We have a very early flight in Sept. leaving from Tampa FL which is 95 mins. from our house. A friend suggested looking into going to a hotel the night before, parking there for the 13 day trip and using the hotel shuttle to and from the airport. Has anyone used Park, Sleep, Fly? I'm wondering why their rates are $20- $30 less than the hotel websites even ones where I have a "member" card. Is there some type of "catch" as I did read that some people did not get the advertised discount rate and had to argue at the hotel desk.

I have done it several times, and it is a really good deal. Just make sure you print out the confirmation, because one time the hotel clerk did say that it wasn't in her computer as a park-sleep-fly reservation.

I have done this many times with no problems. There are no intentional "catches". It's a great deal. As Mike says, just bring a print out of your reservation.

We've used them and have been very satisfied.

I've also done this (not in Tampa though) and it is a very good deal. The price of one night at the hotel was basically the same as airport parking for 7 days. The advantage for me was getting 2 extra hours of sleep and not driving to the airport in a snowstorm.

Another question: on your return to the airport, do you call and a shuttle is dispatched or is there a set schedule where they just come every 30 mins and you may have missed the shuttle and now must wait?

Thanks for any additional information.

In our exprience, that depends on the hotel. For some, the shuttle is on a regular schedule and for some, we call to be picked up.

The hotel in Sterling, Va that could not honor our reservation sent us to one in Chantilly, VA since I was using points. When I saw the park-sleep-fly sign while checking in I went that route instead of points. $149.00 for room, breakfast, parking for eleven nights and shuttle to Dulles. Parking at the airport would heve been $110 so it was well worth it. We had to call for pickup when we returned but it was a short wait and we didn't have to schlep our luggage on the bus from and to the parking area.

Each hotel has a different shuttle policy. Call before your trip to find out what it is.

Just ask the hotel when you check in whether you will need to call for the shuttle when you return.

In the Uk we call it airport hotel parking I always book with http://www.flypark.co.uk I cant answer for US hotels but transfers to and from the hotels in the UK are usually on demand. You just ring the hotel when you arrive back at the terminal. The shuttle busses are used more for the off airport car parks.