with their bags and walking
to the nearest hotel. If you’re uncomfortable making the calls yourself,
the train station or tourism office may have a reservation service
that can do this for you.
If you can’t find a room this way, you can try wandering the streets
checking each hotel you pass. But the areas around city train stations
usually are full of cheap hotels, but they’re also often bland — sometimes
seedy — neighborhoods and not centrally located.
Try expanding the scope of your search, but only as a last resort. Hotels
outside the center of town often have more rooms available and are
cheaper than centrally located ones. You may be able to get an even
better deal in the next town over, but it won’t be worth the trouble if it’s
more than a 30-minute train ride away.
To get the best price on the best room, follow these tips:
- Compare different hotels. Many people don’t want to run from
place to place, but if you have some time and are counting your
pennies, it’s probably worth a try. Don’t assume that the first hotel
you visit is the best. If you’ve called around and lodging seems in
short supply around town, take a room where you can get it. But if
rooms seem plentiful, tell the first hotel you stop in that you’ll think
about it and head to another one nearby.
- Ask to see different rooms. When you get to the hotel, don’t take
the first room you’re shown. Ask to see some other ones. Open and
close windows to see how well they block out noise. Check the
rates posted on the room door (usually there by law) to make sure
they match the rate you were quoted and the rate that’s posted in
the lobby. Ask whether some rooms are less expensive than others.
After you make your reservation, asking one or two more pointed
questions can go a long way toward making sure you get the best
room in the house. Always ask for a corner room. They’re usually
larger, quieter, and have more windows and light than standard
rooms, and they don’t always cost more. Also ask if the hotel is renovating;
if it is, request a room away from the renovation work.
Inquire, too, about the location of the restaurants, bars, and discos
in the hotel — all sources of annoying noise. And if you aren’t
happy with your room when you arrive, talk to the front desk. If
they have another room, they should be happy to accommodate
you, within reason.
- Bargain. Room prices are rarely set in stone, especially in pensions
and mom-and-pop joints. The more empty rooms a hotel has to fill
for the night, the lower you can get the price. If you’re staying a
single night during high season, you’ll have to pay the going rate.
But for off-season stays and for longer than three nights, ask for a
discount. Many places have weekend discounts, too.
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