Boy is lodging getting expensive!

[nelliott]

I did a search for that on my iPhone, but nada. Is it Android operating system only?

Is it this one?
http://www.allstays.com/apps/camptent.htm

 

[BC1100S]

So if the the campground I intended to use has been washed away, the next nearest available campsite is two hours away, the hotels are full, and the sun is going down, I might pull out the book.

On the other hand, many of us welcome other members to use the facilities we have available. No harm, no foul either way.

 

[shakeybone]

Maybe we should add a new section to the AB for lodging.

 

[ragtoplvr]

5 to 7 years ago there was a huge shakeout in the hospitality industry. Lots of motels went out of business or were converted to low cost housing. Once that happens to a motel, the wear and reputation loss make it virtually impossible to ever convert back. We are a little short of rooms now. That will over correct and prices will get better. Hopefully when I retire.

Rod

 

[ragtoplvr]

Maybe we should add a new section to the AB for lodging.

Split to you can camp here if you have to and I love having campers sections.

Rod

 

[deilenberger]

A few hints to save money on lodging - in a room:

1 - Casinos. If you don't gamble (I don't) they frequently offer discount rooms in the hopes of getting you into the casino. Sometimes they offer discount meals. The more of them in one place (Reno, Las Vegas) the better the deals get. I've stayed in some very posh digs in Las Vegas and Reno for $30/night, plus a free dinner. Of course that means you have to be able to tolerate Reno and Las Vegas - which I can never do for more than a night. There are LOTS of casinos now all over the US - so the deals are out there. Sometimes you have to join their "club" (it's always been free, and no obligation to do anything so far) to get the cheap deals.

2 - Hotel/Motel chain clubs. Choice Hotels (which has a range of hotels from dirt cheap to fairly expensive) has a good club bonus - stay 2 nights (booked on line) and get a night free, or sometimes a $50 gasoline card. Almost all the chains have these sort of "clubs" - and they all are there to help them fill up hotels. The last trip I took (NJ to New Orleans, Florida and back) I used free nights for 1/3rd of my nights on the road. I tend to pick the Choice ones since they're at almost every interstate intersection in some form or another.

3 - On line deals - Hotels.com, Trivago, etc. Hotels.com actually has a rental agreement with the hotel, and you pay hotels.com for the room, not the hotel. They often have "secret deals" - where the prices are way below anything the hotel might offer you if approached directly. I usually use this for large fancy business class hotels in cities, and often get rooms that list for $250 for $90/night.

4 - Weekends - business downtown hotels are begging for customers on weekends. I stayed at a Staybridge Suites in downtown Birmingham AL for Memorial Day weekend. 2 nights (Saturday, Sunday) while I visited Barber Motorsports. I was one of 4 guests in the hotel. Cost was around $89/night. Very posh accommodations complete with free shuttle service anywhere I wanted to go within 10 miles, for less than a Comfort Inn costs near Barber.

I agree - prices have been rather high, but some careful shopping can bring them down to reasonable again.

 

[pglaves]

We have been on the road about three weeks now, motels every night except at the rally, and now a couple days at our daughters. Our motel rooms have run in the $45 to $70 range - plus taxes ranging from $2.07 to $14 or so. None of the places have been bad. We use online booking usually, and look for deals on several sites. Reviews can help but we expect every place we stay to have at least one horrible review rant just because the Taj Mahal would be insufficient fo some travelers. We sometimes find a nice small mom-n-pop type motel but this trip have happened to stay mostly at name brand places of the Super8, Quality Inn, Days Inn variety. One thing we do is to internet "shop" several possible stopping places and when we find one where everything is high we pick another nearby town and usually find drastically cheaper accomodations. Thus we avoid the $100++ a night rooms.

 

[lvermiere]

I don't think that is the intent of the AB. From the book:

"While the services offered are first and foremost for emergency situations, there may be the times when you simply need advice or a place to change your oil. Please state whether an emergency exists or not. And while the socializing with other BMW MOA members can be a legitimate reason for calling a number in the book, it is the caller's responsibility to be sensitive to and aware of the individual limits to that socializing, as presented by the host.
.
.
.
The following are the codes used in the Anonymous phone listings. The Anonymous Emergency Help System has no "Bed & Breakfast" component. Therefore we ask that all members avoid using the system in this way. While there will always be gracious members of the BMW MOA who are willing to allow the use of a spare bedroom or sheltered bedroll space, the request to be able to use this space should always be regarded as a seldom used privilege, rather than a less expensive way to cross the country!"

So if the the campground I intended to use has been washed away, the next nearest available campsite is two hours away, the hotels are full, and the sun is going down, I might pull out the book.

