Cheap Jew hotel tips

I just spent a weekend at a hotel in a secret location.

Here are some tips on how to both save money and make your stay at a hotel more enjoyable:

- Don't use third-party booking sites, such as Orbitz, because they rarely have the best deal. Go directly to the hotel's website, look up their lowest rates, and then call their front desk (NOT the national reservations center) and ask for their lowest rate. Book using whatever method is cheapest. Also ask if they have an AAA rate.

- They can't charge you a "resort fee" or any other extraneous fee (aside from taxes) without disclosing it beforehand. If you are quoted $150/night and you get there to find it's actually $150/night plus a $20 resort fee, refuse to pay the resort fee. They have to honor the price you were quoted.

- Don't automatically use their parking lot, unless it's free or cheap. Often you can park very close by for free or much cheaper, and you can always use their free "loading/unloading" spots when you're checking in or out.

- Always speak up if something is wrong. Is your room noisy? Is there a maintenance problem of some sort? Call up immediately and they will always let you switch rooms, provided one is available. If they can't switch your room, they will almost always either fix the problem and/or give you a discount. For example, during this past stay, I found that they put me in a very noisy room which overlooked their main parking lot. They switched me to a much quieter one on the other side.

- If you're going to use their drinking glasses, immediately call up for new ones when you get there. The ones they bring up to you are straight from the dishwasher, while the ones in your room were probably hand-washed with the same towel that was used to clean the toilet (not even joking about this).

- Don't knock yourself out to get out by the posted checkout time. Call up the night before and ask for a later checkout, which they will usually give you for free, and will typically extend it by 30-120 minutes. Also, it is very rare for them to penalize you for checking out late, so you can check out even later than whatever they extend you. For example, if checkout time is 12:00, you can call and extend it to 1:00, and then not actually leave the room until 1:45, and they're not likely to complain or charge you anything.

- Before buying any package that includes a breakfast, check to see if the breakfast includes eggs made to order. If yes, it's probably a good breakfast. If no, the breakfast is probably terrible and worth almost nothing.

- Most hotels have a plastic laundry bag in the closet. That bag is supposed to be for using their own laundry service, but you are also welcome to take it for yourself. I always take the bag and use it for my dirty clothes.

- Never accept a "downgrade" unless they give you some kind of major compensation. Some hotels will oversell rooms, expecting a certain percentage of people to no-show. If you get there and your promised room category isn't available, don't just settle for that room and the difference in price. Demand that they either upgrade you, put you in a different hotel, or give you some kind of extra compensation.

- Don't be afraid to ask for credit on your bill if something isn't as expected. This includes plumbing problems (which aren't quickly fixed), lack of promised parking, unexpected noise, or anything else you didn't expect that somewhat ruins your stay. My personal policy is not to ask for credit if they can solve a problem quickly and easily, but anything left unsolved or extremely inconvenient deserves some sort of credit on my bill, because I'm not getting the service I paid for.

- Always get a final bill upon check-out, and make sure it agrees with your credit card statement. Before leaving, scan your bill and make sure there are no unexpected charges on it. A surprisingly high percentage of hotel bills have mistakes on them, and it is very rare for those mistakes to be in your favor.

- If you travel a lot, consider getting either an aircard for your laptop, or get some sort of "tethering"/hotspot service on your cell phone. This will allow you to avoid the obnoxiously expensive internet charges that many hotels are charging these days.

- Read reviews of the hotel you want to book on Yelp or Tripadvisor before making the reservation. If most of the reviews are bad, stay away!

I was just lulzing at beerandpoker for using orbitz like 30 minutes ago

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I was just lulzing at beerandpoker for using orbitz like 30 minutes ago

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It's funny, because the standard method to get the best deal on hotels keep changing as the years go by.

About 10 years ago, sites like Orbitz were definitely the way to go. They were almost always cheaper than booking through the hotel itself.

Then the hotels wised up and started offering the same or better deals themselves, figuring that they were wasting money giving third party commissions for the same rooms they could sell directly.

However, at that point, it was usually cheaper to call the hotel directly and get deals over the phone, as the internet rate tended to be higher than the rate the front desk would quote.

Now it has changed again, to where the hotel's internet site is typically offering the best deals, and it's rare to get a better deal by calling the front desk. I still occasionally check sites like Orbitz to see if I can get a better price, but it's always either the same or more expensive, and it often comes with additional restrictions.

I used to like using Priceline for hotels, but that was before there were reliable review sites on the net. Now that I can see which hotels are good and which ones suck, I hate letting Priceline make the decision for me as to where I'll be staying.

I can agree to that like I was telling beerandpoker, separate your bookings with flights and hotel. Avoid travel agents and priceline type sites because I can only imagine you're getting middled. Use direct sites like you want stay at aria and fly delta. Use Delta's site and go to aria's site directly to book your shit. I don't know how people are "travel agents" I mean I guess if you're taking holiday in like Beirut with someone guiding you otherwise what's the point? You're telling me you can't manage your way around America or Western Europe? GTFO!

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I can agree to that like I was telling beerandpoker, separate your bookings with flights and hotel. Avoid travel agents and priceline type sites because I can only imagine you're getting middled. Use direct sites like you want stay at aria and fly delta. Use Delta's site and go to aria's site directly to book your shit. I don't know how people are "travel agents" I mean I guess if you're taking holiday in like Beirut with someone guiding you otherwise what's the point? You're telling me you can't manage your way around America or Western Europe? GTFO!

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Yeah, for the most part travel agents are useless.

The only real use for them is to sign up with one of those bargain travel agencies that gives you back a percentage of their commission (usually you get back like 5% on your booking). This is only worth doing if you travel very often, or if you take very expensive trips.

