OK. Truth be told, I’m inspired to write this as I sit in a hotel at which I would have turned up my nose two months ago. My rule has always been to avoid hotels with:
- Doors in the room leading to outside (You road warriors know what I’m talking about)
- Any hotel with a color or number in its name
- Any hotel with a window or slot through which you push your credit card after hours. (A la urban drug houses??)
- American hotels in which front desk staff speaks zero English!Â
The list goes on. You get the picture. Yet, here I sit in the _____ Inn near the Dallas Fort Worth airport and I am actually pleasantly surprised. So, how did I end up trading down? I am a victim of the after Thanksgiving traveling nightmare and am stuck in Dallas with 50% of the luggage I left home with. But that’s another rant for another day. After checking out of my preferred hotel and being wished well, I was unable to fly out. I was too embarrassed to show up there again so I tried this hotel because of its proximity to the airport. Normally, this hotel would be on my untouchables list but I somehow lucked up. Mind you, I was first shown a first floor room with a broken window (Yeeshh!) but after reporting it, was shown to a suite on an upper floor. My first thought was that it would be fairly shoddy but when I arrived, I realized that the room was actually acceptable!
There were two separate rooms, not one of those partial walls suggesting another space. There was even a separate bathroom and ample lighting, full closet and chairs in the bedroom of the suite. The sitting area had a standard loveseat and chair, TV, desk and chair (a bit cramped but a nice attempt) and, of course, the coffeemaker and microfridge
Breakfast exceeded my expectations. I expected the dreaded dry carb fest of hard bagels and toast, packaged muffins and hardboiled eggs. Instead, I was greeted by hot scrambled eggs, sausage patties and fresh bread, bagels etc. Not bad for a B-list hotel.
I realized that those of us on the road might actually be able to recession proof our travels without completely slumming it. With the hospitality industry feeling the effects of reduced travel, there are deals out there to be had and by golly, why not us?
Guidelines for Living Large
- Go with National Chains. No one has ever been canonized for staying at the Dew Drop Inn. No matter how much your company or clients may acknowledge your frugality and ability to minimize costs, if you are roughing it, you may not sleep well nor be able to perform at your best when in business meetings or executing deliverables. The 10$ to 20$ difference in cost is probably not worth the lack of productivity.
- Loyalty Clubs- No Brainer. If you are a member of the loyalty clubs, do take advantage of the perks. Most hotels offer a choice of perks and if you set your preferences for additional points or air travel points, you are getting the gift that keeps on giving. Use those points for vacation or better still, for your retirement when you want to travel for fun!
- Microfridges Rule! Yes, it is exactly like it sounds. You know, that mini refrigerator with the microwave bolted to the top. Eat like a semi-normal person. You can eat in the hotel for a week on $40 to $50 including your favorite wines, appetizers etc. Find the grocery store of your choice and go shopping for veggies, drinks etc. You can even find healthy microwaveable meals as well as the standard frozen fare if you are a health nut like me. This beats eating high caloric chain restaurant meals or risking food poisoning from uncharted restaurants. You didn’t really want to pay $2.50 for that bottle of water from the vending machine, anyway.
- Tip Your Waiter! You’ll be there all week! Remember that those who serve in the hospitality industry feel the recession too. In many cases, even more than travelers. Don’t forget to help them meet ends by passing on some of your savings. They will remember you and treat you well and besides that, it’s just good karma. We can all use a little good karma these days!
