KnowYourTrip.com

Hey Trippers,

One travel tip I’ve learned over the years I can pass on is flexibility.  Especially, when it comes to accommodation.   I have never understood how anyone can book two weeks of accommodation in advance.  I can understand it if you go for a weekend – or maybe a week away – in a popular destination’s peak season.  (But I wouldn’t recommend that you go during that time anyway.)

Open to Whimsy from Your “Hub”

When I run through many of my travel memories that have stuck with me and felt like a real sense of adventure, they happened when I practiced flexibility.   All too often I find that I enjoy a place too much that I want to spend more time there – or rarely, less.  If I have a week of reservations ahead of me that can’t be broken, I can’t enjoy that place longer.  I tend to book accommodation in a destination and look at it as being a hub.  I use the “hub” as a base and go in each direction exploring, then move on to the next “hub”.

Visit a Tourist Office and Use the Web!

I know, you think you don’t want to waste time going from hotel to hotel after you arrive at your destination.  Most destinations have tourist offices that are more than happy to assist you.  On this trip, we made sure we booked accommodation with Internet, either in room or lobby.  We used www.booking.com,  www.lastminute.com, and our “reward points” websites.  There was plenty of availability.  This trip showed me the value of having an iPhone or an Internet connecting PDA.  You can literally book while you travel.  This freedom allows you to stop, explore, linger, and stay – or – move on if a destination doesn’t meet your expectations.

Two Must Nights to Pre-Book Accommodation

The one area I don’t allow any flexibility in my accommodation booking is the day I land and the night before I take off.   I book the first night or two and the last night – well before I leave.  The reserved accommodation will be near my first day destination and near the airport of my departure on the night before.  I make sure I’m booked the first night because I won’t be in any condition to book or search for a hotel when I land (given the time change and the length of air travel).

A Dangerous Landing

On this trip, I landed at Heathrow airport, rented a car, and drove two hours to my hotel that was pre-booked in Birmingham, Midlands.  I was traveling with someone who, thankfully, did the driving.  If I were alone there would have been serious problems.  I could not keep my eyes open.  I was exhausted from the long flights, not enough sleep, and the pre-departure preparations.  If I were alone, I would have stopped to nap in the car after leaving the airport.  It was that bad.  So, plan well.  Evaluate how you really are when you land on the first day of your trip.  Packing and negotiating airports and public transport is exhausting.

Ensure a Delightful Finish

The final night of my trip is booked because I do not take any chances with my getting to the airport on time.  I would not recommend being any further than one hour or less drive from the airport you’re departing from, especially, if you have a departure before noon.  What could happen?  Lots . . . . You could be ill after an exhaustive trip or exposure to a virus or bacteria.  You could be involved in or delayed by a car / public transport accident or delay.  You could have left a belonging / electronic / camera lens, passport along your trip and need to go back for it making you late for your flight.  At least if you have a room reserved, you could stop to rest and regroup for your departure flight.

Still Able to Maintain Budget

Booking a room at a hotel near the airport doesn’t have to be expensive.  Most accommodation caters to business travelers.  You will easily find a better rate on weekends.  There are less expensive hotels located a bit further from the hotel that often offer a free shuttle as an incentive for you to stay there.  (Book that shuttle in advance, if possible)  Rates on weekdays will be higher but usually a busy international airport will have a wide variety of nightly rates and amenities.

On this trip, I booked my final night at the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers.  It is literally attached to the airport.  What a pleasure it was and a great way to finish my trip by waking, having a good breakfast, and walking over a skybridge into the airport terminal.  I booked a room using a Starwood Preferred Guest “Cash and Points” scheme.  I used 4000 Starpoints and paid US$60.00(€42.00) for the convenience.

Upgrade!!!

When, I arrived, I checked into the spacious room with modern amenities – and found it was dirty from the previous night!  I called down to the front desk.  They apologized and assigned me another room with a room upgrade.  I was now on the Executive Floor!  This gave me access to the Executive Lounge.  The lounge was spacious, included (at no extra charge) all the chef-prepared food, snacks, beverages (soft drinks, wine, beer, liquor), and a breakfast buffet in the morning.  What a way to finish a trip!

Happy Tripping,

Carter

Part 3 in a series of how I traveled to Europe and back for three weeks on a budget.

