Road Trip Hotel Reservations - What Do You Do?
 

We plan to drive from St. Louis to San Diego leaving 2/28 and hope to arrive 3/3. This means 3 nights in a hotel going out. This is a one way trip. We fly back home.

Do I try and plan the stops and look for a hotel ahead of time or simply drive as far as we can each day and take our chances along the way.

Thanks.

Sandy

I can't imagine planning a road trip without mapping software. I've used Microsoft Streets/Trips for years, even for one city visits.

You'd want to have some idea of approximately where you plan to stop for your overnights. Otherwise, once you've driven as far as you can, you may be a significant distance between cities/downs with lodging and restaurants.

We rarely make advance reservation on our road trips . . We like the flexibility of going at whatevwer pace our interests dictate.

We do a lot of road trips . . for as long as a month at a time. We have not been unable to find a hotel so far. Even when we are on the "backroads"

We do carry a directory for Holiday Inns and Hampton Inns and sometimes call ahead mid afternoon once we have a good ideda where we want to stop.

Most of the Information Centers at State Borders have magazines of hotels and specials that come in handy also. Some will even book for you if you want.

The exception to this is where we want a room near an attraction . . those we sometims book ahead e.g. Grand CAnyon,Biltmore Estates etc

I forgot . . We use a book "The Next Stop" which lists what is available at each exit on the INterstates. It keeps you from stopping at some place with nothing, only to find out the next day that one more exit had everything.

http://www.thenextexit.com/

Normally I would say to go ahead and play it by ear. I know McDonald’s used to have free publications in their restaurants containing great coupons for walk-in only discounts with name brand hotels located on major travel roads (saving some bucks!), but since the weather has become so unpredictable it makes taking chances a lot more dangerous. We just had some friends head south from Ohio to Texas with plans to spend the first night in Kentucky. Not a bad idea, but Mother Nature dropped a bunch of ice on the poor state and pretty much closed it down. Personally, I would probably go ahead throw caution to the wind and head out without reservations, but start looking a bit earlier than normal for a place to spend the nights.

That was quite a wishy-washy answer, wasn’t it? *smile*

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Under these circumstances, at this time of year, I would definitely not book rooms ahead.

If you don't have AAA TourBooks for the states through which you travel, take the 800 numbers for popular hotel chains, such as Hampton Inn, Choice Hotels (Quality Inn, etc.), and Holiday Inn and, with a cell phone in hand, you may be able to avoid looking around for a room upon arrival.

Have a great adventure.

HTTY

It's about 1,850 miles. If you're spreading it to 4 days, it's under 500 miles a day, which is pretty easy.

If I am doing this in non-winter time, I'll probably pre-book. But this is still time that one may see snow and wintry weather. Personally, I will not prebook, as I want more flexibility on routing and how much I want to drive each day.

You won't have problem getting hotels anyways, but like djkbooks said, you should do just a little research to see which towns or cities have hotel choices.

Day 1, I'll stay on the west side of Oklahoma City. Lots of hotel choice there near the airport.

Day 2, Albuquerque. You don't want to go pass it, because next place is many miles away.

Day 3, West side or NW side of Phoenix.

Check the weather forecast just before you leave. If everything looks good, you may just go ahead and book all those.

On the other hand, if you are willing to drive 8 hours a day, you could stay in Oklahoma City and Albuquerque and make it to San Diego for the third night.

HTTY

A road trip is not something we have done in years so I very much appreciate your thoughts djkbooks and Rich.

I have mapped out our journey and will just need to decide how best to break it up and see what hotels are in that area. I'd like to keep it to about 7 hours or driving a day.

Rich: Thanks for the link - greatly appreciated.

Sandy

ccolor, happytrailsto you - great suggestions, thank you.

rkkwan - Yes I was thinking of as far as Oklahoma City for the first day, great tip about stay on the west side.
Appreciate day 2 and day 3 suggestions.

Sandy

Are you interested in Carlsbad Caverns?

I expect the Grand Canyon is still closed then, but you might check if you are interested

If you are interested, this is a trip we did a few years ago:

http://simpller.com/RoadTrip/Index.htm

SandyBrit.. we drove from Florida to Oregon one year and except for the first night's stop, we didn't make any reservations ahead.. we did 5 nights, 5 hotels. with a large dog. Which is why the first nights reservation and why we only used La Quinta hotels.. which are really pretty nice once you are past St Louis..
If you have a cell phone with you, and you see where you will be stopping that night, call ahead.
Online you can get main numbers for various hotel chains ..
We usually left early (around 9am) and stopped around 5:00 or before dark.. we walked with the Pup and had dinner somewhere pleasant and relaxed..
It was a fantastic way to see the country :)

Scarlett:

I have always been curious about hotels that allow dogs - do they stay in the room with you or does the hotel have kennels?

Appreciate the marvelous help from this forum.

