All Posts Tagged With: "travelers"

Flying home for the holidays this year? Better read this first …

This holiday season is going to be filled with both good and bad news for budget-minded travelers. The bad news is that fares are much higher than usual (whatever that means, right?) flight capacity is way down and any last-minute deals are becoming scarcer to get (at least, that’s the way I’m seeing things). The good, no great, news is that if you’re the frugal type that likes to do your homework and plan ahead, you’re more than likely going to save (or have already saved, for you early-birders) as much money as physically possible in these trying times — where the airlines are just not getting “it” in our struggling economy (note: their latest “add-on” charges haven’t dropped a cent).

You’re a family man, and you’re not going to cancel your holiday plans of flying home to see everyone, I get that! So, why let the economy get you down? Why even contemplate the thought of not being able to visit your family members and old friends? That, my pal, is the single-biggest reason for travel this time of year, so do yourself a huge favor and go for it, while at the same time not breaking your bank! The following will help you out with that issue: Continued

It’s two in the morning, and your solo road trip has lost its luster …

You’re getting sleepy, and you still have 513 miles till you reach your destination. Don’t risk it: get a place to rest for the night. You agree? Ok then, what’s it going to be: a nice hotel or a cheap motel? What’s the difference you ask? I’ll explain …

The obvious answer is that hotels are typically fancier than motels! Is that it — is that the real reason between a $150 and a $25 per-night room? Well, a motel provides lodging in which the rooms are connected to an outdoor parking lot as opposed to a hotel where the rooms are only accessible from within the establishment itself. BTW: Motel was coined as a mix between motor and hotel (somewhere in CA, a long time ago). To El Cheapos like me, motels are the clear-cut winner!

Note: Don’t be afraid of the cheap motel (the movies are full of crap, most of the times). Just because it costs so little to stay the night, doesn’t mean they’re any worse than a HoJo’s (like that place isn’t a dump itself). Use the following advice and you might hack a little more off the tab (maybe “hack” isn’t the best word: remember the Bates motel?): Continued