Although there are plenty of cheap travel options available, including cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discount travel deals, and cheap vacation packages, not all rooms or hotel experiences are comparable, not even at the same hotel.
The following are suggestions on how to receive better hotel treatment, often at less cost, from Travel & Leisure:
€ Staying in touch with a hotel can pay off. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts posts giveaway contests on its Facebook page. Sherwood distributes bonus points for checking in via Foursquare or Facebook.
€ Be open to mentioning a hotel on Facebook and Twitter to possible receive a more customized experience. A traveler who recently mentioned Hilton in a tweet about his exhausting cross country drive was offered a free room upgrade when checking in.
€ If you want a timely response to a customer service issue, share that issue via a tweet on a hotel's Twitter handle or post a direct message on Facebook.
€ Consider using social media directed to your hotel to ask for advice. Many hotels will respond to requests looking for local tips.
€ Make your hotel reservation at the same time you make your airline reservation. Hotel rates often drop significantly when hidden inside a travel package offered by websites such as Cheapfares and Expedia.
€ If you want to maximize the number and value of your airline miles and hotel points, you need to identify the best travel rewards card for you. Websites like Nerdwallet and Cardhub offer comprehensive card comparisons and thoughtful advice.
€ Instead of paying hotel Wi-Fi fees when traveling overseas look into creating €Mi-Fi€ hot spots, such as Verizon's Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi which provides a specific amount of data for a set monthly price. Another alternative is Boingo Wireless which offers access to over 700,000 hot spots worldwide for about $8 per month.
€ Domestic hotel Wi-Fi fees can be avoided by Android users who tether their phones' 3G to their laptop via FoxFi, a free app. All others can go to Tether's website to connect a laptop to a mobile device via Bluetooth or USB.
€ Be sure to sign up for a hotel frequent guest card before departing on your trip. The following are just a few examples of the benefits you can earn:
Club Carlson: Free Wi-Fi, restaurant discounts
Fairmont's Presidents Club: Free Wi-Fi, loaner BMW bikes, newspaper delivery, spa discounts
IHG Rewards Club: Free Wi-Fi, newspaper delivery
Kimpton Intouch: Free Wi-Fi, newspaper delivery, mini-bar and hotel bar vouchers, spa credits
Omni Select Guest: Free Wi-Fi, shoeshine, daily coffee delivery, last-minute discounts
Preferred iPrefer: Free Wi-Fi, late checkout, space-available upgrade
Small Luxury Hotels of the World: Automatic upgrade, breakfast for two after one stay
€ Make a point of tipping well so that you can reasonably expect to receive superior service during your stay.
€ Get a room upgrade by:
Being nice since front desk employees are frequently empowered to improve a guest's room at their discretion.
Select a new hotel since often recently opened properties are not full and want to encourage guests to return.
Be a regular guest of a hotel. If you will often be returning to a city, let your hotel know.
By checking in later in the day, hotel managers are more likely to grant spontaneous upgrades because they have a better sense of their open inventory.
Saying €thank you€ and letting a hotel know you had a great stay in writing or via social media, may result in a hotel responding positively during your next stay.
€ Make a point to bring your own water to hotels since luxury hotels in major cities tend to charge between $4 to $8 for a single bottle of water.
http://www.cheapfares.com