Does this guy deserve your tip?

You’ve booked your hotel on Priceline, saved a bundle by naming your own price and paying in advance, so you can check “hotel” off the list of things to budget for while you’re on vacation.

But wait!  Did you remember to bring cash for tips?

I’m ashamed to admit that I have a horrible habit of using cash so infrequently that I am often without bills on hand needed for a tip.  Unfortunately, my husband has the same bad habit, which leaves us to choose between scrambling for an ATM or stammering and blushing awkwardly throughout our trips.

Be ye not so rude!

Follow these helpful hints for tipping at a hotel.

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After spending a recent afternoon walking around the various “countries” of Disney’s EPCOT, my husband and I found ourselves making plans for a European vacation next summer.  Of course, we’re still in the very early stages of “where do you want to go?”, which comes right before “how much is this all going to cost us?” – but still, it’s been fun to start thinking and talking about what we want out of our vacation.

One of the first things we discussed was what kind of hotels we would want to stay in.  Would we spend money on luxury hotels that offered their own vacation experience, or would we opt for staying in a budget hotel and use the money we saved to do more and buy more in the cities we were visiting?

For my husband and I, the answer is always the same: go cheap on the hotel.

When we visit a new place, we’re interested in spending our time and money exploring that place, not the hotel.  We’re much more excited about getting a feel for the local culture and character than we are about a really great pool or lush lobby.  The hotels we stay in serve as a place to store our belongings, change clothes, and get some sleep after everything has closed down for the night.

If we made a list of “what we look for in a hotel” in order of importance, it would like this:

1. Location – close to local sights and public transportation routes
2. Price – the cheaper the better
3. Everything else – including cleanliness, service, comfort of the bed and size of the bathroom.

We spent our honeymoon in a Chicago hotel room that was so small you had to push in chairs and make sure all doors were shut in order to get from the bed to the bathroom – but we were right on Michigan Avenue and only paid about $60 per night.

For other travelers, the hotel itself is a valued experience.  We live in Orlando and have known several people who have spent thousands of dollars for the opportunity to lounge beside a great pool under the Florida sun.  I have a friend who will only stay in suites when he travels because he likes to spend a lot of his travel time relaxing in the room, and a spacious, luxurious suite makes him feel more comfortable.

What about you?

How important are your hotel accommodations when you travel?  Do you view the hotel as a necessary evil of traveling and limit the amount of money you’ll designate for lodging, or do you relish the opportunity to stay in a fine resort with nicer sheets than you have at home?

Photo by Tomas Fano on Flickr

Unless I’m using Priceline’s Name Your Own price feature to book a hotel, I always turn to hotel reviews to help me choose the right hotel.

The problem is, hotel reviews can be confusing and misleading.  I remember the first time I researched hotels in Manhattan, I was overwhelmed to find reviews for the exact same hotel that ranged from “Favorite hotel in Manhattan!” to “DO NOT STAY HERE!  WASTE OF MONEY!  WORST HOTEL EVER!”

How do you know which hotel reviews to trust?

5 Tips for Reading Hotel Reviews

1.  Consider what YOU are looking for in a hotel.

Are you looking for a hotel with a great location?  Are you looking for somewhere you can relax?  Is Wi-Fi important to you?  Focus on the reviews that address the specific amenities you plan to take advantage of.

2.  Look for reviewers with the same vacation or travel goals.

Many review sites offer a recommendation for “type of travel”.  Is this hotel good for a romantic getaway, but not often recommended for business travel?  Are you planning a business trip, but all of the reviews say “great for family vacation”?  Focus on the hotel reviewers that seem to have similar travel goals as you do.

3.  Look for averages.

With hotel reviews, I tend to throw out the best and worst reviews.  Eliminating the extremes on both ends of the spectrum usually gives me a more accurate picture of what the average hotel experience is like at the property.  One pissed off reviewer does not a bad hotel make.

4.  Pay attention to the dates reviews were posted.

You may several notice complaints about cleanliness or construction noise – and then see that most of those reviews are over a year old.  Management could have changed, or a remodeling project may have been completed during that time.  Pay attention to the most recent reviews to get a better idea of what you can expect on your upcoming stay.

5.  Look for consistent themes.

While one bad reviewer might not give a fair picture of the hotel, if an overwhelming majority of the reviews mention something along the lines of “could have been cleaner”, “my room was filthy”, “not the neatest place”, “DIRTIEST. PLACE. EVER.” – chances are you’re going to wind up with a problem with tidiness.

And of course, always check your favorite hotel blogs to see if they’ve written anything about the hotel you’re considering!

Guest Post by Leigh Caldwell of ThemeParkMom.

It’s a fact of life: We’ve gotta eat.

But hotels are notorious for jacking up the price of everything from bottled water to a bowl of popcorn. Heck, the cans of Coke in the soda machine at the end of the hallway cost $2.75.

And the restaurants are no better.

I remember a particularly horrible business trip to Manhattan in the Dog Days of Summer. It was 100 degrees outside. I was 30 weeks pregnant, and just stepping outside of the confines of the convention hotel caused my ankles to instantly swell and hang over my shoes like bobby socks with stretched out elastic. Trust me. It was both extremely attractive and extremely comfortable.

I ate the hotel’s mediocre $18.95 cheeseburger nearly every night, rather than face the prospect of walking outdoors. $18.95.

For. A. Cheeseburger.

Many trips and major cuts to my expense account later, I’ve come up with some strategies for saving money when you need to eat in a hotel.

5 Ways To Save Money On Meals At Hotels

1. Don’t overlook the coffee stand. Many of them offer cheese and fruit plates that will fill you up and cost way less than a trip into the dining room. Some coffee counters even offer hot sandwiches. I recently ate a hot spinach and feta croissant for dinner at the Hotel Indigo Sarasota.  It was obviously aimed at the grab n’ go breakfast crowd, but they didn’t mind me ordering it at 6:30 p.m. And it cost just $5.25.

2. Speaking of breakfast, if you do venture into the hotel dining room at night, there’s no harm in asking if you can order an omelet. (And we’re not talking about the $1,000 caviar omelet offered at the Le Parker Meridien.) Your basic cheese or veggie omelet will almost certainly cost less than that $18.95 chicken caesar salad you were considering. And it will probably have less fat and calories than the salad, too.

3. Ask about supermarkets nearby. If you’re staying in a hotel near a city’s center, chances are there’s a Whole Foods Market , The Fresh Market or similar gourmet grocer nearby. These places are a boon for travelers because of the wide selection of prepared foods. You can find everything from sushi to soup to Stromboli, and you can pick up something to save for breakfast while you’re there, too.

4. Remember that “delivery” doesn’t have to mean “room service.” LaBite.com delivers rotisserie chicken from Koo Koo Roo or a Thai Crunch Salad from California Pizza Kitchen to hundreds of hotels in the Los Angeles area. A quick Web search will yield similar delivery services in almost any city.

5. If you’ve had a long day and room service is the only thing you can handle, check out the children’s menu. Chances are the portions will be plenty, and the price will be better than those dinner entrees on the next page. Plus you won’t be stuck choosing between chicken fingers and cheeseburgers because hotel children’s menus are evolving. At the Four Seasons Hotel Washington D.C., you could order chicken kebabs on a bed of jasmine rice or a mini Maryland crab cake burger with mixed greens off the children’s room service menu.

Photo courtesy of ILoveButter on FlickR.