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Lodging Travel Tips

 

Choosing Your Hotel

Decide what features / services you want to have available to you, before you try to decide which hotel to grace with your custom. You may find the following questions helpful. read more

 

How to Find Great Hotel Deals

To find a deal on a hotel room, be thorough, be flexible, and know where to look and what to ask. The steepest price a hotel charges for a room is the rack rate (the hotel's standard price for a room sans discounts), and your goal is to get well below that inflated figure with package deals, off-season rates and savvy bargaining. read more


How to Reduce the Cost - Room Rates

If you need to keep your holiday expenses to a minimum, try to be flexible when making your arrangements. If you could save money by having your holiday a week later than you expected - do so, if at all possible. read more
 

Reservations

When you make your booking, ask the hotel what their reservation and cancellation policies are, and make sure you are happy with these before committing yourself. read more

 

How to Pack for Hosteling

If you plan to stay at hostels anywhere in the world, it's a good idea to carry as little as possible with you. Never bring more than you can comfortably carry by yourself. read more

 

How to Keep Valuables Safe While Hosteling

If you plan to stay at hostels during your vacation, you will need to be extra careful with your possessions, since most hostels offer dormitory-style accommodations. Here are some hints to help you hang on to your valuables. read more

 

How to Find Hostels in North America

You'll find lots of hostels to choose from as you travel across the United States and Canada, whether you're in a major destination city or a small community. Even in the most popular destinations, hostel accommodations should cost no more than $25 per night. read more

 

How to Find Accommodations in Paris

You may think a trip to Paris would be the vacation of a lifetime, but choosing the right hotel can make the difference between a good vacation and a great one. Take some time before you leave to find the perfect accommodations. read more

 

How to Find the Cheapest Hotel in Las Vegas

Vegas can be in your cards even if you're on a tight budget. With thousands of hotel rooms in Sin City, it's a snap to find an inexpensive one, especially if you visit in the off-season or midweek. read more

 

How to Find Hostels in Europe

Hostels are often available on a walk-in basis, but during peak travel times, advance reservations are recommended. Before you leave, contact a travel agent or an online booking center, where you can make reservations from 48 hours to six months ahead of time. read more

 

Hotel Travel Tips

Hotel travel tips from the experts at Safe Harbors.
Reserve rooms above first floor.
Keep doors and windows locked, and check them before retiring.
Put valuables in the hotel room safe.
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Lesson Learned: Tourist Information Offices can save your butt when you are unprepared.

by Kaaryn Hendrickson
Later on in my trip I decided to go to Lyme Regis, England (site of novel The French Lieutenant's Woman). My guide book mentioned no hostels, so I went to the Tourist Information Center and asked them to find me the cheapest accommodation available. For a mere 15 pounds, I stayed in a quaint bed and breakfast fun by an Australian couple. I got a full breakfast and a private room (even had tv with remote and more importantly no bunk beds) for only a couple more pounds than my typical night at a hostel in other cities in England! Sure I didn't meet any other young people while here, but it sure was a nice change of pace.
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Lesson Learned: Never arrive in a big city on a weekend without a reservation!
by Kaaryn Hendrickson
Several weeks into my trip, I took a ferry to Dublin. I arrived on a Friday without reservations. Up to this point, not having a reservation was not really an issue since I was traveling in the off season. I walked from the bus station to the hostel I thought sounded like like a good choice. It was quite a distance from the station and when I arrived they told me no rooms were available. I was very frustrated. I had been up all night on a ferry and had just walked nearly a mile only to find "no room at the inn."
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Traders travel tips ease life on the road

What can you do to make sure your bags are first off the carousel? Where can you upgrade to business class for only US$30? How can you always land at the front of the immigration queue at Chek Lap Kok? Traders Hotels solve these mysteries and more in the recently launched “Traders Travel Tips” advertising campaign which runs in Asia regional newspapers through 2005. read more