Saving Money on the Road

Finding a Good Deal on a Hotel Room

One of the most essential needs when traveling, and also one of the potentially most expensive needs, is a hotel room.

There are many options, and you must weigh out whether or not getting the "points" is worth spending the money for a full priced hotel room.  First of all, check with your company as far as guidelines for keeping the points from various hotel chains.

Many companies do not mind if you chose to stay in a nicer hotel, but they will require all points earned through that particular chain's loyalty program to be the property of the company.  Then, there are some companies that will allow you to keep any gained points through loyalty programs.  It is always good to know this ahead of time than to try and plan a personal vacation and realize you have no accrued points as they all belong to your company.

I have found the discount travel sites to be very helpful and effective when finding a nice hotel room at a good price.  There are several to chose from, Priceline, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Kayak, and many others.

The largest advantage of using these sites is the deep discount received on hotel rooms.  Most of them advertise around 60% savings, and in my experiences, all have held true to this claim.

There are, however, a few disadvantages.  For instance, the loyalty reward points I mentioned earlier.  When booking through a third party such as these sites, you do not get your points.  The only points you get, based on the hotel chain, are points if you have to pay for parking and any incidentals charged to your room.

Another disadvantage is that you cannot choose your hotel if you want the discounted price.  You can choose location in a major city and star level, but not a hotel by name.  You can book a hotel through these sites by name, but in my experience, the price discount is not worth sacrificing the points as it is not that much, generally 5%-8%.  To get the deep discounts, you must be willing to accept what is assigned to you.

While it can be an inconvenience to not know where you are staying until you click the "buy my hotel room" button, there are some assurances that you will not be disappointed.

As I said, you pick the star level and location.  You will be assured if you want a 4 start hotel near the airport, that you receive a 4 star hotel near the airport if one exists in that city.

So, if you want to save money on a hotel, consider a few things.  First, is it worth saving generally around 60% to forfeit your loyalty points?  Do you even get to keep the loyalty points?  Do you mind not knowing the hotel chain until you book?  If you can overcome these objections, then I definitely recommend a third party booking site.



Drinks Can be Expensive

I am a beer man myself and enjoy a frosty beverage while checking my emails and winding down for the day in my hotel room.  However, this can turn into a huge expense, here are a few suggestions to save some money when you want a night cap or just want to unwind at the end of the day.

The first instinct of most people is to hit the bar in the lobby and bring the drink back to the room.  Most drinks in hotel bars are quite pricey, especially if you decide to get a mixed drink.  For instance, I was in a hotel last week in a major city.  The beer from the hotel bar was $7.50 a piece and a single shot for a "well" mixed drink was $9.75.  If I were to have two beers, I would have spent $15, plus tip in the hotel, outrageous!

Instead, stop at a gas station or grocery store on the way to the hotel and buy a six pack.  Most hotel rooms have a small refrigerator to keep your beverages cold, so take advantage and use it.  If you buy a six pack of premium beer, generally you will spend somewhere between $10-$12, and you have six beers.  This is a lot cheaper than the $15 plus tip I had to pay for two beers in the hotel bar.

Do not feel obligated to drink all six, you can always leave a nice surprise for the cleaning crew.

Another option, if you are not flying, is to simply bring your own.  You can always pack a small cooler and take some from home, just make sure you check local laws in regards to traveling with loose alcoholic beverages in a cooler in the car.

So, to sum it up, don't spend large amounts of money in the hotel bar, stop and buy some from a store, or bring some from home.

Always Carry Food!

Here is a tip that has saved me money and hunger pains many times over the years in airports; always carry food in your carry-on bag!

There has been several times when my flight plans consisted of 2 or 3 hour or hour and a half flights with one hour or less lay overs.  While this sounds great, it can be terrible for your appetite.

Most flights less than 2 hours will only provide a snack menu for food.  Also, by the time you get up to cruising altitude, and the flight attendants start rolling the drink cart around, if you are towards the rear of the plane, you may not get a chance to order before the plane begins its final descent.

Another problem, the days of free bags of peanuts are long gone.  So, if you are lucky enough to place an order for a snack on a plane, be prepared to spend between $4-$12.  This is ridiculous!

Instead, pack something in your carry-on baggage, I suggest protein bars.  Protein bars do not take up much space, they are easy and quick to eat, and the protein will help curb your hunger longer than a sugary candy bar.  Also, they will not fall apart on you like crackers if your bag gets dropped in the security line or bumped by a passer by.

Another bonus, is that protein bars generally have a long shelf life.  Therefore, if you don't eat them on this trip, you may find them as an unexpected surprise on future flights.