What I don't understand is why people just flock to sites like kayak/priceline? You have to know you're getting owned right? People use sites like this like it's the gospel, I literally had a friend who (doesn't play poker) booked a vegas trip through one of these sites for his gf and himself. $800/each got them round trip flights and like 5 nights stay at the fucking excal! I on the reg can get flights for around $200'ish round trip, using this math that's like saying you spent $600 on 5 nights hotel stay at excal...really? $120/night for bottom tier room at excal? Shit they could have stayed at Aria and saved money if he/they played poker! lol fucking LOLs

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Originally Posted by lewfather

What I don't understand is why people just flock to sites like kayak/priceline? You have to know you're getting owned right? People use sites like this like it's the gospel, I literally had a friend who (doesn't play poker) booked a vegas trip through one of these sites for his gf and himself. $800/each got them round trip flights and like 5 nights stay at the fucking excal! I on the reg can get flights for around $200'ish round trip, using this math that's like saying you spent $600 on 5 nights hotel stay at excal...really? $120/night for bottom tier room at excal? Shit they could have stayed at Aria and saved money if he/they played poker! lol fucking LOLs

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Reminds me of a story from about 10-15 years ago...

I knew a dude from the internet who lived in Milwaukee and had never been to Vegas before. He told me that he was coming to Vegas soon and would be staying at the Excalibur.

I tried to convince him that the Excalibur was a shithole, and that he should stay elsewhere, but he responded, "I can't. My girlfriend likes the fact that it's castle, and she's insisting that I take her to Vegas so she can stay in a fucking castle."

I tried to tell him that the "castle" aspect was just the outside of it, and that the inside is just a regular lower-end casino, but it didn't do any good.

He went on the trip as planned.

I asked him afterwards how it went, and he told me it was awful. He said that the Excalibur sucked, and that his girlfriend was a bitch throughout the entire vacation, and ruined the trip.

:facepalm2

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I can agree to that like I was telling beerandpoker, separate your bookings with flights and hotel. Avoid travel agents and priceline type sites because I can only imagine you're getting middled. Use direct sites like you want stay at aria and fly delta. Use Delta's site and go to aria's site directly to book your shit. I don't know how people are "travel agents" I mean I guess if you're taking holiday in like Beirut with someone guiding you otherwise what's the point? You're telling me you can't manage your way around America or Western Europe? GTFO!

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Travel agents are becoming a thing of the past. All the info is readily available on the internet if you know where to look.

Travel sites like Orbitz, travelocity, etc. are good for comparing to see what may be available. When booking with these sites you can't cancel or change &, I know it's hard to believe but, a lot of people don't know this. There are some specials direct with the hotel like this but they are normally very visible & hard to miss.

Also, I agree with lew & wouldn't book a flight, hotel package deal unless it was really fantastic & was for the hotel I really want to stay at & would be very unlikely to think I could do better.

I help a lot of friends & relatives with travel stuff & they are amazed how much 1 person can do with a little research. Rental cars are my specialty & I have an insane amount of travel related sites in my favorites. I have a lot of time on my hands since I work a lot of night shifts & have nothing better to do than research this kind of shit for people.

First to respond to druff, I know you could personally give a shit but for the woman involved wouldn't you think you'd rather sit opposite of the excal to VIEW the castle? I just dont understand people at all, I mean granted I know this person is a fucking retard and your friend, her man just wanted to go to vegas and I know you tried to help. But as a person, do you want to see the back or side of something or if you're truly intrigued, see the front of it from a different and better hotel? People constantly baffle me lol

and to respond to hockeyguy, I'd say the only way I'd ever use a travel agent and even this is unlikely would be to a place like jamaica, where there personal recommendation is on the line. For me this is the only way booking combined makes sense, you're flying in to a destination you will be locked in fully for like a week. You need to trust either your own research or your agent, if the agent is lying his ass is on the line.

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Originally Posted by lewfather

and to respond to hockeyguy, I'd say the only way I'd ever use a travel agent and even this is unlikely would be to a place like jamaica, where there personal recommendation is on the line. For me this is the only way booking combined makes sense, you're flying in to a destination you will be locked in fully for like a week. You need to trust either your own research or your agent, if the agent is lying his ass is on the line.

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The all-inclusives are basically the only way to go & have to be booked together so that's just the way it is. I would never use a travel agent for something like this when there is so much info readily available online.

British travel agents still push Circus Circus on their unsuspecting clients for fuck sakes & is a reason I would never just trust them. He's not laying his on the line for anything. They push you to whoever gives them the best commission & that's the bottom line.

Okay back up a second hockeyguy, I know that all inclusives are the only way to go where you're leaving me out is why you dont need advice. I mean I'm not doubting you, I'm just saying this is the only reason why I still use an agent. I like to go down to Jamaica, I don't hit the major spots that everyone knows about like sandals etc. So I sort of relay on my agent to guide me, where are you getting your information on places to go etc? I mean if you're going to the major spots then I can do the same thing but I like to roam around, I like the places that have courses in resort/near resort. I don't want to play the same courses over and over again. I'm just curious where are you getting this priceless information on Jamaica?

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Originally Posted by lewfather

Okay back up a second hockeyguy, I know that all inclusives are the only way to go where you're leaving me out is why you dont need advice. I mean I'm not doubting you, I'm just saying this is the only reason why I still use an agent. I like to go down to Jamaica, I don't hit the major spots that everyone knows about like sandals etc. So I sort of relay on my agent to guide me, where are you getting your information on places to go etc? I mean if you're going to the major spots then I can do the same thing but I like to roam around, I like the places that have courses in resort/near resort. I don't want to play the same courses over and over again. I'm just curious where are you getting this priceless information on Jamaica?

