In economics class, I learned about the Law of Diminishing Returns. In short, it says that after a certain point, additional effort will yield less returns.
Take, for instance, booking a hotel room. For every question you answer, there will always be two new questions. What are the ratings of the hotels in the area? Are there any promotions going on right now that might apply? Should you use points or cash? Could you book with AAA or Costco or book a package to save money? Which card should you use? The number of things to consider is dizzying. Don’t even get me started when you also have to consider using hotel points or free night certificates.
Here are some hints to keep you from spending more time planning your trip than you spend ON your trip 🙂
- Use technology to your advantage. I love to look at Oyster for pictures of the hotels that aren’t doctored by the marketing departments. I also use TripAdvisor to find a place in my price range.
- Try to narrow your search and broaden it if needed. If you start looking at 100 hotels, it’ll take forever. Pick a specific neighborhood, hotel chain, or price range and start there.
- There is no “perfect.” The faster you learn this, the happier you will be. Stop trying to find the perfect hotel. If you’re choosing between the #1 and #2 hotels in the area, you’ll most likely be happy at either one.
- Know what is important to YOU. Do you need internet access in the room? Do you need a gym? What about a refrigerator or even a full kitchen? Do you need a hotel with room service? Laundry? Airport shuttle? Nearby access to Starbucks? To public transportation? All of these are important to some people, but maybe not to you. Use these to help you choose.
- Know what you have to work with. If you have any free nights from credit cards (Marriott, IHG, Hyatt), don’t let them go to waste. The same goes for hotel points or gift cards. It’s always better to spend someone else’s money.
- Think really hard before making a non-refundable reservation. Will those few extra dollars be worth it if you need to change your trip? What if a really good price comes up at that other hotel you were looking at? It’s always good to leave your options open.
I’ve spent many an hour in front of the computer, trying to decide which hotel to stay at. It shouldn’t be that hard of a decision. You should spend more time on your vacation than figuring out where to stay during it.
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