How to get a hotel same day when travelling

[supersnoop]

Be sure you find a hotel before midnight. Once today tuns into tomorrow, you won't b able to find pricing or availability online.

 

[Ali]

I've used the iexit app when we drive like that. It shows what's coming up at each exit, then I choose choose a hotel a few sits away and Google their number and see if they have rooms.

 

[Thing 1]

We use Hotel tonight and have been please. You know exactly what you are getting and its quick and we have never had an issue. A couple thoughts : Are you looking for on the way down or back? On the way down, I would drive the whole way and reserve NOW a room in the collage town. Depending on the size of the town and collage, rooms can be very difficult to get on move in week-end. Since many schools move in the same week-end, that could be an issue in other collage towns on the drive. If you are looking for a place on the way back, know you are likely to be exhausted, physically and maybe mentally. You may not want to go too far upon leaving and there again you could run into the same shortage of rooms. More than you asked for but at least something to think about.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We ran into a BIG problem a few years ago. We had pre-booked a room north of Atlanta for the night but was running a few hours ahead of schedule. We cancelled the room. Our overnight was going to be near Knoxville, but a UT home game was the next day at noon and we could find nothing for a room. Since we were about 185 miles from home, I loaded up on sweet tea and somehow made the drive. We will never make that mistake again. I would strongly advise to get an area in mind and pre book.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I use Orbitz on my phone when I'm traveling and need to look ahead to see what hotels are available, but that's not infallible. Like one of the previous posters, we were driving through an area with lots of hotels BUT there was a major convention going on that had gobbled up hotel rooms for a considerable chunk of our drive. So I'd do a little research ahead of time to see how many hotels are available along my route + see if anything comes up as event-wise as possible competition for those rooms.

 

[Judique]

I'm a fan of estimating your travel schedule and prebooking. It's a no brainer for me as we always drive and now I know our limits.

Also, we sometimes leave after a work day and drive until late, perhaps up until ten or eleven pm.

On many occasions, especially Friday and Saturday nights, I'll be checking in and people will be coming in and hearing, no, we are fully booked.

I also belong to several awards programs and often earn free nights.

 

[kymom99]

I have used the trip advisor app.

We drove to siesta key a couple years ago and planned to stop in Georgia on the way down. It took some doing to find a place with a room that wasn't a king room. We had to go off the highway a little ways and found a quality inn but the quality wasn't too great. We survived but I think I would try reserving ahead if I were you. One time we pulled off at a Hampton in a downpour along with everyone else. All they had was a king so we took it because our son was little and we all squeezed in. Couldn't do that now

 

[lennyd]

your main concern should be safety, i drive to fla alot from ny , i only stop in built up areas there are some shady areas on the way down, you dont want to be driving into deliverance bna na na na na na if you see some one with a banjo keep driving

 

[Judique]

your main concern should be safety, i drive to fla alot from ny , i only stop in built up areas there are some shady areas on the way down, you dont want to be driving into deliverance bna na na na na na if you see some one with a banjo keep driving

I like banjo music.

Are all those shady areas in NY? Cause I drive all the time and I can't think where it could be anything less than welcoming along the way.

Not saying I'll stay in any old place.....I prefer Hampton, Holiday Inn Express, Country Inn and Suites, Sheraton, Westin, Hilton, Embassy. etc, etc.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I did this recently, I just downloaded the Marriott app and when I was getting close to my end driving time for the day i stopped and checked the app and grabbed a night close by.

 

[Sagginit]

In my experience the last minute deal can be a myth. When on roadtrips I pre-book for that reason. I have checked rates sometimes up to the last minute as hotels have 72-48 our cancellation policies and don't often find anything better closer to the date. I remember the last time we decided we needed to break up our drive back and book that day it took a lot of searching for a vacancy and it wasn't cheap. We also we're in a King Bed handicap room, the last one they had left. The room was oddly large with everything spread out, it made for an interesting middle of the night bathroom trip lol. Contrary to popular belief if you are on a busy travel corridor and there are only a few motels in the area they often are filled up. Summer is prime travel time too. Priceline can work but if you are in a city area, can you imagine having to drive INTO a city you were right outside of and then getting slammed with tolls/parking fees for that cheap hotel? I would only try that in the suburbs and then it could be hard to find a 4-5 star hotel that you trust to bid on. I tried the call a bunch of hotels for their last minute rate once and what I found is they were all full or were offering a higher rate for the last minute.

I use various sites and poke around for deals ahead of time. I also play around with the place to stop on if its just an overnight on a roadtrip. If anything we over estimate and then call the hotel to inform of a later check in (so we plan on being there by 6pm to get dinner and hit the hay, but if we arrive at 8pm we are often ok with that too). I have found you can save a decent chunk by maybe driving off the main highway into a neighboring town, sometimes its only 15 minutes away but it makes a difference in price. Plus if you are going to eat places on the highway are more likely to be fast food so going into the suburb will yield in better meal options. Orbitz is linked to ebates so if its the same cost there as the hotel I may book there for cashback. If its a few nights and we are trying to build rewards we use one chain (such as holiday inn express) for all stays (they may be on ebates too now that I think about it). I have AAA and also check their website. Discounts can be sent to various websites in blocks. So when we went to DL I had to book two nights on AAA and then two nights on Orbitz to get the same low rate as each site only had two nights available at that rate, the other nights in their block were booked up.

 

[sk8jdgca]

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.

I do the same! I'd rather stay at any 4 star than a Motel 6 for the same price.

 

[4shinystars]

From experience with both DDs that attended/are attending a university in a small town, unless your destination is a large city, make reservations now for the hotel near the school. When they were freshmen they were due earlier than upperclassmen for orientation, but that meant more parents helping to move their kids in. The other college in the area luckily didn't have move in the same dates until this year. We booked 4 months out minimum since there are only 4 hotels/motels within 45 minutes and availability disappears and rates dramatically increase as it gets closer to the date.
This year DD is a peer leader and has to be there on 8/25, and the other college has move in the same date. We booked 6 months ago.

 

[leebee]

I use kayak or orbits

 

[accountingbabe08]

I have used hotwire alot and have never been disappointed

 

[xlxo]

Be sure you find a hotel before midnight. Once today tuns into tomorrow, you won't b able to find pricing or availability online.

Agreed... by 6pm.... I would be looking at what's available. Not fun driving around for rooms at 11pm during a summer sellout.

 

[DVC-Don]

I'm partial to Hampton Inns (failing them Fairfield Inns) and I just use my iPad while on the road to look them up. I belong to both of their loyalty programs.

 

[manning]

Here's an app that will help. It is "Hotel finder". you enter thee zip code or city @ state you are near and it will list all the hotel/motel near that location or the brand you want.

When you select the one you want just press "call"

You can get it on the "APP STORE". Search "Hotel Finder"

 

[Vijoge]

I usually use trivago or kayak. Sometimes hotels.com or hotwire.

 

[neatokimmo]

I stop at large truck stop gas stations, the kind with real food and showers. Those really big complexes normally have hotel coupon books in them. We were able to save $20 in Maryland last Friday at a red roof. Look for the large outdoor boxes. I always double check the room before I give them money and we have had some great deals.

I also have good luck with Hotwire. We used it to book a room outside of DC last sat night. I saved $48 on a stellar Hampton inn two blocks from the metro. I checked in 15 minutes after booking.