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I guess I misunderstood your post. You are obviously not talking about an all inclusive but rather a more obscure excursion. I guess if you are going off the beaten path & you have someone you trust(& it sounds like you do)then definitely go for it. For that matter, if you have a close friend or aquaintance that is a TA then by all means use them all the time. My point is, I wouldn't just walk into some guys office & trust them to do right for me because they are a travel agent.

I've had a bad experience with a TA that cost me an extra $1000. I was a novice traveler, didn't know them at all & thought, well they know what they are doing & found out she didn't research anything to get me a better deal even though I told her I was flexible on dates. AS I already said, I now research everything myself since my job affords me the time to do so.

lew how do you get 200 round trip flights? I can never seem to find these deals flying to vegas from okc.

my recent hotel visit cost me over $2500...

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Originally Posted by John Stamos

lew how do you get 200 round trip flights? I can never seem to find these deals flying to vegas from okc.

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It's never #OUTRIGHT $200 straight, you have to factor in your miles, free flights, free luggage, discounted rates, air fare clubs etc. You don't magically travel east coast to west coast and back for an easy $200 or less. Although southwest is opening up a new flight pattern from DTW to Mcarran for $99 each way including 2 free bags checked. $198 + tax essentially, no priors, cant really argue with that but that's coming in september.

edit: I have paid less then $200 for flights but prior to the latest gas siege. My trip in september for my friends wedding in vegas I paid $36 each way plus taxes but that still came out to like $150 with luggage.

Regarding airfares, they aren't always as straightforward as you might think.

For example, which do you think is cheaper: LA to Montana, or LA to New York?

The obvious answer is LA to Montana, since it's far less distance, but that's wrong! Typically you can fly LA-NY far cheaper than LA-Montana. Why? Because pricing is often based upon how common the route is, in addition to distance. If the airline flies there a lot, it will be cheaper than expected. If the airline doesn't go there very often (and if it's not a typical stop on the way to other frequent destination), you pay a premium for that.

This might be why lewfather gets better rates from Detroit than John Stamos does from OKC.

Oh, and I agree that all-inclusives are better for Jamaica, but mainly because Jamaica is a slum and you really don't want to be going around the city looking for a place to eat.

In general, though, I stay away from all-inclusives because the food usually sucks. They feel that they don't have to try as hard because you've already paid for it.

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Originally Posted by lewfather

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Originally Posted by John Stamos

lew how do you get 200 round trip flights? I can never seem to find these deals flying to vegas from okc.

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It's never #OUTRIGHT $200 straight, you have to factor in your miles, free flights, free luggage, discounted rates, air fare clubs etc. You don't magically travel east coast to west coast and back for an easy $200 or less. Although southwest is opening up a new flight pattern from DTW to Mcarran for $99 each way including 2 free bags checked. $198 + tax essentially, no priors, cant really argue with that but that's coming in september.

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Southwest knows what they are doing when it comes to flying but especially when it comes to branding. I wish they flew into DFW but they only fly into the shithole known as love field.

A somewhat amusing story about Southwest.

I had attended a bachelor party in Las Vegas last year and we were flying back to Dallas for the wedding. Long story but me and my buddy decided to skip the wedding and head back to OKC. Neither one of us had our cars as we had flown from OKC to Vegas and were planning on getting a ride back from the wedding. I had called a girl I was dating at the time from Vegas asking her to to lookup flights from Dallas to OKC as they are almost always really cheap and even cheaper when you book online. I couldn't book myself because we were already in the airport. She said she would get it done and that was the last I heard as we boarded the plane. We board our united flight and I call her right as we land at DFW and she said our flight leaves in an hour and I think ok great we can just hang out for a little while and take off. She said we are on Southwest flight 112..as soon as she spurts out southwest I think "oh fuck" I explain they only fly out of love field. I couldn't get mad at her because she did us a favor but we needed to book it, in saturday traffic in Dallas from DFW to Love Field. Our cabbie drives like a maniac and we made it just as they were boarding and still made everyone stand in the stupid section lines with about 20 total people on a huge plane. The story ends with the stewardess telling me to turn my phone off literally seconds after the captain says to and that she could "see the light on my phone, that always gives it away and if you don't comply we can kick you off the flight at your expense" I sigh and decided to not try and annoy her since its a 30 minute flight.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Regarding airfares, they aren't always as straightforward as you might think.

For example, which do you think is cheaper: LA to Montana, or LA to New York?

The obvious answer is LA to Montana, since it's far less distance, but that's wrong! Typically you can fly LA-NY far cheaper than LA-Montana. Why? Because pricing is often based upon how common the route is, in addition to distance. If the airline flies there a lot, it will be cheaper than expected. If the airline doesn't go there very often (and if it's not a typical stop on the way to other frequent destination), you pay a premium for that.

This might be why lewfather gets better rates from Detroit than John Stamos does from OKC.

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Yes I completely understand this. It's obviously cheaper to fly into a major city than a less traveled airport. The reasons for this are because the airline will usually have more passengers traveling to that destination and more often have a hub or their own employees at that location as well. I think most people would have guessed LA to NY though Druff. Maybe I am wrong.

Southwest ripped me off of $100, so I avoid them on principle.

I will give them credit for running an efficient business and keeping fares low, but they are terrible at customer service once something out of the ordinary occurs.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Regarding airfares, they aren't always as straightforward as you might think.

For example, which do you think is cheaper: LA to Montana, or LA to New York?

The obvious answer is LA to Montana, since it's far less distance, but that's wrong! Typically you can fly LA-NY far cheaper than LA-Montana. Why? Because pricing is often based upon how common the route is, in addition to distance. If the airline flies there a lot, it will be cheaper than expected. If the airline doesn't go there very often (and if it's not a typical stop on the way to other frequent destination), you pay a premium for that.

This might be why lewfather gets better rates from Detroit than John Stamos does from OKC.

