Booking Utah motels online - necessary?

Hello,

trying to draw our itinerary for the Grand Circle of the National Parks
in Utah (+ Grand Canyon and Monument Valley), I have one fundamental
question: should we try to book a room for two in every motel we are
going to stay in?

I doubt if all the Utah's motels have their webpages with secure
booking system. But how are we then supposed to be sure that we will
have lodging, coming from the other site of the world?

We need only basic commodities, not necessarily inside the parks etc -
i.e. the bare minimum.

"Fiance" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

trying to draw our itinerary for the Grand Circle of the National Parks
in Utah (+ Grand Canyon and Monument Valley), I have one fundamental
question: should we try to book a room for two in every motel we are
going to stay in?


I'd certainly advise it for the Grand Canyon and while you
dont state when you are going its a good idea to have bookings
if your visit is in the height of summer or coincides with
public/school holidays


I doubt if all the Utah's motels have their webpages with secure
booking system. But how are we then supposed to be sure that we will
have lodging, coming from the other site of the world?


Many of the motels belong to the big chains and DO have
online booking system. Fot those that dont pick up the phone.
A few dollars on a telephone call may pove to be a good investment

We need only basic commodities, not necessarily inside the parks etc -
i.e. the bare minimum.


Look at the budget chains, Super8, Motel6, Holiday Inn Express,
Red Roof, Best Western. Before you book look for
reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Keith

Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?

Fiance wrote:
Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?


It depends on the Internet service that you book through. Some require
pre-payment; others don't. They always state their cancellation policy
on their page (if they don't, don't consider booking with that company).
Usually there is a small cancellation fee if you cancel with enough
notice, and a one day fee if less than 24 hours is normal, altho' a few
actually let you cancel a few hours ahead. (read the notices on their
sites).

I booked 10 hotels for our road trip in California and Nevada and
everything went really slick. I did take the time to call (or e-mail
where possible) each hotel desk directly and confirm they had the
reservation the week before I flew out. (they all did). I made sure I
had my e-mail confirmations printed out and with me when I checked in.
Worked well, and I was able to get great prices on the rooms.

I used sidestep.com to do most of the price comparisons and tripadvisor
to check people's recommendations before deciding on the booking.

It took a little time but the results were a great trip with no hassles.




--
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"Fiance" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?


I'm suggesting tripadvisor for the reviews because they
come from people who have stayed there

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?


If you book through the motels own system you typically dont
pay anything up front and can cancel up to 5 or 6 pm on
the day you were due to stay.

Expedia usually wants to be paid up front, I tend NOT
to use them unless a) They give a very good rate and
b) my plans are cast in stone.

Keith

"TheNewsGuy(Mike)" wrote in message
...
Fiance wrote:
Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?


It depends on the Internet service that you book through. Some require
pre-payment; others don't. They always state their cancellation policy
on their page (if they don't, don't consider booking with that company).
Usually there is a small cancellation fee if you cancel with enough
notice, and a one day fee if less than 24 hours is normal, altho' a few
actually let you cancel a few hours ahead. (read the notices on their
sites).

I booked 10 hotels for our road trip in California and Nevada and
everything went really slick. I did take the time to call (or e-mail
where possible) each hotel desk directly and confirm they had the
reservation the week before I flew out. (they all did). I made sure I had
my e-mail confirmations printed out and with me when I checked in. Worked
well, and I was able to get great prices on the rooms.


Printing out the confirmations is a good idea if only to ensure
they actually give you the rates promised. Be aware though
that those rates may not include local taxes, this often comes
as an unpleasant surprise to UK visitors.

Keith

In article .com,
"Fiance" wrote:

Hello,

trying to draw our itinerary for the Grand Circle of the National Parks
in Utah (+ Grand Canyon and Monument Valley), I have one fundamental
question: should we try to book a room for two in every motel we are
going to stay in?

I doubt if all the Utah's motels have their webpages with secure
booking system. But how are we then supposed to be sure that we will
have lodging, coming from the other site of the world?

We need only basic commodities, not necessarily inside the parks etc -
i.e. the bare minimum.

When do you plan to do this trip? If its during the busy summer season,
you should definitely book your hotels in advance. If you try to book
your hotels when you get to the area, you will pay exhoritant rack
rates. Just use one of the major online travel agents such as expedia or
travelocity and a major credit card and your transactions should be
secure. If this still worries you, just book your hotel rooms via phone.

In article . com,
"Fiance" wrote:

Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?

Just check on Expedia's web site for answers to questions such as this
or check with the hotel. Every hotel has its own policy, so there is no
way to offer a general answer, but its usually the case where you only
use your credit card to secure a reservation, but the payment is not
made until you check out.

Fiance wrote:

Thank you, Keith.

I found Expedia.com to be more handy than Tripadvisor, because the
lowest prices are shown right away. Are there more websites like
Expedia or better (i.e. larger database)?

I also have now experience in booking motels in the US: do I have to
pay the full fee right after reservation or during check-in only? Do I
lose money when cancelling a reservation?


Personally, I rarely book motels in advance on trips. In the eastern US
I usually manage to find places with a coupon rate that is far better
than the usual rates. The major exception if US National Parks or,
sometimes, the places immediately adjacent to the parks. Here you need
reservations significantly in advance. While I occasionally get caught
by special events it usually causes little problem.

"Fiance" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

trying to draw our itinerary for the Grand Circle of the National Parks
in Utah (+ Grand Canyon and Monument Valley), I have one fundamental
question: should we try to book a room for two in every motel we are
going to stay in?

I doubt if all the Utah's motels have their webpages with secure
booking system. But how are we then supposed to be sure that we will
have lodging, coming from the other site of the world?

We need only basic commodities, not necessarily inside the parks etc -
i.e. the bare minimum.

I had a AAA tour book(s) and some good (detailed) maps and used them to zero
in on places to stay. Always called the night before and never had a
problem booking a couple of rooms. Gave us the flexibility to free lance
about the states of Arizona and Utah. This was in Sept. after Labor Day so
that obviously had a lot to do with our success.
MLD