Hey Trippers,

Today I will focus on using hotel points, awards, how to acquire them, and when to redeem them.  Hotel costs regularly exceed airfare and transportation costs on any holiday.  This is an important way to reduce your trip overhead.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT ENDORSE ANY PRODUCT BELOW.  I am using them only as an example.

Join a Rewards Program and CHOOSE CAREFULLY – Choose a reward program and think it through.  Personally, I keep my hotel choices within hotel groupings that are in only two programs.  I do have memberships in a few other programs but focus on Hilton Honors and Starwood Preferred Guest.  For the most part, these two programs fulfill my needs domestically and internationally.  (I fill in the gaps with local hotels that are culturally significant at reasonable rates)  Both Award Programs have a spectrum of accommodation rates and property quality from BUDGET to LUXURY, which is what you want the programs you choose to have.

Hotel Reward Program Credit Cards – Sign up for a Hotel Rewards Credit Card (See programs below) for a group of hotels that have a broad spectrum of accommodation classes.  Personally, I have a Hilton Honors American Express and a Starwood Preferred Guest American Express.  Some of the credit cards charge yearly fees and some don’t.  Makes sure you confirm the one you use.  DO NOT do this if you cannot pay your credit card balance off in its entirety every month (interest rates approach loan shark rates) or if you are prone to be late paying bills (penalty fees are ridiculously high).

Point Acquisition – The programs will award you anywhere between 10 points and 1 point per dollar depending on what you spend your credit card on; the hotels themselves, gas stations, credit cards, on-line malls, or grocery stores.   You can usually acquire the most points for actually paying for a hotel stay and dining on the property.

Pay Low Redeem High - The trick is when it is on your dollar; you stay in one of their accommodations as cheaply as possible to earn points.  When you go away on personal business, visiting Grandma, or other non-holiday hotel stays, that’s when you stay in a modest accommodation within the hotel reward program.  Then, during the dream trip or holiday stay in the more expensive or popular hotels using points.  For instance, when on non-holiday accommodation stays; stay at a Hampton Inn or Hilton Garden Inn and when on your dream trip stay at the Hilton or Conrad using points.

On my trip, while in England and Austria, I paid to stay at Hilton Hotels (2 – 3 Star) at great rates (earning points and stays).  I found and booked the Hilton Hotels in England on-line and booked the Innsbruck Hilton last minute (most stays included breakfast).  The England Hilton stays ranged between £69.00 (US$113.00) in Bromsgrove, Midlands, £89.00 (US$146.00) in London, and Innsbruck, Austria, €89.00 (US$127.00) per night.  Both hotels included breakfast as part of the room rate.  In London, my Hilton Honors status enabled me to get a room upgrade and breakfast included.  I used Starwood Preferred Guest points to stay in a Venice 5 Star Hotel.  I redeemed points for my 5-night stay at The Europa and Regina Hotel on the Grande Canal.  The Premium Deluxe Room I stayed in was €380.00 (US$540.00) per night when booked on-line in advance.  The breakfast buffet was €52.00 (US$74.00) per person and I used points for that – only once!  Overeating is no way to start a busy day of exploring.

Double Dipping - This is a good way to acquire double points.  When staying at an accommodation, use the same Reward Program Credit Card to pay for your stay.  Many of the hotel chains also award a block of air miles for each stay (one or more nights consecutively).  Many Rental Car Companies also award hotel points.  Check before you book.

Advance Booking - Redeeming points for hotel stays has to be done WELL IN ADVANCE.  The programs are popular!  There are only so many rooms they set aside for point redemption.  Peak times at popular hotels have the fewest point redemption rooms available.

Optimizing Redemption – Starwood Preferred Guest is the only program offering “Free Night Awards”.  This aspect awards you a fifth night free with every four nights you book with award points.  There is limited availability, so book ASAP.

Remember to optimize the points you acquire when making large purchases; furniture, cars, electronics (including computers), home repairs, landscaping, etc.  Negotiate as a part or all of payment to be able to use a credit card.  When I purchased my last car, I negotiated as a part of the deal to charge $10,000.00 on my Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card.  That is a 5 night stay on many of their  properties.