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:this

Trying to explain this to people is like trying to explain quantum physics. This is why if you live in some backwater part of the country (or if you are flying to some backwater place) you should always either 1) travel to a larger airport to catch your flight if its feasible or 2) look for a connecting flight through a major airport --especially places like Detroit, Atlanta and other International airports. So many people from my area travel to Providence RI to fly from TF Green airport instead of Logan in Boston because they say its, quicker, it's not as busy as Logan, the traffic isn't as bad, yada, yada, yada, and pay triple the price on the flight.

You can usually tell where the cheapest rates are by where the connecting flights occur --if an airport connects in Kentucky you know the flight is probably far more expensive than if it connects in say Detroit, even if Detroit is out of the way of your destination. I flew to Spartanburg SC a few times and once I was connected in Kentucky and once in Detroit, guess which flight was far cheaper? Same thing going to Vegas, a connecting flight in LA (yes flying Boston to LA to Vegas) is cheaper than a flight from Boston to Vegas connecting in Denver.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Regarding airfares, they aren't always as straightforward as you might think.

For example, which do you think is cheaper: LA to Montana, or LA to New York?

The obvious answer is LA to Montana, since it's far less distance, but that's wrong! Typically you can fly LA-NY far cheaper than LA-Montana. Why? Because pricing is often based upon how common the route is, in addition to distance. If the airline flies there a lot, it will be cheaper than expected. If the airline doesn't go there very often (and if it's not a typical stop on the way to other frequent destination), you pay a premium for that.

This might be why lewfather gets better rates from Detroit than John Stamos does from OKC.

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You really nail it with this point, I get emails like 3 times a week about the hot flights to NYC for $38 round trip lol and to AC and then you can add on the bonus promo email codes to these deals and just LOL spirit for like a freeroll flight (not including taxes which you obv have to pay) but you couple that deal with your comped AC room, you got yourself one cheap ass vacation!

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Southwest ripped me off of $100, so I avoid them on principle.

I will give them credit for running an efficient business and keeping fares low, but they are terrible at customer service once something out of the ordinary occurs.

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Yea I think I remember your story on DD about that. I personally don't think Southwest is bad on Customer Service and believe they consistently outperform every majory US airline in every category. I don't have a significant sample size to be confident in that assertion but that is just my experience. I think if you have a bad experience that can change your whole view on an entire airline.

I was seated in the middle of 2 people on a Delta flight one time that I will never forget. First of all I had a seat number towards the front of the plane and when I go to confirm they tell me someone else has that seat number. They move me to the very back of the plane and say they are overbooked and people get off the plane for the voucher. I would have taken the voucher if I wasn't on a time schedule. I actually don't mind planes overbooking but this time when I was moved I was moved in the MIDDLE of 2 people that were easily 400 plus. I am 6'1 and was 190 pounds at the time so I am not big but with my height I don't fit comfortably in my airplane seat at the back of a plane if I am not around people I can lean on or raise the seat divider with. These people both actually apologized for being so fat and I didn't even LOL I just felt sad for them. Their fat was coming over the arm rest and my friend sitting directly in front of me (because he got moved as well, we were supposed to be sitting together in the second row in coach) kept buying me beers and mixed drinks and margaritas because he felt bad for me. I must have had 12 drinks total. Bad decision. I had to keep getting up to use the restroom and that was no easy task to the point where the person on the aisle seat switch with me.

The two big people started talking (one male and one female) and they seemed to hit it off. I like to think they ended up getting married, slimming down and changing their lives around because of that flight. Or they may have had a diabetic seizure and both died.

I didn't want to quote stamos because it was such a bloodbath to read, I mean I suck dick at structuring but come on braj AND YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU! FUCKING LAUNDRY GRIND! But get serious with your life etc. lol

Anyways, I forgot to mention that when I fly DTW to LV it's almost 100% with spirit. Spirit has a really bad habit of overbooking flights, I've gained so many free vouchers just by booking early 8am flights DTW to LV it's absolutely disgusting. First of all, I don't give a fuck if I'm in vegas in the early morning but for me, it just makes sense to book it. Hear me out, first of all I'm comped up via harrahs or caesars whatever the hell you want to call it. However you can't get into your room til like 2pm! That's there guarantee, so you book your early flight and hope they over book it. Immediately accept the voucher and accept the delay, free fucking money! What were you going to do anyways? Pay a Harrahs prop $30 extra to get into your room 2-3 hours early?

That's my whole point, you can't get into your room til around 2pm for harrahs joints, you might as well freeroll the possibility of a free flight voucher, if you bink out you show up in vegas, tell the check in guy to fuck off with his $30 early check in fee. Go get yourself breakfast, make sure you got the players cards for the rooms your playing in and then finally check in.

SKLANSKY BUX ITT YALL!

edit: stamos spaced his shit out lol

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I didn't want to quote stamos because it was such a bloodbath to read, I mean I suck dick at structuring but come on braj AND YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU! FUCKING LAUNDRY GRIND! But get serious with your life etc. lol

Anyways, I forgot to mention that when I fly DTW to LV it's almost 100% with spirit. Spirit has a really bad habit of overbooking flights, I've gained so many free vouchers just by booking early 8am flights DTW to LV it's absolutely disgusting. First of all, I don't give a fuck if I'm in vegas in the early morning but for me, it just makes sense to book it. Hear me out, first of all I'm comped up via harrahs or caesars whatever the hell you want to call it. However you can't get into your room til like 2pm! That's there guarantee, so you book your early flight and hope they over book it. Immediately accept the voucher and accept the delay, free fucking money! What were you going to do anyways? Pay a Harrahs prop $30 extra to get into your room 2-3 hours early?

That's my whole point, you can't get into your room til around 2pm for harrahs joints, you might as well freeroll the possibility of a free flight voucher, if you bink out you show up in vegas, tell the check in guy to fuck off with his $30 early check in fee. Go get yourself breakfast, make sure you got the players cards for the rooms your playing in and then finally check in.