I agree, the intent of the AB is not for bed and breakfast. If the MOA wants to add a separate section fine, count me out.

I am in the book and in the last 2 years have taken out the coffee and conversation/social aspect of my listing because it was getting abused.

In the last 3 years I have helped 2 people in an emergency situation, provided parts/fixed their bike and provided accommodation and food because they were good people. All of this was free. My choice, not theirs.

In the last 2 weeks I have received 2 calls. One from a person planning his trip and another passing through looking for a bed. Neither one had an emergency.

The AB is in my opinion is starting to be abused. After 35 years with the MOA this makes me think about dropping my name out of it and possibly dropping the MOA altogether.

MOA, please be careful on how you handle any 'bed and breky' component if it is decided to be included in the AB.

 

[powwow]

Is it this one?
http://www.allstays.com/apps/camptent.htm

That must be it...I was just searching on the Applications App on my phone and nothing showed up. Thanks!

 

[globalrider]

....but lodging seems to be a little out of control right now. So, to get a decent hotel room is going to be well over $100/night....most of the time more than that.

Its why I tour Europe. One year I compared the daily costs of my local tour to the daily costs of my Alps tour and it was far cheaper touring the Alps and those costs even included airfare. Go figure! Excel spreadsheets don't lie!

This summer I was paying €65 (US$72) a night in a gorgeous hotel in Arabba with an incredible view and that included a buffet breakfast as well as four-course dinner with salad bar. And this where operating costs for everything are far higher than in the US. Motel/hotel pricing here in comparison is a rip off.

 

[sagerat]

Is it this one?
http://www.allstays.com/apps/camptent.htm

Yep, and I've got an iPhone.

 

[greenwald]

Consider Comfort Inn group. Just finished up a circum-navigation of Lake Michigan. Paid around $55 everywhere I could find one.

Usually patronize Holiday Inn Express, as they give me a healthy (30%) discount as retired government (with credentials), but they are getting a bit pricey lately, and Comfort Inns are bubbling to the top.

Just say'in.

 

[henzilla]

Figure lately that the low gas prices make up for occasional higher rates. A few years back, our fuel costs for two were higher than lodging.The following year, we camped a LOT!

Enjoy the fuel prices while we can.

H works the internet after we do a drive by of the usual names to secure lowest rates..kind of swore off Motel 6 after two different bang bang at midnight wake ups in two different states when I did a low budget solo trip w/out camping gear options

 

[pffog]

I avoid chains, there are a lot of good mom and pops that can be had for a real reasonable price. Online reviews help weed out the seedy ones, and my personal way to judge a place is the shrubs and gardens, if they are well kept, the owner has pride in the property and the rooms will be good.

Generally run $45-$70/ night.

If you want free camping, go to ADV Riders, and search for the free tent space thread, places all over the world, but primarily North America. Tthe people I have hosted got a free bed and were fed. Can't beat that for the price of a little conversation.

 

[gsjay]

I'm amazed at how high the Local Lodging tax has become in some areas!

In Helen Ga. this past June the lodging tax was 15%

Checking with Canaan Valley WV's State Park resort I'm told 12% + $9.00 resort fee.

These locally imposed fee's seem to be growing unchecked.

I know I'm looking at them and they will impact where I travel.

jason

 

[deilenberger]

Consider Comfort Inn group. Just finished up a circum-navigation of Lake Michigan. Paid around $55 everywhere I could find one.

Usually patronize Holiday Inn Express, as they give me a healthy (30%) discount as retired government (with credentials), but they are getting a bit pricey lately, and Comfort Inns are bubbling to the top.

Just say'in.

Kevin - if you like Comfort Inns - look to joining the Choice Hotels club. Comfort is part of that group, as are: EconoLodge (lowest rung), Suburban, MainStay Suites (business class - nice - and not expensive), Cambria (highest class - somewhat expensive - but not outrageous), Clarion, Sleep Inn, Quality, Comfort Suites (which are different from the standard Comforts) and Comfort Inns. Joining the "club" gives you points that can be applied to free rooms on other stays. Trick is to book online. They have an app that makes that very simple to do - and will display a range of motels/prices/rooms for wherever you are, or want to go. My last little ride to New Orleans and back (May/early-June) I managed to stay free for 5 nights using points I accumulated last year on a trip to Nova Scotia. They usually have a 2:1 deal going, stay 2 nights at any Choice motel, and get 1 night free at another - booked on-line. They also have rewards of $50 gas/gift/etc cards - two nights gets you one. No limit to the number you can get. In general - they are "adequate: motels - not the ones SWMBO would want to stay in - but perfect for motorcycle touring. And one of the chain is almost certain to be at any Interstate intersection you come across..

