Hotels

Traveling by car is a great American pastime. Cheap hotels are everywhere, so why would people want to book their rooms in advance? What if you change your mind at the last minute and take an unexpected turn in the road? Those reservations you made might require a cancellation fee that is higher than you want to pay. While managing reservations for your hotels in advance makes sense in most cases, the free-spirited road trip may not be one of them.

One way to handle the choices on a road trip is to watch for reputable hotel brands, whether they are known to be cheap hotels, like Motel 6, or a higher quality chain brand. For instance, your heart might quicken when you see a Marriott sign just as the shadows are starting to lengthen. Of course, then you have the worry about whether there will be any vacancies!

A bit of planning can help with this dilemma when you’re traveling wherever the wind blows. One thing you can do is acquire a directory of cheap hotels in your favorite chain. For instance, at the Motel 6 website, you can download a complete directory of hotel locations in a PDF format, or you can request a print copy. Do the same with Marriott and other brands, and you will have an idea of hotels just ahead of you on the road. Marriott offers a downloadable Worldwide Directory you can use on your Palm OS or Pocket PC.

Hopefully you have a cell phone with you on your road trip! Simply call ahead to any hotel that sounds interesting to see if there is room for you. Calling ahead for a reservation, even a few hours ahead may garner you discounts that you won’t get by being a walk-in to the hotel’s front desk. Hotels like Marriott are sure to have rooms and amenities that you will appreciate, although cheap ones might save you more money. Sticking with a brand like Marriott will give you a chance to accrue points and discounts, since most chains have reward systems for frequent guests.

Many hotel chains are also families of chains. That is, you’ll earn points by staying at any of the Marriott family of hotels, which includes Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, Towne Place Suites, Spring Hill Suites, and even the Ritz-Carlton. Of course any facility with the name “Marriott” on it is in the family, too, such as JW Marriott hotels or Marriott ExecuStay.

If cheap hotels are more your style, you’re not thinking about staying at the Ritz, even for Marriott points! Do keep in mind that cheaper ones won’t offer the comfort you expect from a nicer hotel. Hopefully the bed won’t be so hard you can’t sleep! Yet the memories made by taking a chance on cheap hotels is part of the fun of the free-spirited road trip.

When planning any trip, it’s a good idea to make a checklist of things you’ll need to have on hand. A credit card (hopefully not maxed out!) in useful, as is a certain amount of cash. Take along toiletries, snacks, and bottled water. And, get the car checked out, from oil to tires, to minimize the chance of a breakdown.

If you want to book your Hotel Reservations Online…