SKLANSKY BUX ITT YALL!

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Taking meta-gaming to whole new level :) But you're right, if you're there early just drop your bags off at the desk and go gamble for a while: I do the same thing when leaving, book a later flight, check out and leave your bags with the desk. I don't know why people try to arrange their check-in/check-out times with their flights????

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Originally Posted by Steve-O

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I didn't want to quote stamos because it was such a bloodbath to read, I mean I suck dick at structuring but come on braj AND YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU! FUCKING LAUNDRY GRIND! But get serious with your life etc. lol

Anyways, I forgot to mention that when I fly DTW to LV it's almost 100% with spirit. Spirit has a really bad habit of overbooking flights, I've gained so many free vouchers just by booking early 8am flights DTW to LV it's absolutely disgusting. First of all, I don't give a fuck if I'm in vegas in the early morning but for me, it just makes sense to book it. Hear me out, first of all I'm comped up via harrahs or caesars whatever the hell you want to call it. However you can't get into your room til like 2pm! That's there guarantee, so you book your early flight and hope they over book it. Immediately accept the voucher and accept the delay, free fucking money! What were you going to do anyways? Pay a Harrahs prop $30 extra to get into your room 2-3 hours early?

That's my whole point, you can't get into your room til around 2pm for harrahs joints, you might as well freeroll the possibility of a free flight voucher, if you bink out you show up in vegas, tell the check in guy to fuck off with his $30 early check in fee. Go get yourself breakfast, make sure you got the players cards for the rooms your playing in and then finally check in.

SKLANSKY BUX ITT YALL!

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Taking meta-gaming to whole new level :) But you're right, if you're there early just drop your bags off at the desk and go gamble for a while: I do the same thing when leaving, book a later flight, check out and leave your bags with the desk. I don't know why people try to arrange their check-in/check-out times with their flights????

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I don't play slots or pits much, I will on my trips to vegas play craps. Which is why I recommended to arrive early and just get breakfast/players cards. I don't know about you but I fucking lose my players cards like a bause. So instead of walking into V, Bell, Aria etc and getting the card as I come through. I just hope for the best with the overbooking of flights, compound that with breakfast and I've entered my self into a freeroll I was already going to partake in. Added advantage being the overbooked flight, if it's not overbooked I still need my players cards for my comped meals and comped rooms, cards that I lose basically every trip.

The only major downfall from this is a 8am flight out of DTW means you gotta be up at about 4am to pack the car, get your ticket, get through TSA which in turn means a lack of sleep. I'm a bit of night owl, so it doesnt effect me as much as say friends or a girlfriend I bring out. However I almost always take the morning flight in / red eye out.

edit: oh and guys just a general flying tip, never fly on sundays!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also curious how SW ripped druff on a hundy, can you explain? I'm planning to use SW as my go to guys for $99 each way fares + 2 bags checked free for my regular vegas trips.

I get so lazy in typing on these forums it's unreal. I just jam it all together and hope it makes sense.

Laundry grindin' since January 2012.

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I'm also curious how SW ripped druff on a hundy, can you explain? I'm planning to use SW as my go to guys for $99 each way fares + 2 bags checked free for my regular vegas trips.

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use them, they are great. I think Druff had a voucher or something and he went over the date it expired but he talked to someone and they said it would be ok when it actually wasn't. I could be way off though.

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Originally Posted by John Stamos

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Originally Posted by lewfather

I'm also curious how SW ripped druff on a hundy, can you explain? I'm planning to use SW as my go to guys for $99 each way fares + 2 bags checked free for my regular vegas trips.

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use them, they are great. I think Druff had a voucher or something and he went over the date it expired but he talked to someone and they said it would be ok when it actually wasn't. I could be way off though.

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Pretty close.

I paid like $520 total for 2 tickets. I couldn't use the tickets because I got sick on the day of the flight, so I called Southwest. They told me that their policy was that you automatically get credit for what you don't use, and have a year to redeem it.

So I had $520 credit.

About 10 months later, I still hadn't used my $520 credit. I realized that I probably wouldn't need to fly anywhere for the next 2 months, so I was just going to sell it for like a 5% discount, or give it away to a family member.

However, I decided to see if Southwest could extend it any further without charging me. I called up and was told that they could extend it for another 6 months for no charge, but that I'd have to call their main corporate line in the (214) area code to get it done. I tried and tried and tried but that number was BUSY day after day. And when I say BUSY, I mean an old-school busy signal. I called the 800 number back twice more to see if there was something they could do, and I was told the same thing 2 more times: Yes, you can extend the credit for free, but you have to be able to get through to the (214) number to be able to do it. Eventually the last 2 months passed and I finally got through to Southwest (I never got through to their (214) number, but finally someone from their website feedback form called me back.)

They told me that, yes, my credit would be extended for another 6 months, but that costs $100. Even worse, since over a year had passed since I purchased them (thanks to all the time wasted trying to get through to someone for the prior 2 months), I couldn't use the credit anymore unless I agreed to this lame $100 confiscation. I told them that the people at the 800 number told me it was free to extend, and they didn't give a shit. I took this higher and higher, until I finally got the VP of customer service on the phone, who was very rude and literally yelled at me. He told me the following:

1) I was right about the 800 number. He knew they gave me the wrong information because they accidentally communicated the wrong information to those reps. However, he refused to honor what they promised me, because "those people don't have the authority to make promises". (LOL)

2) He didn't understand why I was complaining about the (214) number being extremely hard to reach, because if it's busy, "Someone is getting through, obviously." I countered that SOMEONE wins the lottery every week, too, which made him shout over me even louder.

