Hotel rooms can vary from a luxury suite that costs thousands of dollars a night to a shared hostel room with three other bunks and a central bathroom. There are all sorts of hotel rooms to be had, but if you’re looking for cheap hotel rooms you should first understand something about the city you’re visiting; what’s the up season? What’s the neighborhood? Is the price worth it? I thought I got the deal of a lifetime on a hotel room in Los Angeles once; I must have been on just one side of the tracks because I’ve never felt so afraid for my life or the life of my partner in a place like a hotel before.

You also need to; in your search for the cheap hotel rooms, survey the field and find out what this particular ‘season’ looks like. You should call ahead and see what your travel date looks like; if they say there near capacity, take them at their word. Most of the time the management doesn’t answer the phones and a clerk has no ulterior motive; more often than not they’re on the side of the customer. I’d hate for you to be sleeping on your coat on a park bench just because all the beds were occupied by someone else. It’s tough to get sympathy from a front desk clerk for not planning ahead too. Being a front desk clerk for years; I’ll tell you what I’ve learned; people don’t prepare enough. It will only take an extra two minutes to call ahead to the hotel and assure your reservation you made online was confirmed; it pains me to have to turn away people when there’s literally “no room at the inn,” but it’s what I have to do almost without fail because people didn’t take those extra minutes to confirm their hotel rooms reservation.

If you’re on an international trip you should definitely check that your reservations been made. Cheap hotel rooms in the UK are able to be had but you need to do the follow up leg work and assure that great rate you got online is for real. If you’re traveling internationally, it might even be a better idea for you to go through an agency; I’d hate for you to be out hundreds of bucks and with no room just because you think you got a great rate on a cheap hotel room in Paris.

From New York to Chicago to LA and beyond cheap hotel rooms are there for the taking; just be smart about your reservations and follow up! You’ll thank me when you do!