 

[sailorlite]

Regarding Choice Hotels, Comfort Inns, and chain motels in general, it seems to me that if I show up without a reservation and the motel's not full - they're happy to give me a rate that makes the "rewards" aspect irrelevant. But I do have to clearly ask them what discounts they can apply to my situation, for example AAA, AARP, veteran, senior, motorcycle club, etc. They can almost always find something that to them is sufficient, even if they're just kidding me. For me anyway the "pressure" of having to find and reserve something in that chain is why I don't join - and joining doesn't seem to be necessary to get a good rate.

 

[BobbyB26]

I didn't realize that the AB was meant for more of an "emergency" type sitch. I always thought (apparently wrongly) that some of the features like shop use, tools, local help, etc...was of more the "emergency" variety....but for some reason, I've always viewed the "place for a tent/extra room" part as more of a regular feature that can be utilized as a way to keep costs down. Learning that it isn't that way is disappointing to me.

I guess I understand MOA not wanting to get into it due to liability concerns, but I wish it was something we could utilize more. It looks like some of those independent sites offer this type of service, but I'm not in a rush to head down that path. For one, I don't' know the peeps at all. Yes, they are probably decent peeps overall, but I wouldn't feel as good about things than if I was staying at a fellow MOA members place and there's a level of trust established. Another thing, and this is getting to be one of my pet peeves, is that there is yet another fee to be paid for a pretty basic service. I'm trying to find ways to not take the wallet out and then I would have to pay again. I guess my "dutch-ness" is showing through....I try hard to not let it, but occasionally it rears it's ugly little frugal head.

Taking the train off the tracks a bit here......am I the only one who's getting sick of all the clubs/websites that you have to create an account and/or pay a membership fee on before you can purchase something? The other day I found a decent deal on a bike farkle and had to create an account to get it.......literally an hour later an ad for that business pop'd up on another site I frequent....sort of unsettling.....

 

[sagerat]

Kevin - if you like Comfort Inns - look to joining the Choice Hotels club. Comfort is part of that group, as are: EconoLodge (lowest rung), Suburban, MainStay Suites (business class - nice - and not expensive), Cambria (highest class - somewhat expensive - but not outrageous), Clarion, Sleep Inn, Quality, Comfort Suites (which are different from the standard Comforts) and Comfort Inns. Joining the "club" gives you points that can be applied to free rooms on other stays. Trick is to book online. They have an app that makes that very simple to do - and will display a range of motels/prices/rooms for wherever you are, or want to go. My last little ride to New Orleans and back (May/early-June) I managed to stay free for 5 nights using points I accumulated last year on a trip to Nova Scotia.

The on-line is in the fine print. On a trip to AZ we joined on night one, stayed at the proper chain on night two, but no discount on night three as we just showed up at the desk. Argh. So we whipped out iPhone and booked "on-line" while standing in front of the clerk to get the free room, which was not free but only discounted for some other fine print reason I've now forgotten.

That's why I try and camp as much as possible when solo. The better half requires certainly amenities such as toilets, running water, air conditioning...

 

[greenwald]

Kevin - if you like Comfort Inns - look to joining the Choice Hotels club. Comfort is part of that group, as are: EconoLodge (lowest rung), Suburban, MainStay Suites (business class - nice - and not expensive), Cambria (highest class - somewhat expensive - but not outrageous), Clarion, Sleep Inn, Quality, Comfort Suites (which are different from the standard Comforts) and Comfort Inns. Joining the "club" gives you points that can be applied to free rooms on other stays. Trick is to book online. They have an app that makes that very simple to do - and will display a range of motels/prices/rooms for wherever you are, or want to go. My last little ride to New Orleans and back (May/early-June) I managed to stay free for 5 nights using points I accumulated last year on a trip to Nova Scotia. They usually have a 2:1 deal going, stay 2 nights at any Choice motel, and get 1 night free at another - booked on-line. They also have rewards of $50 gas/gift/etc cards - two nights gets you one. No limit to the number you can get. In general - they are "adequate: motels - not the ones SWMBO would want to stay in - but perfect for motorcycle touring. And one of the chain is almost certain to be at any Interstate intersection you come across..

Good advice for others to follow.

I am already a member of the Choice Hotel's group, and their selection serves me well.

I stayed two nights at the Comfort Inn in west Lansing, MI last week while motoring around Lake Michigan. Rate was down to low $50's for a suite with king bed, multiple rooms and TV's and they even spring for 'Pizza Night' on Thursdays (management pays for 8-10 pizzas, which they set up in the breakfast dining area - free to guests!).

Manager Scott Smith bent over backwards for bikers - nice place to stop and relax. If you need tips for what to do/where to eat in the Lansing area, just PM me.