3) He told me that I should be grateful that Southwest gives you credit in the first place without charging, because no other airlines do that. When I said that this wasn't the issue, but rather that his own reps gave me the wrong information 3 times, and that I couldn't get through to the office that actually handled it, he shouted over me, "IS IT TRUE THAT OTHER AIRLINES CHARGE YOU FOR CHANGING YOUR TICKET, YES OR NO?"

So finally I realized that this was hopeless, accepted the $100 reduction in my credit, and vowed never to fly Southwest again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve-O

So many people from my area travel to Providence RI to fly from TF Green airport instead of Logan in Boston because they say its, quicker, it's not as busy as Logan, the traffic isn't as bad, yada, yada, yada, and pay triple the price on the flight.

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Come on Steve-O, your better than this my friend, no need to exaggerate to get your point across. I fly out of TF Green religiously. I always check Logan and Hartford to compare the prices and I generally wind up paying about 25% more. Which is immediately worth it when I look at travel time, parking cost, speed, reduced amount of people.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Stamos

use them, they are great. I think Druff had a voucher or something and he went over the date it expired but he talked to someone and they said it would be ok when it actually wasn't. I could be way off though.

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So finally I realized that this was hopeless, accepted the $100 reduction in my credit, and vowed never to fly Southwest again.

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After you used the $420 credit of course?

Common theme with Druff, its always someone else's fault. I dont doubt for a minute that they were possibly rude with you on the phone after giving you misleading information accidently. Here's a noble thought, maybe you should have found sometime in the course of a year to use a ticket that you canceled in the first place. The VP was exactly right, no other airline in the world will allow you to cancel a ticket and then sit on it for 18 months with no fee associated with that transaction. I know i know "but they told me i could." You are obviously a smart man, if something is too good to be true it probably is!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Even worse, since over a year had passed since I purchased them (thanks to all the time wasted trying to get through to someone for the prior 2 months).

---

Lets just forget the 10 months where you did nothing. And lets just assume that you honestly tried calling in morning, noon, and night for 2 months........................
What if when you called in after 10 months they said they could not extend this credit any longer per company policy? Would you have just ate it, sold it for a discount, or what? It just seems to me that the $100 you lost out on isnt really that big a deal in the whole scheme of things. the SW ticket was probably far and away $100 cheaper then a competing airline anyways when you figure in bag fees and what not.

Seriously, honestly spare me the response that says "I am the customer, they told me they would do something and they should honor that." Mistakes happen bro, life happens. Druff has what i call the poor ghetto black person syndrome. Believe it or not, the world does not owe you!

I apologize if this entire response seems tiltish, but its a pet peeve of mine when people complain and feel like business' owe them for some reason. Im the guy who when his order at dinner is slightly screwed up, if its something i can stomach i just eat it anyways. Going off on monkey tilt about every little thing isnt healthy. Just roll with the punches, take your lumps sometimes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsearles22

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

So finally I realized that this was hopeless, accepted the $100 reduction in my credit, and vowed never to fly Southwest again.

---

After you used the $420 credit of course?

Common theme with Druff, its always someone else's fault. I dont doubt for a minute that they were possibly rude with you on the phone after giving you misleading information accidently. Here's a noble thought, maybe you should have found sometime in the course of a year to use a ticket that you canceled in the first place. The VP was exactly right, no other airline in the world will allow you to cancel a ticket and then sit on it for 18 months with no fee associated with that transaction. I know i know "but they told me i could." You are obviously a smart man, if something is too good to be true it probably is!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Even worse, since over a year had passed since I purchased them (thanks to all the time wasted trying to get through to someone for the prior 2 months).

---

Lets just forget the 10 months where you did nothing. And lets just assume that you honestly tried calling in morning, noon, and night for 2 months........................
What if when you called in after 10 months they said they could not extend this credit any longer per company policy? Would you have just ate it, sold it for a discount, or what? It just seems to me that the $100 you lost out on isnt really that big a deal in the whole scheme of things. the SW ticket was probably far and away $100 cheaper then a competing airline anyways when you figure in bag fees and what not.

Seriously, honestly spare me the response that says "I am the customer, they told me they would do something and they should honor that." Mistakes happen bro, life happens. Druff has what i call the poor ghetto black person syndrome. Believe it or not, the world does not owe you!

I apologize if this entire response seems tiltish, but its a pet peeve of mine when people complain and feel like business' owe them for some reason. Im the guy who when his order at dinner is slightly screwed up, if its something i can stomach i just eat it anyways. Going off on monkey tilt about every little thing isnt healthy. Just roll with the punches, take your lumps sometimes.

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:facepalm

If I didn't know you, I would think the entire post you just made was a level to tilt me.

But I can tell you're actually serious.

I don't feel that businesses owe me things for free.

However, I didn't get anything for free here, nor was I asking for anything free.

I spent $520 in real US dollars, and I wanted $520 in Southwest credit for those real US dollars.

I just wanted what I paid for.

Now, I understand that companies have policies about changing tickets, waiting too long to use credit, etc.

I can respect those policies -- if they are properly communicated to me.

If Southwest miscommunicates their own policies to their customer service employees, and that bad information makes customers inadvertently violate the company policies, they need to err in favor of the customer and honor what their reps told people.

Not only is this the right thing to do, but it's also the law. A company must honor what its representatives promise, regardless of the level of the employee. The only exceptions involve when this is done on purpose to defraud the company, or if the promise is outrageous (say, if a rep promised me free flights for the next 10 years). If a representative of Southwest tells me that I can renew my credit for another 6 months without a fee, they have to honor that by law. If three representatives tell me the same thing, they especially have to honor it.

These are similar to laws that protect consumers from bait-and-switch advertising.

Now, PROVING this happened would probably be tough, which is why it would be hard to win such a dispute in court. However, if the reps came into court and told the truth (that they informed me that I could renew for 6 months without a fee), Southwest would lose the case 100% of the time.

