The cost of renting an automobile for a week has skyrocketed in recent months. We went to Nashville for a week and the lowest midsize we could get with insurance was $55 a day. The total bill with gas fill up for one week was about $440. A compact was about $10 a day less expensive. It would pay to see if shuttle services are available and if you can get by using , public transportation or a cab to get around during your stay. That alternative might be considerably cheaper than renting a car.
If you are staying at a hotel or motel, usually there are some near the airport that offer free 24 hour a day shuttle service We flew from Denver to Nashville in May and stayed at Econolodge which had free 24 hour shuttle service and a hot continental breakfast. We paid $25 to park our car in Econolodge’s parking lot for a week. They also picked us up from DIA and took us back to Econolodge when we returned. Something I found out when comparing the nightly rate for our first stay and second stay was shocking. The first stay we were walkins with no reservation and the hotel quoted us the rate and charged the local room tax rates on top of the cost of the room. The cost of the room was $95 a night and the taxes were about $20 for a total of $115.00. I called Booking.com to make a reservation at the same Econolodge for the following Saturday night. They quoted me a room rate of $100 and did not charge my credit card while I was speaking to them, or tell me what the total would be. When I checked into the hotel they could not give me the rate, they said I would be charged by Booking.com and they would tell me what the total rate with taxes was. I received an email copy of the billing from Booking.com showing a total bill of $162.00. The detail showed $17 room tax and $45 for airport improvement tax plus the $100 for the room, or a total charge of $162,00. I called Booking.com, they refused to explain the bill and said I would have to speak to the hotel. they would handle any problems. I called the hotel and they said we do not make phone reservations all of phone reservations are made by Booking.com and they get the money, speak to Booking.com if you have a problem. I wrote a formal letter to Booking.com and ask how come they charged the airport improvement tax and the hotel did not the previous week. I ask how could you not tell people that the taxes are 62% of the room rate? That is unheard of? Booking.com never answered. I am definitely through with ever booking a room through Booking.com.
We accidentally left a radio and a pair of glasses in the room at Econolodge. I called and ask if they could mail those items and charge my credit card for the postage. The desk person , said , No! You need to send an envelope with pre-paid postage and we will put the items in the envelope and mail it. I sent an envelope with the estimated postage I thought it would be to Econolodge and got the items in about ten days.
Many hotel chains have turned the reservation aspect over to a call center or booking agency. If a person searches for a particular hotel location , the phone number on that website is not the phone number for the hotel, it is the phone number for the call center. The person you get from the call center doesn’t have a clue about any of the specific details of a particular hotel. They have room rates, sizes, and amenities on a master list and that is it. When you ask if a hotel is pet friendly they will say I don’t know , or they will answer yes they are pet friendly just to get the reservation. Again a problem with Booking.com. In May we booked a hotel in La Junta , Colorado that Booking.com promised was pet friendly. When we got ready to check in, the desk person ask if we had any pets? I said, yes, we have a small Shih Tzu, she said , “No Pets Allowed” see the sign? I ask for my money back and she said , “You will have to contact Booking.com, we never see the money when they make the reservation. The clerk added , “There are no hotels in this town that will allow you to have pets.”
We kept driving to Pueblo, Colorado, it was after 7 P.M. when we got there, we stopped at a La Quinta, because they are always pet friendly. The La Quinta was full, the clerk said, ” I doubt you will get a room this late there is a big convention in town.” So, we kept driving to Falcon, Colorado east of Colorado Springs, Colorado and stayed with my son and his family. That was a plus for our family budget.
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