Sandy

I like to have reservations because that way I know exactly what the cost is. With that said, if you make reservations at hotels with a 6 PM cancel policy, as that time gets near and you feel like you want to continue driving, you can always cancel and keep on going.

It's mostly about cost vs flexibility. But if you have access to the internet on your trip, or you can have someone who can do the booking for you while you're on the trip, then you can have your cake and eat it too.

Like when my sister was moving, she'd call me mid-afternoon to tell me her progress. Then I used go to Priceline and bid for a cheap room for that night.

I always go to freetrip.com for time, miles, and hotels when planning a trip. We prefer Holiday Inn Express, but if none are available where we want to stop I look at the ones that the Free Trip route has listed.

In fact I just finished plans from VA to Albuquerque in September. We will stay over in Jackson, TN and Weatherford, OK. The HI exp. in Weatherford is $85.50 for Priority Club members with a continental breakfast.

The next city west of Oklahoma City after Weatherford that I had also considered is Elk City which has many hotels to chose from.

Orangetravelcat - We do like to know the cost and what we are getting for our $'s.

rkkwan - No access to the internet on this trip but a great idea.

ronkala - Thanks so much for taking the time to share this site.

Sandy

SandyBrit... generally speaking, hotels keep a floor ( usually a low floor) for people with pets.
I have heard that some require you to keep your pet in a crate, our dog is large and is not crated but that was never even brought up. We knew La Quinta is a pet friendly hotel and they don't charge.. most other hotels do.

They ask that you do not leave your dog alone in the room, especially if housekeeping needs to come in .. but that was no problem for us.. we kept him with us at all times.

We always took him off hotel property when we walked him also ..

I think this is a personality question more than a travel question. My husband is of the "drive as far as we can" mind, I of the "I like to know where I will sleep and how much it will cost". Each has its merits.

My rationale for booking ahead is that I enjoy the research on price, location and possibly something interesting to see when we get there. I make sure to book a cancellable hotel - it usually must be cancelled by 6 PM to avoid charges - and if necessary will change it from the road. If you are staying in a chain and need to cancel to a hotel either closer or further along and call the booked hotel they will often then make a reservation for you at another in their chain.

Scarlet:

To be honest I do not want to stay in a room that has allowed a pet. Actually we have stayed at a La Quinta in NYC. The first time our flight home was cancelled and the hotel we had been at was fully booked. I remember some one on this board saying the China Town La Quinta was safe and good value for the money. We stayed there one other time on a quick weekend visit when other hotels were coming in for many more $'s. Did not see any pets! It was basic/clean/free breakfast and offered the senior discount.

Gail:

I am leaning to booking ahead and that's a good thought to get some thing that we can cancel by 6:00. Haven't mobile phones changed things? We were slow to get one but it has saved us a few times. Although these will be one night stays we'd like it to be nice after a day of driving.

Sandy

Hi Sandy. Unless you are wanting to stay in full service hotels I wouldn't bother booking ahead of time.

If you're like me and quite satisfied with HI Express or LaQuinta type places you will have no problem finding them along the way.

Do stop in the rest areas along the interstate to pick up the Motel discount booklets. Often these are older Comfort Inns or Days Inn, but you never know and if you're not picky you can get good deals.

I like to have flexibility when taking long trips.

We like to make our reservations ahead. Years ago we would find a motel along the way and ended up in some real dumps.

We determine about how far we will go and make a reservation. We tell the hotel it may be late when we arrive. So if we want to make stops along the way, we have extra time. Sometimes we stop along the way for dinner and then drive a couple hours to our hotel.

If we don't stop along the way, we get into the hotel early and go out for dinner.

This way you can review the hotels before making a reservation and weed out the truly bad places you wouldn't want to stay.

SamH: Good tip about picking up one of those motel discount booklets at the rest stop.

bratsandbeer: Agree about weeding out the truly bad places so I do think I will be booking places ahead of time with the cancellation allowed prior to 6:00 pm

What a great response this question has received. Thank you all.

Sandy

<i>To be honest I do not want to stay in a room that has allowed a pet. Actually we have stayed at a La Quinta in NYC. The first time our flight home was cancelled and the hotel we had been at was fully booked. I remember some one on this board saying the China Town La Quinta was safe and good value for the money. We stayed there one other time on a quick weekend visit when other hotels were coming in for many more $'s. Did not see any pets! It was basic/clean/free breakfast and offered the senior discount.</i>

I don't blame you. If we were not traveling with him, we would not want that either. Generally speaking, most hotels keep a floor for pets and guests don't end up staying in one unless they have a pet with them.

NY is one of the few La Quintas that does charge for pets.. so that might discourage people.
I have stayed in 5 star Kimpton Hotels with my dog, I never see the other pets either..
And have never noticed any odors or signs of pets being there..

If you are not taking a pet, it doesn't matter anyway- I was just using our example of taking this trip without booking ahead, and the dog was secondary.
You will have more choices than we did.
Have a wonderful trip !

