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When you travel, how do you decide where to eat? Cost? Recommendation?
Here are 8 great ways to pick a restaurant:
1. Read. I frequently see reviews or mentions of restaurants in magazine and newspaper articles. Other places to read about restaurants include the Road Food books, Zagat guides, Chowhound, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. When on the road, my number 1 go-to source is probably the Yelp mobile app.
2. Ask. Many people like to get restaurant recommendations from hotel concierges, front desk staff, tourist office workers, or taxi drivers. I get better results asking hotel maintenance and housekeeping staff, small store workers and owners, and library staff. Samantha Brown found wonderful authentic and inexpensive Vietnamese places in Orlando, Florida by talking to housekeepers.
3. Ask online. Post a message in Chowhound or other message boards asking for suggestions. Facebook and Twitter are also great resources.
4. Design. My wife likes to pick out places with attractive color schemes or font styles on the signs. I am more apt to pick a place that has a person’s name–like Mom’s Diner.
5. Menus. Before your trip, visit restaurant’s websites and view menus online. In person, visit places and ask to see menus. This gives you a chance to see how busy it is, what the clients look like, and how friendly the staff is.
6. Drive by. Is the restaurant crowded or empty? Mostly local or out of state license plates? Fancy cars or pick up trucks? Do the people leaving look happy or not? Do you like places frequented by long haul truckers or police?
7. Deals. Certainly you can select places based on coupons (such as Groupon) or promotions. Note: see my post: Better Than Groupon.
8. Desperation. Sometimes you go with whatever is open. Whatever is on the highway exit sign. What the kids want.
How about you? How do you decide where to eat?
Happy travels!
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
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© 2012, Charles McCool
A few days ago, I saved over 35% at a hotel by negotiating a lower rate.
My prior post listed basic tips to negotiate a cheaper hotel room rate.
A reader on my Facebook page suggested recording my conversations. Well, I am not quite yet ready to enter the spy game but here is an after-the-fact transcript of the conversation I had to negotiate a lower hotel rate.
Background: I went to the visitor’s center in the town (a touristy town in the Southeast US) and picked up a hotel coupon book. I saw coupons for undesirable (to me) chain hotels for $55 (and more) and an independent property for $39. I visited the indy property but the rooms did not have wi-fi. I told them that I really wanted the wi-fi–so I would pass on a room this trip but asked for their recommendation for another property. They suggested a chain from the coupon book. I asked about another independent property–a very quaint-looking motel–I saw along the drive there. The desk clerk said, “Oh, yeah, nice place and they have a new pool.”
Disappointed that the first property did not work out (especially for $39!), I drove back to the charming, quaint motel. Here is my conversation with that desk clerk:
Me: Hello. Do you have an available room for one person?
Clerk: Yes. The rate is $70.
Me: Do you have any lower rates?
Clerk: How about $65?
Me: Oh, that is more than I wanted to pay.
Clerk: What are you looking to pay?
Me: Well, I went to the visitor’s center and they had a $39 coupon for the ABC Indy Hotel. ABC did not have wi-fi in the room, which I really want. The ABC clerk suggested the XYZ Yucky Chain Hotel but I noticed your property on the way there and asked them what they thought. They said it is very nice and you have a new pool.
Clerk: Uh, huh.
Me: I prefer independent properties and really do not want to stay at XYZ Yucky Chain Hotel. I imagine that you cannot match ABC’s $39 rate.
[NOTE: Not sure if it was good to mention this or not.]
Clerk: No, that’s too low.
Me: Would you take $50 total?
Clerk: Sure.
So, I ended up paying $50 total, saving 37% from the standard rate of $70 ($79.10 with tax).
I also stayed a second night at the same rate. A third night was a weekend night (Friday), which they charge much more.
What do you think? Have you negotiated hotel rates? Are your experiences similar or different?
I have negotiated rates with other hotels that were not so fast–a little more back and forth. I was actually surprised that they accepted my first offer of $50. Of course it made me wonder if I could have paid less.
Perhaps these posts of negotiating cheaper hotel rate will help you for future trips.
Happy travels!
Charles McCool is an independent consumer travel advocate.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool).
© 2011, Charles McCool
Have you ever negotiated a hotel rate? Yes, I said negotiated.
By negotiating, I don’t mean simply trying to get lower hotel rates–although, that is the intent. I don’t mean applying your discount programs (AAA, Costco, Entertainment, Room Saver) to get the best possible published rate.
Negotiated hotel rates are not published–or at least I end up feeling that way after agreeing to a rate.
Here are a few actual lodging deals I have negotiated:
- bartered about the method of payment (in Casablanca, Morocco)
- a lower rate by skipping breakfast (near Frankfurt, Germany)
- a camping spot on a golf course (in Tofino, Canada)
- several standard hotel stays
A couple of days ago, I saved over 37% at a hotel by negotiating a lower rate.
Here are some basic tips to negotiate a cheaper hotel room rate:
- independent hotel. Chains will sometimes negotiate if their occupancy is predicted to be under 70%. Independently owned properties, however, are usually managed by the owners, who are willing to negotiate rather than not make any money.
- let them go lower. Ask for the rate for a room. After getting the opening rate, ask if they can offer anything lower. Say that the second rate is more than you want to pay. They will ask what are you looking to pay, if you have any discount programs, or just say that is the best they can do. For the first scenario, if they ask what you are willing to pay, that is a negotiating situation. The other two scenarios usually do not result in successful price drops.
- compliment them. I typically say that I prefer to stay at independent properties rather than chains (true) or that I read some recommendations (hotel operators like hearing about appearing in TripAdvisor, etc.). In this situation, I first tried a nearby property (with a coupon) but they did not have wi-fi in the rooms. They suggested that I try a nearby chain hotel. Instead, I told the clerk at the independent hotel that I first tried the other property, that they did not have wi-fi, that they suggested the chain, but that I prefer indy properties.
- name your price. If the hotel desk clerk asks for your rate, propose something reasonable that you would be content paying. If it is a $300 a night property, they will not accept $50. I usually ask for the lowest rate of nearby competitors (especially from coupon guides) or a percentage (50%-75%) of their rate. NOTE: proposed lower rates have more merit in conjunction with the compliments, I believe.
- agree on a rate. A couple of times, the hotel desk clerk accepting my opening rate. Other times they may counter and there will be some true back and forth negotiating, until we agree on a rate.
Per a suggestion on my Facebook page, my next post will be a sample conversation on how I successfully negotiate lower hotel rates.
Charles McCool is an independent consumer travel advocate.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool).
© 2011, Charles McCool
