Book hotels FIRST!

As a youth, it was my mother who taught me that 97% of life is "just showing up."  Whether it was ski trips, football practice, church choir, or allergy shots, she made absolutely sure I made it there and that I made it on time.  Oh sure, I groused about it a LOT.  Particularly when it came to stuff that wasn't any fun.  Her admonishment?  "You committed, you're going."  It was as simple as that.  Few lessons in life have proven so valuable.  It amazes me how many people today actually pay money to hold deposits or reservations, then fail to show up.  I've seen tickets (pre-paid tickets, mind you) to places like Alaska, London, and Hawaii go unused.  I'll never understand it.

There's no place on earth like Hawaii.  If you were to ask a Minnesotan who has been there, he'll get a far away look in his eyes and stagger to a seat as he remembers the sun, the surf, the sand, the paradise that was his last trip there.  Hawaii is such a popular place for citizens of the great white north that it’s a tough ticket to come by.  My wife and I went on our last vacation to Hawaii and one of the things I remember most vividly was how far in advance I had to make the reservation.  Sixteen months in advance, I cashed in some frequent flier miles and reserved our first class seat to Hawaii.  The hotel we had our eyes on hadn't even been built yet, and they weren't even taking reservations, but had plane tickets!  The problem was; we wanted to go during the winter time.  Every other U.S. citizen who lives north of Iowa wants to get out of the cold during the winter time too, particular in March when you've already endured 4 months of sub-freezing temperatures.  Thus, a long lead time is required.

Hotels play this game too.  Two weeks ago I had to be in Manhattan for work.  My office had flip-flopped on the decision to send someone a few times prior however, so for awhile I was going, then not going, then going, etc.  I made a hotel reservation the very first time I heard I might be going, and they gave me a confirmation number that locked in a rate of $429.  I know, it sounds high… but it was a very nice hotel right in Times Square on Broadway and 46th, a week or two prior to Thanksgiving; another tough ticket.  As my company flip-flopped they also moved the dates of travel around.  Every time they made a change, I checked the travel website and the rate of the hotel would climb since we were getting closer and closer to the departure date.  Finally with less than 7 days of advance notice, everything got locked in.  The hotel wanted more than $700 dollars.  Ouch.

My travel company made the reservation and a curious thing happened.  The confirmation number they used was the same one as the original they'd given me.  In other words, the hotel reservation staff was just flexing and moving my existing hotel reservation around every time we called to make a change.  When I arrive for check-in I was asked to sign a commitment card that had the $700 rate on it.  I played dumb and said, "Excuse me, but my records indicate a rate of $429 with my confirmation number.  Can you double-check that for me, please?"  "You're right," he said, "I do show an initial rate of $429.  It seems some changes were made but since this rate was quoted, I will be happy to honor it for you."  Nice.  I save my company almost $300 per night.  That's a decent chunk of change.