Questions tagged [hotels]
For questions related to "hotels" specifically rather than "accommodation" generally. See also the "hostels" tag.
86
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40
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Can a hotel kick you out if you let an unregistered guest share a room with you?
We are going to an event and because of this event all hotels are fully booked. Now a friend wants to join us, but can't find accommodation. We are okay with him crashing in our hotel room, either on ...
user141
5
votes
1
answer
106k
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Can I have an unregistered guest come over at a hotel?
Can I let my friend come and join me in my hotel room, just for visiting? Not sleeping or eating.
- 59
37
votes
7
answers
71k
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How do I find the cheapest date to book a given hotel?
I am looking for a site or service that allows me to search a hotel (or hotels, or a specific beach/location) for the cheapest date.
Most sites want you to tell them when you plan to visit.
I WANT ...
- 371
35
votes
1
answer
52k
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What is proper etiquette on bringing one night stands to a hotel room?
somewhat related to "Can a hotel kick you out if you let an unregistered guest share a room with you?":
In the, alas, completely hypothetical scenario where I'm out in a foreign town and just happen ...
- 1,699
29
votes
5
answers
149k
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Why do hotel booking sites ask for the number of people? Does it matter how many I say?
I was planning a stay at a hotel in Chicago for an overnight layover and checking prices on the hotel's booking site (in this case the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport) for a room with 2 double beds. The ...
- 923
21
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Hotel booking sites with a calendar view, similar to flight search engines?
I was a great fan of Wotif.com's calendar view, where you could punch a place and a start date and it would show you prices and availability for all hotels, which you could then filter down by your ...
- 99.8k
16
votes
3
answers
21k
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Is it possible to book an hotel being a minor?
I've been in Morocco nearly a month, and it will soon be time for my return. During my stay here, checking into hotel rooms hasn't been an issue, but businesses aren't nearly as lenient about that ...
- 539
14
votes
3
answers
9k
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What tips or tricks can you use to get "upgraded"/better hotel rooms?
(Inspired by this question on flight upgrades),
Most non-budget hotels have various categories of rooms - perhaps larger rooms, "Executive" rooms, suites, and so on. What tips or tricks can you use ...
- 12.4k
14
votes
4
answers
423
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I am looking for a hotel search engine for rural areas
I am trying to find a bucolic holiday destination, which means finding a nice hotel in a small beautiful village for spending some quiet time.
Most search engines are only finding major cities, and ...
- 141
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Should I leave cash tips for housekeeping each day of a multi-day stay?
This seems like a bit of a trivial question, but: when staying in a hotel for multiple nights in a row in a location where tipping the housekeeping staff is customary, is it better to leave cash tips ...
- 213
10
votes
3
answers
2k
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How to find hotels in Europe which allow for anonymous check-in?
A few years ago I've visited a hotel in Munich and was pleasantly surprised to find there was no reception as such. To get the keys you had to call a 24/7 support line, where you received a code to a ...
- 83.5k
75
votes
8
answers
11k
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What kind of things can you take from a hotel?
Hotels normally provide a big amount of sets (well, depending on the quality, but however, many!) that can help you feel more comfortable there.
So for example you can get towels, slippers, candies, ...
- 3,415
47
votes
6
answers
112k
views
What happens if you cannot pay for a hotel?
What happens if you cannot pay for your hotel stay because you accidentally run out of money (can happen) or your credit card was blocked (much more likely)? I assume you cannot arrange the money on ...
- 4,979
33
votes
14
answers
3k
views
Is there any way to spend a night in a European castle?
I spent a night in a jail converted to a hotel in Switzerland, and it made me wonder if there is a real castle converted to an hotel in Europe.
And with "real" I mean the castle should have a ...
- 6,262
27
votes
4
answers
28k
views
What is the use of all these towels?
I stayed at hotels in different places, and each hotel provides different set of towels. But sometimes I don't know what is the purpose of each towel!
For example, attached two photos from a en-suite-...
- 3,321
19
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How can I find the cheapest private hotel room (as opposed to a bed in a dorm) using online tools?
I tried the standard tools like Kayak or Momondo, but there the cheapest option is always a bed in a dormitory. In particular I was searching for Amsterdam and the first few pages of results (sorted ...
- 16.5k
13
votes
1
answer
3k
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Is there a website that lets you shop for hotels with taxes and fees included in search results?
Every time I book a hotel online, the price increases by 25% in "taxes and fees" at checkout, compared to the price featured in search results. This does not occur when booking flights (I actually ...