Like you, I also hate people that feel entitled and that the world owes them something.

However, what I hate even more are corporate apologists who defend companies that screw their customers, and simply tell the aggrieved parties to stop whining and accept it as part of life.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsearles22

After you used the $420 credit of course?

Common theme with Druff, its always someone else's fault. I dont doubt for a minute that they were possibly rude with you on the phone after giving you misleading information accidently. Here's a noble thought, maybe you should have found sometime in the course of a year to use a ticket that you canceled in the first place. The VP was exactly right, no other airline in the world will allow you to cancel a ticket and then sit on it for 18 months with no fee associated with that transaction. I know i know "but they told me i could." You are obviously a smart man, if something is too good to be true it probably is!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Even worse, since over a year had passed since I purchased them (thanks to all the time wasted trying to get through to someone for the prior 2 months).

---

Lets just forget the 10 months where you did nothing. And lets just assume that you honestly tried calling in morning, noon, and night for 2 months........................
What if when you called in after 10 months they said they could not extend this credit any longer per company policy? Would you have just ate it, sold it for a discount, or what? It just seems to me that the $100 you lost out on isnt really that big a deal in the whole scheme of things. the SW ticket was probably far and away $100 cheaper then a competing airline anyways when you figure in bag fees and what not.

Seriously, honestly spare me the response that says "I am the customer, they told me they would do something and they should honor that." Mistakes happen bro, life happens. Druff has what i call the poor ghetto black person syndrome. Believe it or not, the world does not owe you!

I apologize if this entire response seems tiltish, but its a pet peeve of mine when people complain and feel like business' owe them for some reason. Im the guy who when his order at dinner is slightly screwed up, if its something i can stomach i just eat it anyways. Going off on monkey tilt about every little thing isnt healthy. Just roll with the punches, take your lumps sometimes.

---

:facepalm

If I didn't know you, I would think the entire post you just made was a level to tilt me.

But I can tell you're actually serious.

I don't feel that businesses owe me things for free.

However, I didn't get anything for free here, nor was I asking for anything free.

I spent $520 in real US dollars, and I wanted $520 in Southwest credit for those real US dollars.

I just wanted what I paid for.

Now, I understand that companies have policies about changing tickets, waiting too long to use credit, etc.

I can respect those policies -- if they are properly communicated to me.

If Southwest miscommunicates their own policies to their customer service employees, and that bad information makes customers inadvertently violate the company policies, they need to err in favor of the customer and honor what their reps told people.

Not only is this the right thing to do, but it's also the law. A company must honor what its representatives promise, regardless of the level of the employee. The only exceptions involve when this is done on purpose to defraud the company, or if the promise is outrageous (say, if a rep promised me free flights for the next 10 years). If a representative of Southwest tells me that I can renew my credit for another 6 months without a fee, they have to honor that by law. If three representatives tell me the same thing, they especially have to honor it.

These are similar to laws that protect consumers from bait-and-switch advertising.

Now, PROVING this happened would probably be tough, which is why it would be hard to win such a dispute in court. However, if the reps came into court and told the truth (that they informed me that I could renew for 6 months without a fee), Southwest would lose the case 100% of the time.

Like you, I also hate people that feel entitled and that the world owes them something.

However, what I hate even more are corporate apologists who defend companies that screw their customers, and simply tell the aggrieved parties to stop whining and accept it as part of life.

---

Just an FYI for you, when someone tells you "yeah that can be done but you need to call this other phone number" that generally means that person you are currently speaking too actually has no idea whatsoever what they are talking about.
Secondly, as i believe you have mentioned yourself many times, being rude doesnt ever help your cause. Saying people win the lottery, etc isnt going to help you in the slightest.
Im far from a corporate apologists but I am a realist. You purchased the ticket, called up sick the day of, then did nothing for 10 months, and now you feel like you got shafted. Hold up your end of the bargain as a consumer. Think about it from their side. If you owned a company would you want a client having a credit sit on your books unused for 18 months? (the quick easy answer is I have their money so yeah! The logical answer is no because its a logistical nightmare, the books never balance, etc. If you say yes then you clearly have never ran a business).

And I disagree that they have to honor anything they tell you if it was an honest and legit mistake. Im not talking about your case here specifically (you were told this by multiple people and later told their policy wasnt communicated to the reps), but in general. If someone on the phone or in a store honestly tells you something in error, you are not automatically holding the "I am a consumer" trump card. We are dealing with human beings, companies are actually entitled to make mistakes and not be punatively punished for those simply because they are a "company."

Lame example: As a business owner (DD) you said you would vouch for PeterDc. Is Micon now required to bear the financial responsibility for that because a rep for his company (you) promised (ie vouched) that something would take place?

good tips. ill be sure to take these into consideration from now on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jasep

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve-O

So many people from my area travel to Providence RI to fly from TF Green airport instead of Logan in Boston because they say its, quicker, it's not as busy as Logan, the traffic isn't as bad, yada, yada, yada, and pay triple the price on the flight.

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Come on Steve-O, your better than this my friend, no need to exaggerate to get your point across. I fly out of TF Green religiously. I always check Logan and Hartford to compare the prices and I generally wind up paying about 25% more. Which is immediately worth it when I look at travel time, parking cost, speed, reduced amount of people.

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Not where i fly to anyway :) maybe triple is somewhat hyperbolic, but flights to see my family in SC or god forbid if you were flying overseas are way more pricey at TF Green. I remember seeing flights from Logan at $200ish while they were $700ish at Green --not everywhere but unless you are going to Orlando, DC or some other typical stop Green is pretty pricey.

