OK Suze, gotta know, where in HI do you get a hotel room for $95???

Yes, and I don't get the RV thing either. Where I live, they travel through here by the dozens on the weekend. They get bigger every year. Huge. And some are very fancy. People have to spend some big dollars on those things, not to mention the gas it must guzzle for a weekend getaway. Just don't get that.

Usually $200-250/night in Vegas, Priceline for random American cities when just passing through or spending a night (PIT, BAL, etc) more into inns/B&B type places in Europe for about 100 euros, most ever was $750/nt in Bora Bora.

When I was single, I spent up to a max of about $125 for a hotel and I had a very hard time going that high. Just a personal quirk. My father was Mr. Frugal and it rubbed off on me.

Now I'm married and my husband is finishing his second degree. Our budget is tight and we're having to stick to around $75 a night for our upcoming Savannah anniversary trip. It may mean having to drive rather than walk to some places, but that's no big deal to me.

Even when he starts working in September, I'll STILL have a hard time going over $125 a night. ;-)

I usually stay at cheap places to have more money to spend at the destination. I have had really descent accommodations at Motel 6s and Motel 8s. I really can't see the point in spending alot of money for a room you sleep in. I usually go on vacation to tour the sites not to spend time in my room.

I don't think I could sleep if I had to spend $200. for a room. Probably the most I have spent was about L80 (pounds) in London a few years ago. I purposely didn't figure out exactly what that was in dollars--didn't want to know. In the U.S. we spent $120. in Saranac Lake last year, just a one-night stopover. On the rest of our trip around new England we never reached $100. dollars a night.

Also last year my sister and I went to Yellowstone where we stayed in a Signal Mountain Lodge cabin for $124., and for three nights--a splurge for us for sure.
Whether I'm travelling with my husband or my sister, we never spend much time in the room. Even in London, we'd usually leave our room around 10 a.m. and return 12-13 hours later after seeing a play.

I use Priceline whenever possible, so
I usually spend $30 a night for 3 star hotels in AZ and $110 a night for 3 star hotels in NYC and somewhere in between for everything else.

RVing isn't for everyone, but DH and prefer this mode of travel. For those of you who don't understand it, let me throw a few figures your way.

Purchased a used 1985 Winnebago 23 1/2 foot class A motorhome with less than 30,000 miles on it in 1993 for $17,000.

Have taken 18 trips of between 4 & 34 nights for a total of 277 nights and 295 days since 1993.

Gas: $11,369.82
Campground fees: $ 11,369.82
Motorhome: $17,000

Total: $31, 965.04 divided by the 277 nights = $115.40 per night.

Many will say you can get a room for cheaper than that...OK, but lets also throw in the food costs!

Dining out $375.98
Groceries: $2,612.24

Total: $2988.22 divided by the 295 days = $10.12.

Now how many of you that travel and stay in motels can average $10.12 per day for food for two people.

We've also done dozens and dozens of weekend overnight trips along with nearby day trips. I just don't have the figures on those. Some of the overnighters were to a nearby park that's only 10 miles away and only cost $16.00 per night to stay.

Oh, and I forgot....the motorhome still has a very good resale value!

Utahtea

aaaahhh ... back in the early days of marriage we used to find great rooms for under $25/night. (I think the pension in Quebec City with the shared bath was $15/night. I didn't think we would ever be able to afford a place like the Chateau Frontenac.) Now about half my travel is business at convention rates. It's hard to believe that some people pay much more if they walk in off the street. We're still frugal and enjoy using our camper. We also camped in St John at Maho Bay rather than stay in a hotel. Maho has to be one of the best bargains in the Caribbean. When my husband and son drove across country, I urged them to carry a box of Kleenex because I doubted their choice of cheap accomodations would provide any. When I'm not traveling with him, Mr Frugal chooses places where the free breakfast consists of a box of donuts from the grocery store and a questionable orange liquid. There doesn't seem to be any consistency among budget motels anymore. The Econolodge in one place will be a great deal, someplace else it's a trashy mess. I hate to spend over $150 but if I spend less than $75 the pillows are usually horrible. The places I've liked the best are usually not chains and I've felt I've gotten very good value.

I agree that hotels are getting expensive. We used to always do $100/night or under, but I realized that was because we were going west, and doing a lot of driving and mostly staying in smaller towns. In cities or touristy areas it's gonna be higher.

We are basically Holiday Inn people. I can't stomach paying too much for a room, b/c all those days at a much higher rate really add up. But I won't do Motel 6 or even Best Western anymore, b/c we've had too many dreary, dark rooms.

This year we've stayed in some really nice places (mostly for business travel), the Westin in St. John and in Cancun and the Four Seasons Maui. Boy, it sure is harder to look at a Holiday Inn the same way after these experiences!

DH and I spend a lot on hotels; for us that is one luxury we indulge in and find it worth it.
The room, the location, the service, those are of prime importance for us.