I got stranded in a mid-west state last winter due to a blizzard.  The planes could not leave, and ground transportation was halted as well.  The airport was full with stranded passengers like me all over the place.  The food vendors in the airport actually ran out of food!  However, not me, I had several protein bars in my bag and never got hungry, not even once.  Yet, another reason to always have food with you; you never know when you will be stranded with no other options.

Phone a Friend!

One of the best ways I have found to save money on the road, as well as get a great meal, is to reach out to friend.

Thanks to social media, we are able to keep up with many people from our past.  When traveling for business, this is a great time to re-connect.  Reach out to them if you have their phone number or email a couple of weeks before your trip to make sure they will be around.  Then, make plans for a dinner, preferably at their house so you save money on dinner that night.  Also, another advantage, you get a home-cooked meal on the road, something we all enjoy!

While it is great to re-connect, as with most of my posts, use common sense.  Do NOT reach out to an ex love interest if you are married or have a current love interest; spouses generally frown on this when you are traveling.  Also, if you know this particular friend loves to party until 3:00 in the morning, do NOT reach out to them unless you know for sure you have the will power to call it an early night.  In the end, remember, your first concern is your job, that is the reason you are on the trip in the first place.

By reaching out to an old acquaintance, you are making yourself get out of the hotel room and relax a little bit; which is always good when you are on the road.  It can be very easy to stay in your room and do nothing but emails and reports.  While this is productive, it can also be very tiring and make your 3 day trip feel like a 3 week trip.  However, when you see an old friend and meet their spouse and/or children, maybe for the first time, then time seems to fly as do your stresses.

I have made it a point to ask on my social media sites who is in the town I will be traveling to.  For instance, if I know I will be in Seattle for a few days in two weeks, then I'll simply post, "hey, anyone in the Seattle area?"  Then, when they respond, if it is someone you want to see, send them a private message and arrange the dinner.  But NEVER advertise in an open forum your travel dates as mentioned in my previous post Don't Brag About Where You Are.

I mentioned to reach out a couple of weeks before your trip, there are a couple of reasons for this.  First, is obvious, you want to make sure they are available.  The second, is to make sure you are available.  Chances are that if you wait until you are on your trip, the visit will never happen.  It is amazing how quickly emails, reports, phone calls, etc. can pile up while you are traveling.  If you wait, you will decide you are too busy, and try to see them next time.  However, if the plans are already set, you will feel bad about canceling at the last minute, and honor your commitment.

Again, remember you are on a business trip, and this should be your first priority, not a reunion with old friends trip.  However, use your travels to re-connect with old friends if you have the time.  You will be amazed how good this feels, and how relaxing this is while on the road.

Dress The Part

 VS.

I have found when traveling that if I travel in my business attire, I receive better treatment than traveling in my "relaxing" clothes.  Usually, this is not a problem as I am seeing accounts as soon as I get my rental car.  However, there are some times when I am catching a red eye, or flying in a day early that it can be really tempting to dress down, but I find the complimentary upgrades are fewer when I am not dressed up.

You are guilty of doing the same thing as the counter agents.  We cannot help ourselves, no matter how hard we try, we at some level judge a book by its cover.  Next time you are traveling by plane, try this: get to the gate early, approach the airline gate staff, smile, and tell them that if any complimentary upgrades are available, you would be happy to accept them.  This will put you in the mind of the gate staff as a friendly person who is just trying to get to your next stop in a little more comfort.

A few other things you can do when asking for an upgrade are smile, use their name, wait until there are no other customers around the desk.  When you smile, you are immediately establishing a friendly rapport with the agent.  This will start out the process without their defenses being raised on full alert.

Next, use their name and introduce yourself as well.  We all see hundreds if not thousands of random faces when we travel from store clerks, check-in personnel, flight attendants, concierges, etc.  Now, think about how many random people these folks see in a day as well.  Also, consider how most of us feel when we are traveling.  We are tired and grumpy and have a tendency to not be the nicest people in the world, after all, we will probably never see these people again in our lives, right?   WRONG!  Well, technically, maybe that is right, but this is no reason to be rude or inconsiderate or condescending to these people as everyone else does.  Instead, smile, introduce yourself and use their name; you will be amazed how far this will go when asking for complimentary upgrades.

My last tip when asking for an upgrade is to wait until there are no other customers around.  You will have a much better chance at connecting with the person you are asking on a one-on-one basis.  Also, they will not be as hesitant to help you out if there are no others that will know and ask for the same upgrade.  If for some reason, they still will not provide a complimentary upgrade, don't give up, instead keep smiling and start negotiating!

While all of these tips are great for asking for the complimentary upgrade, remember, you must dress the part.  As I said, we all at some level judge people based on appearance.  If you address someone in business attire as opposed to baggy shorts and flip flops, your chances of receiving the upgrade are much, much better.