Step1
Pick the right location. Granted, you intend to enjoy ten days in the central California oceanside community Carmel-by-the-Sea. With the help of the AAA TourBook—a valuable guide that more than warrants annual membership in the organization—you locate a list of Monterey Peninsula hotels, each with its assigned Lodging Diamond Rating. I aim for three diamonds as a price-accommodations compromise. As no double occupancy rooms are found under $160 nightly, are you doomed to a hotel tab of $1,600? Maybe not, if you’ll compromise. Rather than slip to a lower diamond rating, consider lodgings in Salinas, just 19 miles away, where a three-diamond hotel is available for $83. Whether the daily savings of $77 is worth the 25-minute drive each way must be your decision.
Step2
Ask for the discount. Some years ago, a radio financial talk show host proclaimed: “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” That’s particularly true for the hotel patron. When inquiring about terms, ask if AAA membership offers a lower rate—or whether a senior citizen discount is available—or what other special financial inducements they provide. Not long ago I spent a night in a clean and comfortable Motel 6 room in Santa Barbara. Its quoted rate of $39 became $31.20 with AARP membership.
Step3
Fine-tune your season. Not all seasons are created equal. A room for two at the Princess Bayside Beach Hotel Golf Center in Ocean City, Maryland, from September 3rd to the 5th can set you back $219 per night. The rate for the same room from September 6th to the 8th runs $119. Many hotels throughout the nation establish specific seasonal cutoff dates where rates rise or fall abruptly. If you’re able to adjust your timing somewhat, take advantage of these sharp rate changes.
Step4
The day of the week matters. Although after a few days you possibly can’t distinguish Tuesday from Saturday, there’s nonetheless a difference. Consider the impressive 303-unit Woody Gardens Hotel & Spa in Galveston, Texas, with daily rates from $149 to $250 in mid-June, and which arranges package plans. In response to greater demand on Fridays and Saturdays, the quoted price for a 9-day stay from Friday, June 18, through Saturday, June 26 (incorporating a pair of Fridays and Saturdays), is more costly than the period Monday, June 21, through Tuesday, June 29. So, unless the particular sequence of days is important, you know the way to go.
Step5
Avoid room snacks like the plague. The modern hostelry has discovered the in-room minibar, where convenience foods and drink are offered. The industry regards a hotel guest as captured clientele and sets prices accordingly: Cokes $3, candy bars $3.50, and Moon Pies $4. Consider this testimonial. An unidentified Hilton Hotel room my wife and I recently occupied prominently displayed a selection of bottles: 24-oz water at $3.75 and 25.3-oz domestic wine at $14. We gave them a wide berth. I’d suggest you do the same.
Enthusiast 
Comments
JRIngrisano said
on 12/19/2007 Good points. Too often, people just shell out the big bucks, as if it were expected. One of my favorite things is to seek out the restaurants and taverns where the locals go. The food is usually excellent, the people friendly, and the tab small...or at lesat reasonable.