Do you use the AAA Tour Book ?
 

Hey - I'm wondering how many people actually use the AAA Tourbook to find a place online for your lodging needs? Please help me with your experience if you would. Thank you,

Do you use it?

Do you use your computer or smartphone?

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awesome deals beats tha pants off AAA book outmoded technology

far more expensive for worse places for me

I have an Ipad use that my wife has an I phone so we do both

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Travel well

I use it as a starting point especially on ratings and info on places. Also use IPad.

My family uses the tour books when we are on driving trips and don't know exactly how far we will get in a day. They are good to look up places close to the highways, and then you can use a cell phone to check availability. They also show which facilities give AAA discounts. True, it isn't as economical as using Priceline, but it's good for winging it.

Used all the time- but haven't used it hardly at all in the past 7 or 8 years. It got really outdated when I-phone and GPS maps in cars came out. I can get all the names, numbers, and even prices much easier.

The AAA Tour Books are in desperate need of updating and revision, but I find they are still useful for learning about restaurants and attractions in small towns.

AAA should come into the 21st Century and include toll-free numbers and e-mail addresses in their hotel listings just as Fodors, Frommers, and other guide books do.

I definitely still use them to find hotels for road trips - I can look up the hotel or motel on my smart phone "on the move" to either call or reserve online. I don't use them (never have) for restaurants. I don't plan my trips using the sightseeing section, but I will read it if it has an entry for someplace I happen to be..

I do use them for car trips exactly as Caroline describes. I find them a much more reliable guide to cleanliness and general quality than the discount books handed out at rest areas.

AAA has a deal with Magellan that has the tourbook built into the GPS . . very handy for finding hotels, restruants and Starbucks . . .

I think their diamond rating is helpful, especially given tripadvisor's unreliability.

I took a cross-country road trip two years ago and mostly used my laptop and TripAdvisor to find motels for the upcoming day. But we still carry the AAA books on all our road trips, even when the accommodations are already booked, because of the useful information in the front of the book about things to do in the places we pass through, and sometimes for restaurant ideas.

I don't use them. We don't really do long road trips and that seems to be when most people find them helpful.

Thank you all for your time in replying to my question. Iam trying to decide whether i should pay the $1300.00 to have a bold listing in the Tourbook or just have the standard listing. I am told by Super 8 and other Brand hotels that they stopped producing the "property listing" books that they had because people are using technology now like smartphones, GPS and computers to help in their travel decisions. SOOO I think i will save the money and put it into the property itself for a longer lasting value. Thank you again! Ted

Now that I know the reason for your question I can tell you that bold listings in TourBooks have no effect on my decisions about where to stay. I note, for instance, that the best restaurants in my city (Seattle) do not have their names printed in boldface. Spend the $1,300 on landscaping or other curb appeal.

HTTY

I agree with HTTY - bold listings on any list doesn't affect my reading of the list. Spend the money on the curb appeal.

I also agree - because I know boldface is just paid-for "pop". I look at the diamond rating, location and price, period.

AAA: for hotels - hardly ever. I will do computer search anyway, Expedia and Trip Advisor are better for this purpose.

I pull out sightseeing pages for future computer search, marking them off as I go.

I'm surprised that anybody finds the diamond system useful. For instance, in Winthrop WA Winthrop Inn, Mountain View Chalets, and Hotel Rio Vista all have two diamonds.

We had such a miserable room at Winthrop Inn that I reported our experience to AAA. They ignored my complaint.

Mountain View Chalets offers tiny rooms a mile from town with balconies overlooking the KOA campground.

My choice of these three is Hotel Rio Vista which is located in the small downtown and where I can get a large room with balcony right on the Chewuch River.

HTTY

I am a faithful AAA member, and I DO use the Tour Books, mostly just as a starting point for more research. But no, I never pay attention to "bolded" properties so I think you're safe skipping that expense.

Also, I visited Idaho for the first time last month...what a beautiful state! And everybody was very friendly--I can't wait to go back.

HTTY--I would consider a 2 diamond hotel to be fairly poor.