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Hotels for big families / frugal
travelers
If you have more
than 4 people in your family, many MOTELS will require that
you book two rooms because of fire codes.
We've never had a HOTEL ask. I'm assuming that the
motel's inspection is more rigid. We almost always stay
at a hotel, usually for less than the price of a
motel.
One money saver for larger families is
to get a hotel which offers either free breakfast or a Kids
Eat Free dinner. Total cost for five of us to
eat dinner at Holiday Inn in Portland was $20 -- that
included a big tip. All four children ate dinner for
free -- and it was delicious! We had initially passed
the Holiday Inn by because it didn't include
breakfast. After our huge dinner, nobody was hungry for
breakfast. Tip: If you sign up for the Holiday Inn or HIE
rewards
program, you'll automatically get dessert free.
Marriott has Stay For Breakfast rates that
are generally $10 more expensive than the cheapest rate.
If you can feed your family on $10 on vacation, kudos to
you. For us, the SFB rate is a real money saver.
They are meant for two adults and two children. HOWEVER,
if you tell them beforehand that you have more minor children
in the room, they'll include them. These are full
breakfast buffets, with eggs to order, meat, waffles, etc, not
the type you get at Holiday Inn
Express.
Holiday Inn
Express
probably has the best military rate of the
national chains. The quality varies, though none has
been sub-par. Breakfast is an all-you-can-eat
buffet. Unfortunately, the only protein is hard-boiled
eggs. The kids seem to enjoy HIE's indoor pools and the
hotels appear to cater to families. We were able to get
a family suite in Grants Pass, OR for an extra $10. It's
a connected separate bedroom off to the side, and was well
worth the additional $.
The top of the line in family hotels is
the
Embassy Suites. You can comfortably sleep 8-10 people in a
suite (2 queen beds, a fold out couch, a chair, and a
rollaway). Breakfast is cooked to order in the buffet
line. ES tends to be pricier than the others mentioned,
but if you need to house many people, it's worth it. They also have government rates that bring the price way down,
or AARP rates that make it reasonable.
There is, of
course, the
Navy
Lodge
for military families. These are
apartment-type motels. One major benefit is no hotel
tax. Another is the kitchenette which allows you to cook
your own meals. I was a little surprised to find out
that I didn't really save money on breakfast after I had
bought everything at the Commissary. Still well worth
the discount.
Using
Priceline... There
was a time when Priceline was
absolutely the best option. My dad stayed in a premier
room at the Doubletree in Silicon Valley for $25, including
fees. I fear those days are gone forever. We tried
to book some rooms for a recent trip, and were unable to get a
hotel to accept the offer even on the day of travel. We
were offering approximately 40% of the listed rate. This
is one case where the competition appears to have made things
worse for the consumer instead of better. With other
travel sites, hotels apparently aren't willing to make as deep
a discount through Priceline. The
big three are Travelocity,
Orbitz, and
Expedia. All
give pretty much the same information. I've found that Travelocity has some
that aren't listed on the other two, yet I like Expedia's
interface. You're going to get pretty much the same
whichever you use. I use these after I have exhausted
all other means. IF you're flying, you can save a bundle
by clicking on the flight+hotel buttons on any of these
sites. We were pretty surprised to find that a recent
flight with hotel ended up being only $22 more than the best
price we could find on the flight only.
THE SPECIFICS
Marriott Hotels --
They're classy, luxurious, serve good food, and offer
GREAT discounts. The discounts are especially deep if
the person booking the room is a senior. Sign up for
their rewards program. After just 4 nights (because of a
special VISA promotion), we are already eligible for one free
night at a Fairfield. Okay, the Fairfield is not the
Marriott, but it's free! Marriott runs a lot of other
great reward programs. Just for paying with the VISA,
you get a $50 Bonus Bucks certificate off your next 2-night
stay. These are applied just like cash -- after your
discount. We didn't have enough certificates, so we
bought some off eBay. In actuality, we bought some
child's drawing, and the seller included the certificate as a
bonus. Search for Bonus Bucks
POUNDS. The
exchange rate they gave us was 15% less than the bank, but we
still saved $160+ off a two night stay -- that was a stay
which was already discounted at the Stay For Breakfast
rate. Two nights in a gorgeous hotel and breakfast
for 5 for two mornings for a total cost of ~$60 (that included
the certificate...er, drawing). Plus, those nights were
applied toward earning free nights. The only downside --
Internet access is 50 cents PER MINUTE from their business
center. Or, if you have a laptop, $10 per day.
Holiday Inn
Express -
This is definitely a kid-friendly hotel. I wouldn't
recommend it for the business traveler looking for some peace
and quiet ;-). The pools tend to be crowded, the lobby
usually full of activity, and the staff trained to expect kids
to be kids. My children always end up making new friends
when we stay at HIE, and it has that "feels like home"
atmosphere. The rooms are generally spacious, and all
that we've stayed in have free Business Centers where you can
connect to the Net, send faxes, or anything else you need to
do. The discounts are not usually as good as the
Marriott, except the military discount. Takes a little
longer for their rewards, but it's still worth signing up
for.
So, you want to go for
FREE? There are several mystery shopping
companies
that shop hotels. Some of our favorites are Bestmark, Coast to Coast , Kern, Secret Shopper , IMyst,
and TNS. In general,
hotel shops go to experienced shoppers, but it doesn't hurt to
ask. You're evaluating their service, and sometimes,
their facilities. Sorry, we can't tell you who shops
which hotel because it would violate a confidentiality
contract.
The cheapest way to go is the F&F
plan... Friends and family. My friend, Tina, moved her
family across the country by staying with people she was
on a(n unrelated) Yahoo group with! Her
husband was with her, but I still am probably not THAT
adventurous :-). Various groups have Hospitality lists
as well.
Patriarch's Path is one that caters to conservative
Christians. We called people we knew along our route and
dropped in. We've dropped in on friends I haven't seen
since college days, and picked right up. Besides
getting to see
people, we picked up decorating tips at Hillarie's,
and had some great Biblical fellowship at Doug and Gail's. Be a good guest, be flexible and appreciative, and you'll save
money and add to the enjoyment of your
trip!
Forget
those ads and auctions that promise free stays. They are
generally either (a) a timeshare, (b) charge outrageous
"taxes" or "fees", or (c) require you to book a flight through
their own travel agency -- one that more
than covers the cost. Note: we find it unethical
to attend a timeshare presentation when you have no interest,
have previously decided 100% not to buy, and are only attending to
"pay" for your accommodations.
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