Ways My Wife Saves Us Money: 2 Questions To Ask A Hotel Front Desk
My wife and I were out of town this weekend, and staying at a hotel. We knew we would be ringing up a significant bill by dining out for several days, so we were looking for any possible way to save some money. My wife remembered a hotel in Florida that gave us coupons to nearby restaurants.
As we were checking in, my wife asked the front desk employee if they had any coupons.
The employee smiled and acknowledged that they did. She handed us a pair of coupons for two different restaurants:
- Local Bar and Grill : One free entree with the purchase of an entree
- Local Steak House: $5 of a $20 order
The bar and grill was within walking distance, so we checked that out first. The food was excellent, and the coupon saved us the cost of an entree, about $12.
The second restaurant was not within walking distance, and we were told that parking was a huge hassle. We were about to call a cab to take us, when my wife told me to call the front desk and see if they had a shuttle service. To my surprise, they did. I told the gentlemen it would be just my wife and I, and the time we wanted to go. The shuttle took us to the restaurant, and with a simple phone call it also picked us up when we were done.
The $10 tip ($5 each direction) I gave the shuttle driver was much cheaper than the estimated $40 cost of a round trip cab ride.
When staying at a hotel, the following two questions should always be asked:
- Do you have any restaurant coupons? Restaurants give coupons to hotels to distribute to their guests because it’s a great way to get business from travelers that are unfamiliar with the area. Hotel employees may give them to guests automatically, they may be found inside the room, or guests may have to ask for them.
- Do you have a shuttle service? Hotel guests may not have their own method of transportation. Or, as in our case, there may be a reason why they do not wish to drive to a destination. Hotels are increasingly providing shuttle services as a convenience to help guests get to nearby locations. Don’t forget to tip your driver!
Staying away from home can be expensive. But by taking advantage of coupons provided to the hotel, and the hotel shuttle service you may be able to keep some of your hard earned cash in your pocket.
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Have you ever asked a hotel if they had coupons for nearby restaurants? Have you come across any other surprising discounts while traveling?
Brought to you courtesy of Brock
That’s totally a good move from your wife. Actually, I haven’t tried to use any coupons for nearby restaurants from the hotel, thanks for this tip!
My husband and I stayed at a very nice hotel in Baltimore and wanted to eat somewhere other than the onsite steakhouse. The concierge called a restaurant in little Italy and someone from the restaurant came to pick us up. We had a fantastic meal, and when they returned us to the hotel adamantly REFUSED to accept a tip. One of our favorite dates ever!
Great tips! These are good ideas that I will definitely try to use when I go to FinCon later this year. 🙂
@Clarisse – Give them a try….I’d love to hear if they worked for you! Thanks for reading!
@Cathie – Awesome story!!! I love the fact that the driver refused a tip too! Thanks for sharing!
@Kayla – ooooh, FINCON! I’ve heard that’s a blast….saving money at a conference about money – now THAT would be very cool!
Goodness, I stay in hotels all the time so I knew about the second one. I’ve never even thought to ask about the first. However, the last hotel I stayed at was for 18 months (working out of town) and it turned out that none of the people working there, all young, had been to any of the restaurants in the area around the hotel. Now that was shocking!
Excellent idea about asking for coupons from the hotel desk for near by restaurants. We shoot to Orlando every so often to go to Disney. We have asked the concierge for discount coupons for the area called Downtown Disney, this is a great area for shows, shopping and eating. Next time anyone is in Orlando and you have not checked out this part of Disney it is great. The parking is free and you can take a shuttle bus to the main attraction entrance and save on the parking fee.
@Mitch – that IS shocking…how can you work (and presumably live) in an area and not know anything about the restaurants nearby? Maybe they were so young that they still lived with their parents? 18 months in a hotel though….YIKES!
@Tom – I’ve been there and it IS super fun! I also like “The Fun Spot” in Kissimmee – tallest skycoaster in the world!