People always ask me "how do you travel so often but we never see you go to work?" well the answer to that would be to mind your own gatdamn business. I keed I keed. Firstly, my secret weapon is preplanning. You have got to have some idea as to whats out there as far as pricing on flights, lodging, transportation, etc. I'll break down a few important things to always remember:
BUDGET
these days, everyone is on a budget. But that doesn't mean you still cant travel and have a fabulous time. I "Travel on a budget" quite often. You will need to decide on a destination, figure out what the trip itself will cost, then factor in, expenses while on vacation and unforeseen expenses, such as, resort fees at a hotel, port charges for a cruise, extra charges for mileage on rental cars so there are no surprises to your wallet.
DESTINATION BOOKING
once you have decided where you want to go, search around for the best deals. Travel agents in my opinion are a waste of flesh. Especially when there are so many sites catering to "do it yourself" travel. Join reward and discount programs, travelzoo.com. airfarewatchdog.com bing.com, all of these sites can customize emails to you specific to your destination or favorite destinations so your inbox doesn't get flooded with information about deals to Kathmandu(doo) tee hee.
It's always a good idea to call ahead to the hotel and ask about incidentals, resort fees and any additional charges you might incur. Ask if breakfast is included or an airport shuttle. All of these things can potentially save you money. Also, you can let the hotel know if you are travelling for a special occasion, usually they will have some sort of extra for you. A larger room, champagne (Omi Berkshire, nyc) all of which are added perks. Also, you can ask about extra person fees, children, pet fees and other services they might offer to ease your stay.
Once you have settled on a location where you want to stay, you can book in whole, on a discount website like travelocity.com where you would need to pay for your entire stay up front (hotel or air only or a package deal) or you can book directly through the hotel. Usually the hotel will not charge anything until check in/out, some will charge you a 1 nights stay deposit, also a good idea to ask about this policy before booking.
Most hotels will charge anywhere from 30-150 a night for incidentals. this can cut a huge hole in your pocket money. I suggest, if you can, you pay this up front. Typically, you can ask for a credit card auth form and have them charge the full amount including incidentals. this amount is usually refunded to you within 3-5 business days provided you didn't use any hotel amenities that cost like the cafe or spa.
Some hotels (Albion Hotel, Miami) will actually allow you to pay your deposit in cash and each day, will refund you the cash from the previous day if you haven't used any of it, which helps if you are traveling on a budget. However it has been my experience that most hotels want you to pay for incidentals using a credit/debit card. If you don't have one, there are plenty of prepaid debit cards you can apply for in advance of your trip to avoid any complications. I actually would suggest this for any incidentals because hotels do make errors, you don't want them charging your card for something you didn't use, then having to wait who knows how long for them to put it back. I usually have a specific debit card for hotel/car rental places and I will put the exact amount needed on the card to avoid any unauthorized charges to me.
RENTAL CARS/ TRANSPORTATION
once your room is booked, you might find that you need transportation. Not all hotels offer shuttle service to/from the hotel and your hotel may be located in an area where you need to drive to get to where you want to be. I usually don't find it necessary to drive in places like Miami, New York, New Orleans, Vegas as they all have specific areas where pretty much everything is located withing walking/taxi cab distance so its not worth the cost.
I definitely recommend joining the member benefit programs with rental car companies, not only will you get discounts emailed to you but you can also check right in at the kiosk and not have to wait in line. Dollar Rental Car has a great program but they will hold up to the total amount of the car rental on your credit card if not more as an incidental deposit for gas, mileage, accidents, etc. I prefer Alamo, they offer some of the lowest rates, and if you are renting and returning in the same city, you show them your return flight info and they will not hold any additional money, they only charge the amount of the rental.
If you decide not to get a rental car, there are other options. for instance if you are staying in a part of a city where it is easy to get around, then you only need to book an airport shuttle. Typically a Google search of airport shuttles from your destination airport will give you a ton of options. Usually they charge 15-30 each way and you can book in advance and get your ticket to print and show when you arrive.
Parking is also an issue if you choose to drive to the airport. there are a bunch of great sites where you can prepay for parking at your airport at a discounted rate usually 9-12 a day. airportparkingreservations.com is great. they charge a 5.00 booking fee, but they send you a coupon code waiving the fee for your next booking.