- 241
8
votes
1
answer
657
views
Traveling without paying lodging fees in America
I want to travel around the East Coast without paying for lodging. I'd be willing to sleep in my car or even pitch a tent somewhere. Is this a problem? Legal? I really want to get to the beach this ...
- 947
6
votes
1
answer
2k
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UK visa hotel booking and contact information
It seems like that this question has been asked for visas to other countries, but I am not sure if it applies juts the same for a UK short-term visit visa.
I want to visit UK for 2 weeks and the visa ...
- 61
74
votes
4
answers
37k
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Why do some hotels ask you to leave the key at the reception when you go out to come back later?
Sometimes when I check in at a hotel I am asked to drop the key at the reception before leaving the premises, even if I will stay longer.
When this happens, I normally do like they ask me, but ...
- 661
65
votes
6
answers
93k
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In US hotels, what happens if you skip checkout and just leave the hotel?
Every time I check out of a hotel, they ask me if my stay went fine, let me review my incidental charges and ask if they should charge the credit card used to check in.
But what if I simply walk out ...
- 83.5k
53
votes
8
answers
17k
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Why would you cancel a non-refundable hotel reservation?
I was wanting to cancel a hotel reservation on Expedia but when I clicked on the cancel link I get this message:
The room/unit type and rate selected are non-refundable. Should you change or cancel ...
- 11.3k
44
votes
1
answer
8k
views
What happens to the unfinished open soaps in hotel bathrooms?
Inspired by what I (and many others) thought this question would be about:
What happens to all the half-used (or more likely 5% used) soaps in hotel bathrooms?
You check into a hotel. You open a ...
- 2,160
42
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is there any way of evaluating the quality of a hotel's internet connection in advance?
I'm on the road a lot for work. I tend to end up staying at a lot of budget chain hotels that offer free wi-fi. So far so good. But sadly, not all wi-fi is created equal. The past few weeks I've been ...
- 10.4k
32
votes
3
answers
22k
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What are the signs of a bed bug infestation?
Bed bugs have become a real problem recently, with more and more places reporting outbreaks. What can you do to avoid being exposed to these nasty parasites?
If you do get exposed, what can you do ...
- 2,682
31
votes
2
answers
21k
views
Am I entitled to a refund on a non-refundable booking that has been cancelled by the hotel
I made a non-refundable hotel room booking through hotels.com. The hotel has contacted me to inform me that they will not be open for business during my stay because of the Coronavirus. I know I made ...
- 329
28
votes
4
answers
9k
views
How safe is it to leave my passport in my hotel room? [closed]
How sure can I be that a passport left in my hotel room is safe? On my trip, I don't need to carry it around with me every day, so would like to leave it behind.
- 623
23
votes
7
answers
4k
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In which places in China can travellers not stay at just any random local hotel?
I have now heard a couple of times from different sources that in some parts of China you can't just stay wherever you feel like as a tourist.
I hitchhiked from the Lao border to the Mongolian border ...
- 79.4k
22
votes
5
answers
3k
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How can I tell hotels exist that aren't on the booking web sites?
There are a ton of sites out there to help book hotel rooms and to aggregate all the different sites to book hotel rooms. These companies make enough money to buy ads on TV, so I won't name them here. ...
- 80.5k
21
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Why don't American hotels have ceiling lights?
Random question du jour, inspired by the thoroughly depressing airport Holiday Inn I'm writing this in due to a missed flight connection:
Why don't American hotels have ceiling lights? Every chain ...
- 99.8k
14
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What is usually an American breakfast outside of the US?
A number of hotels outside of the US offer something they call an American Breakfast. What does that usually include in terms of food and beverage?
I have seen this choice offered in a few countries ...
- 44.5k
14
votes
2
answers
2k
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How can I discover what time of the year hotels will be cheapest for a given city, e.g. Tokyo?
I'm interested in visiting Tokyo in 2015, and am trying to figure out what time(s) of the year will likely be cheapest for hotel stays, since it is a notoriously expensive city. Short of using a hotel ...
- 12.4k
12
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What are the advantages of booking through a booking site instead of booking directly with the hotel?
Should I use booking.com, Airbnb or any site like that?
Why should I?
Are there any advantages?
- 447
9
votes
1
answer
448
views
Where is it expected to tip housekeeping?
Following on from Should I leave cash tips for housekeeping each day of a multi-day stay? about how it is appropriate to tip housekeeping where it is expected.
In what countries/regions is it ...
