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MAKING RESERVATIONS
What should I verify
before I make my reservation?
What extra charges
and fees should I ask about?
What information will
I need to reserve my room?
How will I get to the
Hotel?
Where can I find
information on airports so that it will be easier for me to find the
rental car counter or meet the Hotels airport shuttle?
How can I decrease
the chance that the Hotel will break my reservation?
What should I verify before I make my reservation?
Ask about any other groups or
conventions that have booked the Hotel at the same time since any
large group could effect your stay.
If you plan on taking advantage of
some of the Hotels services such as shuttles, babysitting, free
meals or recreational facilities, make sure those services will be
available when you will need them. You dont want to arrive at the
airport and be surprised to find out that the shuttle service ended
two hours ago.
If you are reserving a special room,
make sure you know just what special really means. Is your "ocean
view" room right on the beach, looking down on the ocean or can you
just barely see the ocean if you look closely between several other
buildings on a clear day.
Check the Hotels check-in and
checkout time. Hotels have started to offer various time packages to
accommodate the travelers needs.
Make sure you get the Hotels
complete address and take it with you to get local directions.
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What extra charges and
fees should I ask about?
There can be charges, fees and extra
taxes for everything. In some cases, the governments percentage of
your Hotel bill can be very high, so youll want to make sure you
have budgeted for these items. Ask about any other extra charges if
you think they will apply.
Parking, is there a charge and can
you park your big RV in the lot?
Shuttle service.
Phone calls, local and long distance.
Extra people or beds.
Local surcharges and taxes
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What information will
I need to reserve my room?
The name of the person wholl be
staying at the Hotel.
The number of guests staying in the
room.
Credit card type, number and
expiration date of the card to be billed.
The name of the location where you
want to reserve a room.
Date and time youll be checking in
and checking out.
The type of room you want to reserve,
such as standard, business, suite, etc.
Any special requests, such as smoking
/nonsmoking, spa appointments, childproofing or room location.
Any discounts or coupons that you are
planning to apply to the stay.
If you have it, some Hotels like to
have your flight information. That way they can keep track of
delayed flights.
If you are reserving more than one
room, have them give you a confirmation number for each room you
reserve. Otherwise, your extra rooms may be listed in the special
request section of the reservation, where they can be overlooked.
Since you will have a separate confirmation number for each room, it
will be clear that youll need more than one room.
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How will I get to the
Hotel?
If you are flying in, find out where
you are to meet the Hotels shuttle. Do they have a fixed meeting
place or do you need to call someone once you arrive.
If they use a shuttle, find out how
often it runs and its hours of operation. See if they will still be
running the shuttle if you are delayed, you might need a 24-hour
service.
If you are driving, get directions
with the complete address and local phone number.
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Where can I find
information on airports so that it will be easier for me to find the
rental car counter or meet the Hotels airport shuttle?
Go To: US Airport & Foreign Airport
Links This page contains web links to many major U.S. and foreign
airports. Although, each airports site is different many contain
airport layouts and other information that could save you time and
help make your visit a safe one. This links page also lists many
airport codes that can be helpful when making Airline reservations
so you and your luggage will be heading to the right airport.
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How can I decrease the
chance that the Hotel will break my reservation?
Just like the Rental Car Companies,
the Hotels must cover the costs of all those rude people, who
reserve rooms, dont cancel and never show up. This means that at
certain times, especially during holidays and other peak travel
times, they may get caught overbooking and have to break some
reservations. Heres a few ways to keep you at the top of the
list for available rooms.
See if the reservation center will
guarantee your reservation.
Some do offer this service and they
will usually have a much bigger penalty for themselves if they dont
have a room for you.
However, to get this guarantee, you
are usually charged a fee if you dont show or cancel within a
certain time frame.
Confirm your reservation. Make sure
everything is correct and they are aware youre coming.
If you are reserving more than one
room, get a confirmation number for every room you reserve.
Arrive on time.
Update your reservation. If youre
going to be late, call to let them know.
Stay often with the same Hotel Chain.
Some reservation lists show frequent guests, and management will
know that you are not the type of customer they want to lose.
Join their Premium Clubs. These
groups include their frequent guests and their big corporate
accounts. If it comes down to who gets the last few rooms, you
probably wont be seeing the Premium Club members waiting around.
If you really fear that your chances
of getting burned are high, you might call the location directly and
speak with a manager. Let them know you will be there at a certain
time and you want to make sure youll have a room waiting. If youve
made that extra effort and they know youll be looking for them,
most managers will also make an extra effort to have a room for you.
If you do call and they do produce, dont forget to thank them for
their efforts.
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