Do you book rooms on the way?

[mudnuri]

Just curious-

Last time we drove to flordia, Santee, SC did not have a room empty, that along with a 45 mile radius...

Since we are once again going in April, I am tossing the idea of booking the rooms ahead, I know what exits we want to end up at, and know what hotels are where...I think this would make me at least feel a bit better when we hit SC and have a room!...

The only thing I'm concerned about is not making it- say for instance we get stuck in some major traffic...and we can't make it to the next hotel, I guess I could be out some money..but then some chains offer "cancel up to 4pm on day of arrival"...

I dont know- what do you do??

I know we're stopping at Emporia, VA and then again in Brunswick, GA....the return trip hasn't been figured out yet...

Brandy

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Why don't you make the reservations at the motels in the towns at which you want to stop and then cancel them if you can not make it there. Or, you could call and secure the room with a noncancellable credit card charge for later arrival.

Check with your motel and see if they will permit you to cancel by 6pm. Many do observe the 6 pm hold.

April may not have the problems in filling up motel rooms as when you visited the last time.

 

[tigger&tigerlover]

I always book the rooms. I figure that it never hurts to have it reserved, and I know that most hotels will allow you to cancel if you call by 6pm on that night. Others may require a bit more notice, but they will tell you when you make the reservations.

Just keep the confirmation number, so if you need to cancel, the reservationist can find you easily. We've never had a problem with charges if we needed to cancel.

And that way, you have the piece of mind of knowing that you have a place to stay in case there's a convention/fair/whatever in town that day.

 

[Figaro]

We have had really good luck by requesting the tour books from AAA for the states we are passing through and then stopping at the Visitor Welcome Center in the state we want to stay in and picking up the discounts magazines/coupons. When we decide on the town we want to stay in, I check the AAA rating in the tour book, decide which 3-4 hotels are acceptable and then look to see if there are discounts in the magazines/coupons for those hotels. I then will use the cell phone to call the hotel directly and ask if they have rooms available at the rate listed in the magazine.

The trick to this is to never, ever stay at anything less than a two star, to call late afternoon (when we usually have a pretty good idea of how much further we are going to drive and how long it will take us to get there) and to be flexible. If everything is booked in a town that is 2-3 hours away, I will either start checking at towns closer or towns further away. We've gotten some very nice hotels at very cheap rates and only have have had to drive a little further or stop a little earlier once in a while.

 

[Poohs Pal]

Excellant advice Figaro. Susan

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't recommend "winging it", but if you do, and you have a cell phone, use it. Even calling from outside in the parking lot may get you a significant discount over the walk-in rate; after all, you don't have to TELL them that you are sitting in the lot, now do you?