- 13k
9
votes
2
answers
150k
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What constitutes a late check-in for a hotel and should I inform them about my late arrival?
For a particular hotel I booked Expedia's Check-in policies section states the following:
Check-in time starts at 4 PM
If a late check-in is planned, contact this property directly for their late ...
- 11.3k
8
votes
5
answers
163k
views
Booking hotel with my credit card for a third person. Will that person have issues at check-in?
I've booked a hotel (in Hong Kong) for a third person using my credit card (but booking confirmation for the third person).
Will there will be any problems while checking in? It seems to check in you ...
- 183
6
votes
1
answer
21k
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Pay now vs pay later at expedia.com
So for a particular hotel on expedia.com I can "pay online now" $374 or I can "pay later" $374 (approx). The following screenshot better captures what I mean:
My question is... why is pay later an ...
- 11.3k
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Options for cheap, private month-long stay in Munich
I would like to travel to Munich for a month and am considering accommodation. I realize that hostels are very cheap, but I would be willing to pay more for a private room. Renting an apartment for a ...
- 215
3
votes
2
answers
285
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Are there websites that offer last-minute accommodation deals in Australia?
I'm heading out to Australia fairly soon and for the start of my trip I'm hopefully staying with friends. However, there's a small chance that that won't be possible. I might find out when changing ...
- 62.7k
0
votes
3
answers
10k
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Cancellation of booking (without credit card) from booking.com
I booked a room from booking.com just for the visa. The room that I booked didn't require a credit card information and I did the booking without reading the conditions.
Now I noticed that 320 CAD is ...
- 21
85
votes
18
answers
54k
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How to cope with too slow Wi-Fi at hotel?
So many hotels I stayed at (3~4 stars ratings) provided too slow Wi-Fi. The speed is somewhere around 2~3Mbps, and it frequently falls down to <200Kbps.
However, once you find that your hotel ...
- 14.8k
79
votes
6
answers
33k
views
My hotel "blocked" 5,000 dollars when I arrived and now is taking again the money
I'm staying in San Francisco for 2 weeks. When I arrived I gave my European debit card to the hotel, and they (at least, I thought so) withdrew the 5,000 dollars I owed them for the whole stay.
...
- 971
64
votes
11
answers
22k
views
How do I insist that American hotels accept my employer's credit card for payment, instead of asking for personal credit card upon check-in?
I work for a state government body in the United States. As a part of my work, I occasionally have multi-day travel. My hotel stays are paid by my employer and are tax-exempt.
I frequently run into a ...
- 1,161
54
votes
2
answers
20k
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Navigating the layers of American hotel beds: where are you actually supposed to sleep?
Silly question perhaps but I'm a bit puzzled. The bed has a mattress, mattress pad, sheet 1, sheet 2, a thin white blanket, sheet 3, duvet with a removable cover and some more decorative stuff.
In ...
- 100k
46
votes
3
answers
38k
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Hotel booking: Why is Agoda much cheaper than booking.com?
I noticed that Agoda.com often offers significant cheaper prices than booking.com when comparing prices (looking at the same hotel, same room type, same dates...).
I wonder why that is considering ...
- 3,178
34
votes
3
answers
73k
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What is the etiquette around sex in hotel beds?
What etiquette is involved for copulation in hotel (not motel) beds?
There doesn't seem to be a lot of information about this around.
- 4,905
30
votes
5
answers
10k
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Is it OK to play the piano housed in the lobbies of hotels?
I travel a lot and often find grand pianos in lobbies of hotels. Is it appropriate to just sit down and play them for a while (FWIW, I am good and play slow classical music. My playing will not ruin ...
- 301
26
votes
10
answers
81k
views
Is it considered uncouth to check in early into a hotel?
I usually never early check into budget hotels. In relatively more expensive hotels (3-star or higher) I feel that it's appropriate to check in early, but not in cheaper hotels or hostels.
I don't ...
- 10.3k
24
votes
3
answers
8k
views
What do many hotels have against stairs? [closed]
Today, while waiting a rather long time for a lift to take me just one floor, I got wondering. In almost all the hotels I stay in, the only option to get between reception and your room is to take a ...
- 62.7k
20
votes
2
answers
23k
views
Why do US hotels sandwich the blanket between two sheets instead of putting it inside a duvet cover?
Every US hotel I've stayed in so far sandwiched the blanket between two sheets, instead of putting it inside a duvet cover. To be more specific, hotels have the following layers on the bed:
Layer 1: ...
- 83.5k