In our 25 years of 'road tripin' we have never made a reservation nor have we ever had a problem finding a vacancy. About an hour before we want to stop we look at the map (AAA) and pick the area we would like to stay in. Last year on our 9.5K mile around the country r/trip we stayed in more than 30 different motels. The hardest part is the TV changer, no two are ever alike nor is the channel line up ever the same. We use the AAA Tour Books to determin what will be up ahead. Where there is one AAA motel there are many more that are not and in most cases just as good. Another thing we have found out. Always take a look at the room before checking in and paying. It is near impossible to determin the quality of the room from the outside. The biggest offenders are non-smoking rooms that have been smoke in or pet rooms. Have fun on your trip.

Lots of good advice. I also like to take a couple of hotel directories with me on a road trip especially the chains with complementary breakfast.

Your question made me chuckle because of personal experience. Most of the time we don't make reservations ahead of time. We've only regretted this twice in 20+ years. The first time we were around Kenosha and all hotels were booked due to a show so we ended up driving until we found a roadside motel which was awful. The second time was somewhere in Indiana where all rooms were booked due to a KKK rally! Again we had to drive way past everyone's bedtime and found a room around 3 a.m. Have a safe trip

To me, part of the fun is planning what we will see along the way.
It's not hard to plan the drive on a trip like this... you will stop each night, no?
So what difference does flexibility make?
Plan out the route to maximize attractions and plan to stay in interesting places.
For this, I would make reservations just to make sure I am getting the best deal at the location that I prefer.

I too have usually done a combination of the above suggestions. Normally we make an estimate of where we think we'd like to end up and we make a reservation that can be canceled by 6. Then in the late afternoon if it starts looking like we want to get further than that or stop earlier, I'm already armed with a list of places an hour, two hours, and three hours beyond or before that. With a cell phone we can call ahead and see if they have room and the rates then either cancel the other one or keep it, depending on what we find.

esm, good thing you didn't stay where they were having that KKK rally. I'd have worried about holes in the sheets!!!

For us, flexibility means that if we happen on something we would like to see more of, we do . . the words &quot;planning&quot; and &quot;trips&quot; are never in the same sentence for us.

Patrick, we didn't know what was going on but after the fourth or fifth motel we checked I asked the front desk if there was a special event and couldn't believe the answer. Needless to say, we got out as fast as we could!

Sandy, most motels these days have free Internet access using their computer in the lobby. If you want, you could prebook a room that way for the next night.

Do let us know if you plan to stop in Albuquerque!

Lee Ann

Scarlet: Yes I did understand about your trip with your dog. I was not aware that quite a few hotels do allow pets to stay, learn something every day.

Red Rock, esm, TxTravelPro, Patrick - thanks so much for your comments.

LeeAnn: Yes I am now looking at finding somewhere for the night in Albuquerque. I am tired and reviews are all over the place. I just told my husband I must put this part off until tomorrow so was thankful to see you have joined in.

First night is booked: Best Western Inn Yukon, OK about 528 miles from where we live.

Sandy

I too book something with a 6 pm cancellation policy for &quot;just in case&quot;. If we decide we can drive further or are behind schedule because we stopped somewhere other arrangments can be made. I usually book with the 3 same groups so when I call to cancel I have them book a room at a different location at the same time.
When traveling with my pup, I stay at LaQuintas. We planned our route crosscountry last month based on LQs en route.
The rest of the time is either with Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inns (ichotelsgroup or Hilton reservation #s)

LeeAnn,
We will be in Albuquerque mid September for a ships reunion. Three nights at the Sheraton Uptown.

After that DW and I will spend two nights in Santa Fe at the Hol. Inn Exp, two nights in Taos and I'm thinking of either the Quality Inn or Best Western Kachina Lodge. Both got good reviews.

We also want to go to Chama for the train ride. Lodging doesn't look that great there. do you know of any places to stay between Chama and Taos?

Thanks, ronk

Rich,
Scheduling is not in my travel vocabulary... however research and planning IS.
It would be foolish to go somewhere without understanding and planning to some degree.
I do not believe anyone who says they do not plan anything for their trips.
Hooey.
You are on Fodors... you are planning.
You know there is a cool landmark you want to see... you are planning to see it.
You are not scheduling yourself, that's all.

We are in agreement . . other than the symantecs

. . and we do tend to just wander about sometimes

<i> and we do tend to just wander about sometimes</i>

And those are the times that some great discoveries are often made :)

Sandy
When we do a road trip we never pre-book. As was stated above, we like the flexibility to continue driving if we want, sometimes it just does not feel right to stop. Or, stop if we're tired or we see something we like to visit for a hour or so.

What we do do is stop at the travel/welcome centers as you enter each state. They offer a green book with specials in many cities of the state you are in. We have picked up some good prices that way. Sometimes in the afternoon we decide where we think we will stop and call on our cell.

The freedom of a roadtrip is fun.