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Pre book Vs on the fly

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Accommodation in LA/San Fran/Seattle
15 years ago, January 31st 2009 No: 1 Msg: #61866  
Hi folks,
My Mum and I are traveling around the states for a month (from Oz) over June/July. We have booked our accommodation in vegas and are staying in most other destinations a week. Our plan was to book only the first nights stay - giving us enoiugh time to look around and find another hotel/motel but we're worried that we'll get charged rack rates much more expensive than if we just pre book.

We understand it will be peak season and we don't really want to be left in the lurch without somewhere to sleep or have to pay through the nose for it if it could have been avoided.

Can anyone offer advice on the topic??

Thanks, Renee Reply to this

15 years ago, January 31st 2009 No: 2 Msg: #61870  
I would definitely pre-book in Seattle. Can't speak for the other cities.

It will be peak season and all the Seattle-Alaska cruises will be running during that time, meaning thousands of people all vying for the same rooms and all having existing reservations. And you're absolutely correct about the walk-up rates being much more expensive than the pre-booked rates.

Most hotels have cancellations policies that allow you cancel within 48-72 hours before you'd arrive, so if you found a better deal or found a place you really want to stay last minute, you could always cancel your existing reservation, while still having it a back-up plan until then. Even reserving online a week in advance is cheaper than booking at the front desk 99% of the time.

Also, not sure what type of accommodation you're looking for, but there's only one hostel downtown Seattle that I'm aware of, and it's usually full. There is a new one supposedly opening up sometime this year - supposedly - but I havn't heard much about it recently.

Reply to this

15 years ago, February 1st 2009 No: 3 Msg: #61880  
Great advice, thanks for that!! I will start looking into Seattle accommodation now - cheers 😊 Reply to this

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