Lodging cost for 2011

[Jason Foster]

I honestly will sleep in my vehicle from time to time if I can't find a hotel. I will not spend alot of money on something when that should be going to fuel. I basically will stay at Motel 6... pay the 3 dollars for a wifi card, and end up spending aroudn $40.00... im staying for one night, not moving in, ill hit the drive thru in the morning and spare the edtra expense of a breakfest and what not...

I've slept in my vehicle when solo, but for the first part of the chase trip, I'll have two others, and in the Legacy...not really big enough for all to sleep in. I've slept in my chase vehicle for cost reasons....because I was just too tired to drive to a hotel/motel, or because everything was booked (Memorial Day weekend).

I'll get into the food thing in another thread down the road...but I try NOT to do fast food. There are cheaper, healthier ways.

Love the idea of camping out there, of course doing so while on a chasecation brings up the thought of not always being able to camp and the threat of storms, wind and flooding into the evening.

While the cost is unbeatable the risk of those issues has always kept me from using valuable trunk space to bring along a tent and necessary items, sleeping bag, etc.

However it would be the perfect way to spend some downtime!!

Skip has a great story about sleeping out amongst the Colorado prairie this past season, never know what you will wake up to.

LOL...yeah...like Skip's story there. Camping is one of those things you have to use only in certain situations. I camp only on down days when the weather is dry. I also limit the equipment and supplies as it was pointed out....carrying capacity is limited. I've considered actually shipping my camping bag and supplies to a spot then pick it up once my chase partners head home and I'm solo (if I'm solo). What I really, really wish is that I could bring the bike and kayak to take FULL advantage of the camping experience on down days...but I don't think those are good things to keep on the roof for my primary activity. LOL....because while it would be hugely funny to see a kayak and bike circling a tornado (new probes???)...I'd be out a bike and a kayak.

 

[Michael Thompson]

I found it interesting to get a "seniors" at only 50 years old when I was there 3 years ago. Over here a "seniors" discount would not be contemplated until 60-65 years of age.

 

[Jason Foster]

I found it interesting to get a "seniors" at only 50 years old when I was there 3 years ago. Over here a "seniors" discount would not be contemplated until 60-65 years of age.

Very few places have it that low here in the US. 65 is the most common age for a discount. You must have hit a spot or two with the exception. Hotels may have done it to just get the business. Actually, many businesses have eliminated senior discounts altogether.

 

[Jasson Dotts]

When I travel I rarely pay the asking price of the room. You can haggle the price down more than you think. The bigger chains are the easiest to do this with. Before you decide on a hotel/motel drive around to the different places and checkout how full the parking lots are. The ones with the empty lots are the ones you want to target. A good rule of thumb I have found is pick 3 places you want to try. So now what I do is call all 3 of the places and ask for the price of the room. They will almost every time give you a price without the tax included. Once you have the base price then ask how much would it come too with tax included. With this information you are ready to wheel and deal. So once I have decided on a certain place I go in and ask the price of the room again. This is done to verify what was told to me on the phone. I have had the price told to me on the phone and the price when I'm standing there vary as much as $20.00 Once that is done is when you have to start to haggle with them. For example they say the room is $80.00 and the tax brings it $95.00 well I knew that before walking into the place, I also know what their competition is charging, and I have a good idea how full or empty the place is by the look of the parking lot. All these things will factor into how much you pay. So the room is $95.00 with tax, I would offer them $70.00 and that is with tax included. If they don't go for that then I would offer $75.00 Then I start telling them what their competition is charging. This usually spurs them into action. The bottom line for them is to get the rooms full and with an empty parking lot they know the score. This is basically how I do it. 95% of the time I can save at least $10.00 no matter where I go. Take $10.00 x 7 nights and you're looking at a couple tanks of fuel. If you like to haggle with people on prices you will find it rather enjoyable. I learned this from when I was younger and working the front desk at a hotel. Just being friendly and not pushy can get you some good deals. Usually from the time you walk in until the deal is done is less than 3 minutes. I'll gladly save $10-$20 for 3 minutes of my time.

 

[RogerPemberton]

I'll gladly save $10-$20 for 3 minutes of my time.

I've never haggled the price down but several times I have gotten room upgrades for free. I can normally turn a single room into a suite just by taking a few minutes to chat up the desk clerk. This works best late at night. After a long day of dealing with rude people, it doesn't take much more than a smile and a few kind words to get a clerk to give you a free upgrade.

And lets face it, cramming a car full of chasers into a suite is much easier than cramming them into a single room.

 

[Keith Hosman]

Most of the time when I travel, my rooming arrangements are taken care of for me already by the agency deploying me or requesting me.

That being said, I've always been a fan of the Holiday Inn Express, Best Western, type places. One thing to look into is the chains that have membership award clubs. In many cases, for every 4-5 nights stayed in any location under their chain umbrella you get a free nightif you have a high enough level. This can end up saving a good bit of money if you are on an extended chasecation.

This may be slightly off topic, but some friendly advice/word of warning. If traveling through Montgomery Alabama, avoid at all costs any of the hotels/motels at the I-65/Southern Blvd interchange (where the TA Truckstop is). That area is full of drug dealers, prostitutes, and con artists. Also avoid the Motel 6 at the I-85/Eastern Blvd exchange. The best motels in the Montgomery area that are easy to find/get to are on Carmichael Rd (runs parallell to I-85) at the I-85/Eastern Blvd exchage.