Best tip for flying in and out of So Cali. Avoid LAX if you can. If your purpose is to play at Commerce or the Bike, try to fly to Long Beach. It is closer to those casinos exept for Hollywood Park and who wants to play in that shithole?

Looking for some advice, Druff.

I used your tips and got a sweet place, 1 mile from Petco Field for the Sf-SD series, for a $ 100 a night.
Room is clean, 5 minute walk to the Gaslamp district, right off the freeway, don't have to stay w/my sister-in-law, perfect.

Coming home not so much, ran into too much traffic , stopped at a Best Western on way home. (in coalinga/Harris Ranch, stinks to high heaven.)

Get in, not 10 minutes later a guy is there to "fix my door" maybe I've seen too much TV,
but I'm not letting this tat'd out Mexican in my place,
Call the desk, "yeah we should not have rented that room sorry is that OK?"
Whatever I let him in, he looks doesn't find anything wrong.
I crash at like 5pm, wake up at midnight and try to do the work I missed.
4 coffee packets in the room all De-cafe, go to the front desk, he barely speaks English, but gist is he doesn't have any access to coffee.
I have to drive not far, but still, wtf. Get back, and my door is ajar, so the door was broke.
Then no blankets in my bed, it was hot when I fell a sleep at 5 pm, but at 5 am it was cold.

So I wait for an English speaker to arrive, she tells me just push the door a little harder, the blankets are in the drawers, and as for the coffee, I ask for $ 10 off and she basically tells me to go suck a dick.
As rude as she can, too.

So should I try calling w/HQ'rs, these are individually owned, right?

Think Druff would be proud


Dear James,

Thank you for completing the survey regarding your recent stay at our property.

On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologize for not exceeding your expectations. At Best Western we strive every day to provide a superior customer experience. I will make my staff aware of your comments so that this would not happen again. I am sorry we weren’t able to do that for you. We will use the feedback you gave us to implement improvements to ensure we provide a better experience in the future.

Because we value your business, we would like to go ahead and credit back to you 20% off on your Visa ending in 9899 for your stay on June 7, 2012.

Please consider staying with us again so that we can have another chance to provide you with superior service. You can reach me directly at 559-935-0866.


Sincerely,

Melissa Hassenteufel

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

I just spent a weekend at a hotel in a secret location.

Here are some tips on how to both save money and make your stay at a hotel more enjoyable:

- Don't use third-party booking sites, such as Orbitz, because they rarely have the best deal. Go directly to the hotel's website, look up their lowest rates, and then call their front desk (NOT the national reservations center) and ask for their lowest rate. Book using whatever method is cheapest. Also ask if they have an AAA rate.

- They can't charge you a "resort fee" or any other extraneous fee (aside from taxes) without disclosing it beforehand. If you are quoted $150/night and you get there to find it's actually $150/night plus a $20 resort fee, refuse to pay the resort fee. They have to honor the price you were quoted.

- Don't automatically use their parking lot, unless it's free or cheap. Often you can park very close by for free or much cheaper, and you can always use their free "loading/unloading" spots when you're checking in or out.

- Always speak up if something is wrong. Is your room noisy? Is there a maintenance problem of some sort? Call up immediately and they will always let you switch rooms, provided one is available. If they can't switch your room, they will almost always either fix the problem and/or give you a discount. For example, during this past stay, I found that they put me in a very noisy room which overlooked their main parking lot. They switched me to a much quieter one on the other side.

- If you're going to use their drinking glasses, immediately call up for new ones when you get there. The ones they bring up to you are straight from the dishwasher, while the ones in your room were probably hand-washed with the same towel that was used to clean the toilet (not even joking about this).

- Don't knock yourself out to get out by the posted checkout time. Call up the night before and ask for a later checkout, which they will usually give you for free, and will typically extend it by 30-120 minutes. Also, it is very rare for them to penalize you for checking out late, so you can check out even later than whatever they extend you. For example, if checkout time is 12:00, you can call and extend it to 1:00, and then not actually leave the room until 1:45, and they're not likely to complain or charge you anything.

- Before buying any package that includes a breakfast, check to see if the breakfast includes eggs made to order. If yes, it's probably a good breakfast. If no, the breakfast is probably terrible and worth almost nothing.

- Most hotels have a plastic laundry bag in the closet. That bag is supposed to be for using their own laundry service, but you are also welcome to take it for yourself. I always take the bag and use it for my dirty clothes.

- Never accept a "downgrade" unless they give you some kind of major compensation. Some hotels will oversell rooms, expecting a certain percentage of people to no-show. If you get there and your promised room category isn't available, don't just settle for that room and the difference in price. Demand that they either upgrade you, put you in a different hotel, or give you some kind of extra compensation.

- Don't be afraid to ask for credit on your bill if something isn't as expected. This includes plumbing problems (which aren't quickly fixed), lack of promised parking, unexpected noise, or anything else you didn't expect that somewhat ruins your stay. My personal policy is not to ask for credit if they can solve a problem quickly and easily, but anything left unsolved or extremely inconvenient deserves some sort of credit on my bill, because I'm not getting the service I paid for.

- Always get a final bill upon check-out, and make sure it agrees with your credit card statement. Before leaving, scan your bill and make sure there are no unexpected charges on it. A surprisingly high percentage of hotel bills have mistakes on them, and it is very rare for those mistakes to be in your favor.

- If you travel a lot, consider getting either an aircard for your laptop, or get some sort of "tethering"/hotspot service on your cell phone. This will allow you to avoid the obnoxiously expensive internet charges that many hotels are charging these days.

- Read reviews of the hotel you want to book on Yelp or Tripadvisor before making the reservation. If most of the reviews are bad, stay away!

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Heard a rumour that most maids clean out the inside of glasses with the same rag they wipe down toilet seats. If the drinking device is not wrapped in plastic, I am using my hand to drink water. Just my observation.