Membership or Status Levels – Within a particular Reward Program, if you stay enough times and or acquire enough points (within a calendar year) your status within the program will get you additional perks.  Example: Hilton Honors has (lowest to highest) Blue, Silver VIP, Gold VIP, and Diamond VIP. Depending on property and availability, Gold VIP and Diamond VIP will get you an upgrade to the Executive Lounge Floor, which (depending on property) will afford you complimentary breakfast, snacks, and drinks throughout the day and evening.

Here’s a list of hotels and their programs;

Starwood Preferred Guest Program – Hotels include: Meridien, Four Points by Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, aloft, and the Luxury Collection

Hilton Honors – Hilton, Conrad, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, The Waldorf Astoria Collection, and Home2 Suites

Priority Club Rewards – Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites

Wyndham Rewards – Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate, Baymont Ins & Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Microtel, and Hawthorn.

Marriott Rewards – Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, and Fairfield Inn.

Choice Privileges –    Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Main Stay Suites, Suburban, EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, and Ascend Collection

Best Western Rewards – (Earn Points or Air Miles) Good at over 4000 Best Western Hotels in 80 countries.

Hyatt Gold Passport – Hyatt, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt Summerfield Suites

This should be a good start for you.  I know it can be complicated at times.  But once you get the hang of it, it’ll make sense.  There is more Hotel Reward Programs listed in the KNOW YOUR BUDGET download on the KNOW YOUR TRIP HOME PAGE.

Happy Point Acquisition,

Carter

Hey Trippers,

For those of you that don’t already know.  My blog and the website project: www.knowyourtrip.com, aren’t just about traveling.  I don’t go to places to visit just to say I did.  The biggest enjoyment of my traveling is about immersing myself into another culture and learning more about how other people live and think.  A big part of that is hospitality.

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have no problem striking up conversations with strangers.  It is me wanting to understand.  Understand how and why other people think the way they do.  It doesn’t always work out but I always come away with more understanding and feel better for it.

The second part of my project is to help enable people who have a passion for travel to do it on a budget.  In today’s world we don’t have the money to throw around.  Most people consider money to travel as a luxury.  My website isn’t about first class or luxury travel.  It’s about traveling on a budget.  I’m under no illusion that it doesn’t take money to travel.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

And now we have a great tool to enable everyone to travel on a budget.  It’s called The Couch Surfing Project!  This is a great website that puts travelers and budget (well, free) accommodation together.  The couch surfing means that you have a couch in your home available to host a traveler or two.  It isn’t just about hosting though.  You can state that you are “coffee and a drink” and this means that you are available to do just that.  You will enjoy a beverage with a traveler and show him around your town.

So, when you are unable to afford to travel, you can still share someone’s culture.  Open yourself up to a new understanding of a different culture, ethnic group, student, or wanderer.  Then, when it comes time for you to find some time off to travel, you can still do it on a budget.  for as much as an airfare and a bit of spending money you can experience a new culture.

Here’s a bit about how the website works:

• Join and become a member.

• Fill out your profile telling a little bit about yourself, languages you speak, add a photo or photo stream.

• State whether you are interested in not meeting up with anyone, you want top meet for “coffee and a drink”, or you have a “couch available”.  Then, fill out whether you have a couch, bed, bedroom, tent, floor or whatever, because many people aren’t picky when it’s free!

You’re probably worrying about safety and security.  “What if I host a serial killer?”  How American of you!!  Well, they have that covered too by using a “rating” system.  It’s kind of like EBay.  When you host someone, you log onto the website and write about your experience with your guest.  Part of the process is that he or she gets to do the same thing.  They rate you and your hosting.  So, you can log on and find about about someone before agreeing to host them and viceversa.

There’s an additional way you can reach out.  When you log in, you can see everyone that is visiting within a hundred miles of your house!  You can see how long ago they logged-in to the website.  this allows you to contact anyone in your area to say that you’re willing to show them around, meet for a drink, or you have a “couch” they can sleep on.

I have noticed that most of the members are in their twenties, but I have found some profiles in older demographics.  Like My Space and Facebook, I have a feeling that will change.  Before you know it, we mature individuals will realize that this is a great way to open up ourselves too people besides family, friends, city, town, country, and culture. the ‘Win Win” part is that we’ll show the world just how generous and wonderful we are.

Spend some time reading profiles and you’ll see there’s all sorts.  They all seem to have a few things in common; a passion for travel, sharing their culture, and experincing yours.  So, come on trippers, GO COUCH SURFING!  See you there . . .

Happy Tripping,  Carter