How to get a hotel same day when travelling

[DVC'96]

We will be driving my daughter to college in Michigan this August. It's a 12 hour drive and we are planning on driving as far as we can one day and finishing up the next. Since I'm not sure where we will be when we make the call to stop, are there any apps or websites that we can use to find a hotel last minute? I know I've read about people doing this on their drive to Disney but I can't find anything with the search.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[TexasPrincess1]

I use priceline.com.

 

[loves to dive]

We just use our GPS to find one when we are ready to stop and do the good old fashioned stop and see if they have vacancies or look the number up on the phone and call.

 

[DVC'96]

Ideally I would like to look at an upcoming town and be able to compare prices. Can you do that with priceline.com? I don't want to deal with bidding or anything.

 

[DisneyArie]

Priceline is great. I have bid on a $400+ night hotel the day I wanted to check in and got it for about $150 for two nights.

If I want a specific place, I use hotels.com I have a gold account and get a free night for every 10 nights.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I use priceline. I put in a town and often use express deals, you don't get to pick the hotel but you pick the level and the amenities and the area. We do that when we are just making a quick stop.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I used to just look for a Motel 6 on the side of the highway and stop to see if there is a vacancy.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I used to just look for a Motel 6 on the side of the highway and stop to see if there is a vacancy.

My husband and I were talking about this the other day. We moved cross country several years the first decade of our marriage and Motel 6 was always our go to motel. Then we got a little older and made more money and now I don't think I'd step foot in one. Lots of stays though in the past and we were never disappointed. Now I really like Holiday Inn Express for quick stops, they are usually fairly new and they have great free breakfast in the morning.

 

[afan]

We used the choice app because it'll show all of their various brands. Most if not all have a free breakfast and they allow dogs which we need.

 

[scrapquitler]

any of the same websites or apps you would use to book a room ahead of time. I usually look at a map/or Yelp, and find a hotel and call it directly.
If I'm taking a road trip and we think we are going to stop along the way, I usually scope out a few options before we leave and have a loose idea of where I want to end up. We got a couple of pretty bad hotels just randomly stopping along the way without me having done at least a little research ahead of time.

 

[SirDuff]

Hotel Tonight - an app that you can download.

 

[robinb]

I also use Priceline.

 

[hercamore]

I do a lot of road trips visiting family. I use trip advisor for the town I think I may be stopping at and check the reviews in the hotels in the area. I pick a couple hotels I think I like and then go to their website to check prices and what discounts they offer (AAA or AARP)

 

[TexasPrincess1]

There are 3 options with Priceline.

1. Compare regular hotel prices.
2. Express Deals where they tell you the star ranking and the price and the general location, but not the actual name until you pay.
3. Bidding with Name Your Own Price.

I suggest looking at the maps and using the filters as much as possible.

I look at the first two options first to get an idea of what my max bid will be using the 3rd option. It is fun. Like a game. My motto is: I don't care which 4 star hotel it is as long as it is a 4 star hotel in the area I want. Sometimes I will settle for a 3.5 depending on location and price. I have won many 4 stars across the country for under $50/night. There are even whole forums set up on strategies and previous wins on other sites.

 

[TexasPrincess1]

I also use tripadvisor to get prices of specific hotels and to get reviews.

 

[TexasPrincess1]

Remember the cash back websites like ebates.com. Click there first before going to Priceline and you get some percent back.

 

[xlxo]

I use Expedia to check what's available in the towns I'm approaching in the evening. August is high travel season.... so I would be making hotel plans at 6pm to ensure there someplace I can lie down. Looking for an empty affordable hotel room at midnight is not fun. Some of those sites stop working after 11pm for checking availability for the current night.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I've seen good things on the Hotel Tonight app. I haven't had occasion to use it but I would try it in a heartbeat.

 

[tinker&belle]

One thing to keep in mind... Make sure there are plenty of hotels on your route. Once when I was driving through Ohio to Pennsylvania I realized how few hotels were on the Interatate and pre booked our stops. I was really glad I did because a travel sports group was there the same time as us and they were turning people away as they came in the hotel.

 

[Sadie22]

Sign up for the loyalty clubs of the various chains and use their apps to locate motels on the road. You will receive emails on how to earn more points toward free nights when they are running promotions. We tend to stick with a particular chain so that we build up points with them for free nights on the next trip. Because we're a member of the loyalty club, we get free upgrades also.