Finding a Hotel Room in a Sold Out City

It may never happen to you but it can be devastating when it does. Through no fault of your own, you have to lay-over in a strange city. You might think you can walk to the hotel board and simply reserve a cheap room near the airport for $50-$75, catch tomorrow's flight and all is well.

Excepting that all the airport hotels are sold out. Or they are asking $225.00 for one of the few available rooms. This happens and much more often than you might think, especially lately. I know - I work for an airport hotel!

You could of course sleep on the floor near the check in counter. You could drive home and return the next day unless home is four to five hours away. Neither are particularly appealing options. But neither is spending over $250 for one night when you wanted to spend that money in Hawaii.

You may feel you have no options in finding a cheaper room. But here are just a few to ponder before you curl up next to Gate 18.

• Go to Traveler's Aid and if still staffed, they know hotels to call that may take you because of their prior relationship.

• If nothing is available this way, see if they have a phone directory (or find your own at a pay phone) and look up smaller hotels near the airport that are NOT on the hotel board. They will NOT have a shuttle but are perhaps not sold out yet and will charge much more reasonable rates.

• If still nothing develops, ask the Aid's staff what hotels are outside the immediate airport area. Since they live in the area, they are familiar with nearby options. Find a hotel 5-10 miles from the airport and call them. A $35 cab ride combined with a $75.00 room is still better than $225.00 plus tax!

There are several other options to consider but these few may just find you a room when no one else can.

David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who offers common sense, money saving advice on how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination 'specials'. If you would like a free copy of his e-book (or MP3) Hotel Reviews: Finding and Understanding or see more travel tips, go to his blog at http://www.bookhotelscheaper.com and sign up in the box on the top right. For comprehensive books on how to find the cheapest rate a hotel offers and Travel Tips and Advice, go directly to cheaphotelforyou.com or http://tinyurl.com/5u58cu and order the ebook or MP3.