topic Hotel websites in SmorgasBoard

Hotel websites

Jnbmom — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 10:08:19 GMT

Well Dh and I went on a very short trip to Ocean city, MD last week. We really enjoyed it and now my daughter was able to get a few days off on my next vacation and I want to take her there.

Of couse end of July is "peak" season and I can't believe how much more the rooms are

I have tried a few travel sites and hotwire and priceline have some deals however it's the "we got great prices but can't tell you the hotel until after you book", I really don't want to try that and get some seedy hotel especially with my daughter joining me.

Anybody have some tips on how to find a decent hotel this time of year?

Thanks

Re: Hotel websites

Ricky_D — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 02:49:01 GMT

@Jnbmom wrote:
Well Dh and I went on a very short trip to Ocean city, MD last week. We really enjoyed it and now my daughter was able to get a few days off on my next vacation and I want to take her there.

Of couse end of July is "peak" season and I can't believe how much more the rooms are

I have tried a few travel sites and hotwire and priceline have some deals however it's the "we got great prices but can't tell you the hotel until after you book", I really don't want to try that and get some seedy hotel especially with my daughter joining me.

Anybody have some tips on how to find a decent hotel this time of year?

Thanks

Do yourself a favor when trying to find rooms during peak. Book direct. I checked for the last weekend in July and found great prices.

Go to ocrooms.com. It is one dedicated website for properties in the area where you book direct. Right now, Buckingham Hotel is $62 per night for 4 people in a double room. Some upscale properties are up to $300 per night. Much less than $400 to $800 on other booking websites. Don't wait too long as July is selling out.

Re: Hotel websites

iced — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 15:02:17 GMT

@Ricky_D wrote:
@Jnbmom wrote:
Well Dh and I went on a very short trip to Ocean city, MD last week. We really enjoyed it and now my daughter was able to get a few days off on my next vacation and I want to take her there.

Of couse end of July is "peak" season and I can't believe how much more the rooms are

I have tried a few travel sites and hotwire and priceline have some deals however it's the "we got great prices but can't tell you the hotel until after you book", I really don't want to try that and get some seedy hotel especially with my daughter joining me.

Anybody have some tips on how to find a decent hotel this time of year?

Thanks
Do yourself a favor when trying to find rooms during peak. Book direct. I checked for the last weekend in July and found great prices.
Go to ocrooms.com. It is one dedicated website for properties in the area where you book direct. Right now, Buckingham Hotel is $62 per night for 4 people in a double room. Some upscale properties are up to $300 per night. Much less than $400 to $800 on other booking websites. Don't wait too long as July is selling out.

I'll add a second to the direct recommendation. If you see a hotel you like there, just book direct with that hotel. You know what you're getting that way, no surprises. The closer in you get during peak times, the worse it gets; I've seen prices go to 5x normal rates and break $1,000/night in some locations.

The nice thing about the big chains like Marriott was, until this year, the point redemption value didn't fluctuate so I could use points on peak nights and cash on others. I once used points for NYE and NYD nights in Amsterdam since the rooms were ~600EUR but for the other nights when it fell back to ~200EUR I paid cash. That's another incentive to book direct, and show a little loyalty - when those peak times do roll around you have some points in the bank you can use to defray those costs.

Re: Hotel websites

Jnbmom — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 15:05:23 GMT

Thank you both for the suggestions . I will keep you posted