A road trip from California to New York with a toddler and a cat was unpredictable at best. The last thing that we wanted to worry about was making “good time” getting to a specific hotel every night. Have you ever noticed that Dads have an obsession with “making good time”? Not once have I ever attended the Making Good Time Awards Ceremony but I’m sure it’s filled with balding men wearing tucked in polo shirts all checking their watches like they have somewhere to be.
Allow me to pass along an amazing little trick that saved us $50-$70.00 a night on our cross country trip. We had three requirements for a hotel. It had to have pet friendly rooms, a pool, and breakfast. After that, we weren’t too picky. Usually 3.0-3.5 star hotels had all of these and the average price was $73.00/per night. If you have a little flexibility and an adventurous spirit, this is for you.
Priceline Express Deals
Here’s how it works. The website gives you the general location, amenities, and star rating, all for a heavily discounted price. The catch is that you don’t know the name of your hotel until after you pay. So, this trick probably isn’t good for those travelers who prefer to stay with a certain brand but the rest of us are in for some fantastic discounts. Something to note is that Priceline will give you a list of possible hotels to give you a comparative idea of what kind of place you will be staying at. Once you check out, you will get an email with the name of your hotel and a confirmation number. That’s it. It’s that simple.
You don’t make good time with a toddler in the car. You have a good time instead. There were rousing games of peek-a-boo, a box full of books, and Sesame Street’s Platinum Album. Even the best entertainment can only keep a toddler occupied for so long though. Some days we drove farther and some days we made a lot of stops. We took off every day not knowing where we were going to stop for the night. But when it was time to stop for the night, I knew I could plug in a nearby city to their website and Priceline’s Express Deals would be waiting for me.
Try this out the next time you travel and save yourself a ton of money. I can’t recommend it enough!