The Traveling Videographer

Although we’re based in Austin, TX we serve the entire state of Texas. Therefore, we spend a great deal of time on the road. The cities we visit most often are Houston, Dallas, Corpus Christi and San Antonio – and probably in that order as it pertains to the amount of business done in each.

We enjoy traveling and are always trying to get the best hotel deals available. The on-line reservation system we use most-often is Priceline.com. With Priceline you’re able to name your own price and we’ve stayed at some very nice hotels at a fraction of the regular room rate. For example, we’ve stayed at 5-star hotels and paid only 2 or 3-star pricing. My wife and I take turns when it comes to making reservations and have developed a game or track record on which of us have garnered the best deals. She’s actually in the lead at the moment.

My wife is ruthless with the “name your own price” deals. She always requests the 5-star hotels and usually will start-out offering $20 or less. And believe me – sometimes she’s gets lucky and through constant haggling (with the Priceline.com system) will reserve a 5 or 4-star hotel for less than $50.00 per night. It’s a great feeling to ride down I-10 in Houston or I-35 in Dallas and in route to our $50 Hyatt Regency we pass a Motel 6 with an advertised rate of $69 for the night!

Just recently we acquired a weekend stay at the Corpus Christi Omni Hotel on the beach at $60 a night through Hotwire.com – our 2nd choice among on-line reservation systems. The Motel 6 a few blocks away was going for $79. When it comes to hotels, trust me, the Omni is much preferred over the Motel 6. And when you’re saving $20 – what a deal!

There are no secrets here. If you have a little patience and are willing to haggle – Priceline.com is probably the best deal – most of the time. With Priceline and Hotwire the downside is this – you will not know what hotel you’re residing at until you’ve concluded the transaction and paid the non-refundable price. Very seldom have we received less than what we expected or actually paid for. And although you want always get an Omni, Hilton, Hyatt Regency or Four Seasons – you can rest assured that 90% of the time you will get more than you paid for and occasionally you’ll receive a very pleasant surprise in your search for affordable 4-star and 5-star hotels.

If you’re traveling and not using the on-line reservation systems – you’re probably paying too much for hotel, car rentals and airline travel.

Happy Trails!