To get into speakeasies of yore, you had to knock and the door, waiting for the big guy to slide back the eye slot, and say the secret password. Likewise, in order to get into a hotel room at a great price, you gotta know the lingo to sling. [More]
hotels
Marriott Bans Pay-Per-View Porn From New Hotels
By 1.21.11
Business travelers looking for an expense-account friendly way to unwind after a hard day on the road may want to skip new Marriott hotels if their tastes turn to “sophisticated” entertainment. The chain has announced that the in-room entertainment systems in those hotels won’t offer adult video-on-demand options. [More]
Long For The '70s? This Vintage Hilton Ad Will Cure That
By 1.21.11
No person in their right mind should ever long for the ’70s. In case, they do, however, we offer as counter-argument this incredibly weird Hilton ad, which features a magician, a Scott Bakula impersonator, and a bunch of hotel maids dressed in what later became the Munchkin costumes for a community theater production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
[More]
The Woots And Groupons Of Travel Bargain Sites
By 1.18.11
A number of travel sites have cropped up offering “Woot-like” and “Grouponesque” deals for getaway bargains that are available only for a limited time before a new deal goes up, and/or gives you a price-break the more people who jump onboard. Here’s a few to peruse: [More]
Update: Hotels.com Finally Issues Refund To Misinformed Customers
By 1.10.11
You may remember the story from just after Christmas of the two Consumerist readers who weren’t told their reservation on Hotels.com was non-refundable until after they’d requested a refund. After the story appeared here, it looks like the site saw the error of its ways and has refunded the money. [More]
Cut Your Hotel Bill By Starting A Bidding War
By 1.6.11
The New York Times has a round-up of money-saving travel hints for 2011 — and there are a few interesting ideas, like searching student travel agencies for trips with no age restrictions, and negotiating with the reservation agents at multiple hotels. [More]
Hotel Washes Every Coin They Get As Courtesy For Guests
By 12.30.10
As a favor to guests, one hotel washes every coin it receives, just like it’s done since 1938. [More]
Ways Hotels Try To Bilk You For Extra Money
By 12.6.10
A hotel’s room rate is only the base price of your stay. The industry pulses with ways to stick you with a bevy of fees you may not see coming. [More]
Hotel Desk Guy Won't Let My Wife Use The Bathroom
By 12.1.10
Matt and his wife got into a power struggle with a hotel desk clerk at a Howard Johnson who refused to allow a non-employee to use a hotel bathroom. The couple ended up storming off and HoJo kept their money. [More]
Honeymooners Turned Away From Hotel For Being Too Young
By 11.22.10
Imagine you’re an 18-year-old bride who has had to plan your entire wedding and honeymoon on your own because your groom has been away at Marine boot camp. And then you arrive at the hotel after the ceremony and find out that there’s no room at the inn because you’re under 21. [More]
Blacklisted From Motel 6 For Complaining About Moldy Shower Curtain
By 11.22.10
We appreciate your feedback? Not so much. When a man returned to the same Motel 6 where he had complained about a moldy shower curtain, he found himself barred from staying there. Because no other hotels had vacancies, he was forced to sleep in his car. [More]
My Hotel Room Has Bedbugs — What Do I Do?
By 11.17.10
Rick woke up in his hotel bed to find he’d been joined by several unwanted strangers for some dirty exchanging of bodily fluids. That’s right, he’s got bedbugs. He’s freaked out and doesn’t know what to do. [More]
Priceline Restores Insanity, Moves Hotel Reservation To Different City
By 11.4.10
Priceline has a very different understanding of what a “hotel reservation” is than Shane does. He and his wife and children planned to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Washington, D.C. to attend this past weekend’s Rally To Restore Sanity And/or Fear put on by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. They reserved a hotel room in a close suburb, near a Metro station, correctly assuming that traffic would make driving into the city a bad idea. [More]
Overpriced Bars Now Adding Mandatory 18-20% Tips
By 11.1.10
Here in New York City, there are certain bars — most of them in hotels and most of them frequented by people who read in Us Weekly that celebrities party there — that are not only charging absolutely ridiculous amounts of cash for basic cocktails, but are automatically adding hefty tips onto the tab. [More]
Travel When Others Don't To Save Big
By 10.31.10
It pays to be original when dreaming up your vacation plans, because if everyone else has the same idea as you, you’re sure to be paying the highest rates possible for travel, accommodations and attractions. [More]
Orbitz Booked Me Into Hotel With No Vacancies
By 10.22.10
Andrew says Orbitz screwed up his trip to New York by booking and charging him for a room at a hotel that couldn’t honor the reservation. He arrived at the hotel at 9 p.m., but there was no room waiting for him. [More]
UPDATE: Fairmont Hotel Drama Gets Happy Ending For College Students
By 10.13.10
Yesterday, we brought you the story of 128 Washington University students whose reservations at the Fairmont Millennium in downtown Chicago had been canceled and relocated 15 miles away to an airport Sheraton. We’re happy to report that the situation appears to have been resolved, without much bloodshed. [More]
Is This The End Of Recession Pricing For Hotel Rooms?
By 10.8.10
While the last couple years haven’t exactly been wonderful for people in the hotel business, many travelers have been able to score cut-rate rooms as hotel operators sought to fill rooms. But now, says USA Today, it’s looking like rates are back on the rise again. [More]