We don't give each other gifts on anniversaries, xmas, etc... but when we travel, we spend a lot and have a pampered feeling that is worth it for us...

As little as possible. Usually I/We are just sleeping in the room and as long as it's clean, we're happpy.

We're going to Belgium and Netherlands this summer and we're not spending more than $85 per night for a room. We'll also be camping for three nights.

That said, when I travel for work - three or four conferences each year in US and up to two international - I'll pay conference rate at the hotel.

I also use discount brokers, and not just Priceline, or Hotwire. But to tell you the truth, I am traveling less for a number of reasons and hotel cost is probably the second biggest reason after health of parents.

utahtea, because of resale- the entire RV experience is usually a $$$ winner. Like the summer vacation home, people love to list all the negatives because most are just not into the work involved or do it yourself thing. They prefer to be waited on and not have responsibility for more than a reservation contract. In my case and especially with a large extended family use, both are very profitable. I've made $50,000 equity profit on a vacation home in 2 years.

Splurging on fancy hotel rooms is fine as long as it makes you happy, but I just don't have the income for that extravagence and I doubt if I ever will. And if I did, I would not enjoy it that much, as I would think about what I'd rather have the money applied to. But saying that, I still would splurge up to $160 for a special location, but not for more than 1 night.

And I have routinely gotten good NYC and Chicago rooms for under $100 without any difficulty. Not junk either, good quality- at least 3 star or above.

I can definitely see the appeal of a motorhome. DH and I are considering buying a camping trailer in the future. I love the airstreams and are thinking that fixing up an older one would be a great project.

We like to camp, but I can see the time coming when sleeping in a tent might lose some of it's appeal and a camping trailer would sound that much nicer. I can't see us ever losing our love of the outdoors though.

I view a hotel as nothing more than a place to sleep at night, UNLESS I'm going somewhere where the whole allure if to spend time inside and "veg". I do a lot of research on hotels, locations and prices before I book and try never to pay more than $100 per night unless the hotel itself is the draw.

http://everythingtravel.blogspot.com/

My husband and I love to travel, and we spend a lot of money on a hotel room. Except for the Bellagio, which is inexpensive, we pay 700-1000 per night, depending on the location. I know lots os people say they do n ot spend a lot of time in their room, but we do. When you are in a ground floor room steps from the beach, we enjoy breakfast on our own verndah, enjoy the jacuzzi and champagne and an amazing wiew and having someone pack and unpack for you...It's enjoyable. The personal touches like fresh flowers, fruit, personal; butler or concierge etc..are worth it for us. We don't budget for our trips, we just go...BUT We do not have any children and we have our won business, which makes a huge difference.

I think the $90/night we're paying for a 4* in San Antonio this month is the most I've ever paid for a hotel room.

Whenever possible, I use Priceline to get my rooms. Stayed at 3* or 4* hotels in places like New York, Portland, Seattle, Austin, Columbus, Chicago, Tucson, Scottsdale, Sacramento, and Vancouver (BC) for prices ranging from $10/night (oh, for the days of Priceline bonus money) to $75/night, with most of them $50 or less. Even though Priceline prices have been rising steadily, especially in the last 12 months, I still can't see paying more than about $100/night unless circumstances make it impossible to avoid.

I'm willing to stay in 2* or 2.5* hotels (Priceline ratings) when I'm traveling alone, but when my wife travels with me 3* is pretty much the minimum we'll look for.

With the money we aren't spending on hotels, we prefer to dine out more often when we travel.

Heavens,

It is unrealistic to expect hotel prices in a neighborhood where a 1 BR condo sells for $750,000 to compare to hotel prices in an area where you can get a 3 BR house (with yard!) for under $250,000. Really now.

A camper or RV are probably a great value, as long as you don't mind cooking & cleaning while on vacation - and let's add in driving to your destination.

I'm in the hotel business & get great rates & comps on beautiful hotels, but I would still splurge. There's nothing like leaving an unmade bed to go out for the day & returning to fresh sheets & towels. Or dialing Room Service when you don't want to go out. It's really all about the service level and what you can afford.

I can honestly say that I don't pay much attention to price. I do pay a lot of attention to amenities, with price a secondary issue. That said, I have found that many hotels and motels are well under the $100 mark for a decent double room with breakfast, but many times they are not in the best locations. That's one of the amenities that I look at. I never travel with family other than wife, so I can't comment on your costs for "with family." Unless you are unwilling to patronize the average chain hotels/motels, you should easily find better bargains than $200 for a double. I hope you will.

Leona,

Driving is the major reason for the motorhome. We love road trips and driving is as much a part of the trip as the destination. Being away from home and being on the road is what vacation is for us. We don't need to eat out. We enjoy preparing and eatting our meals and eatting in scenic locations that most people never get a chance to enjoy. It's no biggy throwing out a paper plate and washing a pot or pan. I know it's not for everyone.

Utahtea