BAGGAGE FEES
Baggage fees have gotten way out of hand these days. I try and avoid airlines that will charge you for everything. Such as Spirit, air tran and united. they have some of the highest bag check fees 15-30 for one bag. more for a 2ND or 3rd bag. Spirit even charges for a carry on. Depending on your location, southwest is always a favorite of mine since they don't charge anything extra and usually you get a good rate if you book 14 days or more out. and again, you can try discount sites like priceline and expedia. Be aware however, that these discount sites have very strict policies. Unless you buy their insurance, you are not protected in case you miss your flight or something goes wrong.
*little known tip, there is a rule with these discount companies called the "flat tire rule" it states that if you miss your flight for circumstances beyond your control, as long as you arrive at the counter BEFORE you scheduled flight has departed, even if its within minutes, they should book you on another flight at no additional charge. Keep in mind, that most airlines will flat out refuse any knowledge of this rule or refuse to inforce it. Ask for a supervisor and try your best to get re booked before your flight actually leaves, once it leaves, they WILL try and say there is nothing they can do, since your original flight has departed without you. If you know you are going to be late, due to circumstances beyond your control, call the airline immediately and take careful notes on who you spoke with and what they told you, any promises to rebook you, should be accompanied by some sort of confirmation number with a name and extension of the person you spoke with. this will make it easier for you, when you get to the airport and they decline to rebook you at no charge. Truse me this works. I paid 450 for a flight i had already paid over 450 for when i missed a flight, I've never done that again.
AFTER ARRIVAL
Once you have arrived at your destination, be it locally or internationally, you may find that prices for things such as food and entertainment are considerably more costly than what you may be used to. Utilize discount sites!!! Groupon.com Livingsocial.com crowdclick.com and goldstar.com and 8coupons.com are some of my favorites. You can log on to these sites and join for a particular city or multiple cities. they will send you daily discounts emails. You can dine at nice places for half the price or attend a show at a significant discount, do tours, and even other sites such as freethingstodoin(city name).com will have info on free events. It helps when you have a hotel voucher for breakfast, a groupon for half off lunch and a 2 for 1 deal for dinner, you just cut your daily costs by more than half. You can even find discount coupons for shopping at places like Macy's and h&m.
ENTERTAINMENT/PARTIES
If you are visiting a town for a special event, super bowl, all star weekend, new years eve, etc., its always wise to search online for different nightclub locations and party sites to see whats going to be going on. this is important for number of reasons. no one wants to wait outside on line (it may be cold). I would suggest contacting the venue or promoter to purchase advance tickets/table service this way you can walk directly in or at the very least, enter through a separate, shorter, VIP line. You can usually pay a deposit or prepay for these reservations. Then you can laugh at all the ppl waiting outside. :) you can also ask for group rates and birthday packages. Vegas especially has great packages some including limos and a personal concierge. you can check with your hotel concierge for these things as well. Miami for example is really good at passing out drink tickets and nightclub wristbands for their hotel patrons.
so on average you should expect to spend:
HOTEL - 30-150 A DAY FOR AN INCIDENTAL HOLD IN ADDITION TO ROOM CHARGE
PARKING - 9-12 A DAY FOR AIRPORT PARKING
HOTEL PARKING FOR RENTAL CAR - 12-30 A DAY TO PARK AT HOTEL
AIRPORT FEES - 15-30 FOR BAGGAGE FEES UNLESS YOU FLY AN AIRLINE THAT DOESN'T CHARGE
RENTAL CAR - 150+ HOLD ON CARD IN ADDITION TO RENTAL CAR CHARGE (UNLESS YOU BOOK ON ALAMO)
FOOD/ENTERTAINMENT - I WOULD BUDGET AT LEAST 100-150 A DAY (ALSO FACTOR IN COUPONS/DISCOUNTS AND DEALS)
PARTIES - FOR SPECIAL EVENTS I WOULD EXPECT TO PAY 100-250 PP FOR EACH PARTY, THIS IS USUALLY A VIP PRICE FOR NO LINE/NO WAIT. UPWARDS OF 800 FOR BOTTLE SERVICE/TABLE RESERVATIONS (USUALLY FOR GROUPS OF 4 OR MORE)
