Blog: Taking vacations on a budget. Step #1: Many places (especially in Orlando) have places that do Timeshares. The way they get people to buy is to give them a cheap weekend to try out the place. We have tried many time shares over the years. We usually get a one or two bedroom suite (full size livingroom, kitchen, dining area) for around $95. Some have even included tickets to Universal ... or Disney or $50 gift cards to stores in Orlando. Although Orlando is a popular place for timeshares, many other cities do it too. The only catch to this cheap rate is that you have to sit through a 2 hour sales pitch. They usually give you breakfast as you listen to all the wonderful things they have to offer you. As of today, we have done MANY of these and still have not been persuaded into buying. You can call and say you are looking into time shares and are wondering if they have any specials to try out the place. Here are some of the more popular ones in Orlando... The Fountains
Resort, Sheraton Vistana Villages, Westgate, Blue Heron, Bluegreen. You can usually book it one year in advance. The timeshares offer wonderful pools, activities for the kids, shops and restaurants. If they offer you a higher price for the weekend - tell them you can't afford it. Thank them for their time and say that you will have to try a different place instead. Most times they will come back with a better price for you. Good luck with Step #1!
Blog:
Vacations on a budget. Step #2: A site I've used many times is www.bookit.com. You can get your hotel, flight,
car rental and tickets all for one low price. I usually start a couple months in advance searching the site each day. ... Prices change constantly. Some of the deals include tickets to shows or dinner vouchers when you book a flight and hotel at the same time. You can also call their 1-888 number to see if they have better prices. Sometimes the agents on the phone can get you a better deal than online. Check out the site! It's easy to use.
Blog: Vacations on a budget. Step #3: Start looking in advance at sites like: www.restaurant.com, www.groupon.com, www.livingsocial.com and www.eversave.com. You can sign up to have emails sent to you for the city/state you are going to vacation in. When we went to New Orleans this year, I put that I wanted deals for New Orleans and then I put my work address as our hotel address so that it would show me how many miles the restaurant or attraction was from our hotel. Many of the attractions we went to were half price!
Blog:
Vacations on a budget. Step #4: We have done this step several times and at least twice in the last 3 months. Decide on a hotel that you want to stay at. Check that hotel's site and at least 2 other sites for prices (Ex: Bookit.com, hotels.com, priceline.com). Next, call the hotel's direct number (not the 1-800 number unless that is all that they list for you to call). Ask to speak ... to a manager or someone in charge of customer promotions. Tell the manager that you would really like to stay at their hotel, but the price they are advertising is not in your budget. Ask them if they can lower their price for you. This is where you checking other sites come in... if the manager gives you a lower price than their site, but it's the same price as a different site, you can say.. yes, that's a better price, but it's the same price as ___.com. That's still too much for us right now. Are their any other deals or discounts you can give us? We did this for an Orlando hotel and got a 25% discount than other sites, plus a bigger bed and a late check out! We also did this for an upscale hotel in New Orleans. We got a 45% discount than other sites and a bigger room with a King size bed! Out of all the times I have done this, it has worked every time! It's worth the phone call! Hotels want you to stay with them and are usually willing to work with you. Give it a try and let me know if it worked! =)
If anyone decides to book a trip through www.bookit.com - let me know first. I have a discount code that will save you another $10.00!
Blog: Vacations on a buget. Step #5: For each thing you reserve (hotels, flights, attractions, restaurants...), ask if they have any discounts. Some of you have AAA. AAA is giving more and more discounts. There are also rates like: AARP or for those of you living in Florida, there are many Florida Resident Discount Rates. It never hurts to ask for a discount!
Resort, Sheraton Vistana Villages, Westgate, Blue Heron, Bluegreen. You can usually book it one year in advance. The timeshares offer wonderful pools, activities for the kids, shops and restaurants. If they offer you a higher price for the weekend - tell them you can't afford it. Thank them for their time and say that you will have to try a different place instead. Most times they will come back with a better price for you. Good luck with Step #1!
Blog:
Vacations on a budget. Step #2: A site I've used many times is www.bookit.com. You can get your hotel, flight,
car rental and tickets all for one low price. I usually start a couple months in advance searching the site each day. ... Prices change constantly. Some of the deals include tickets to shows or dinner vouchers when you book a flight and hotel at the same time. You can also call their 1-888 number to see if they have better prices. Sometimes the agents on the phone can get you a better deal than online. Check out the site! It's easy to use.
Blog: Vacations on a budget. Step #3: Start looking in advance at sites like: www.restaurant.com, www.groupon.com, www.livingsocial.com and www.eversave.com. You can sign up to have emails sent to you for the city/state you are going to vacation in. When we went to New Orleans this year, I put that I wanted deals for New Orleans and then I put my work address as our hotel address so that it would show me how many miles the restaurant or attraction was from our hotel. Many of the attractions we went to were half price!
Blog:
Vacations on a budget. Step #4: We have done this step several times and at least twice in the last 3 months. Decide on a hotel that you want to stay at. Check that hotel's site and at least 2 other sites for prices (Ex: Bookit.com, hotels.com, priceline.com). Next, call the hotel's direct number (not the 1-800 number unless that is all that they list for you to call). Ask to speak ... to a manager or someone in charge of customer promotions. Tell the manager that you would really like to stay at their hotel, but the price they are advertising is not in your budget. Ask them if they can lower their price for you. This is where you checking other sites come in... if the manager gives you a lower price than their site, but it's the same price as a different site, you can say.. yes, that's a better price, but it's the same price as ___.com. That's still too much for us right now. Are their any other deals or discounts you can give us? We did this for an Orlando hotel and got a 25% discount than other sites, plus a bigger bed and a late check out! We also did this for an upscale hotel in New Orleans. We got a 45% discount than other sites and a bigger room with a King size bed! Out of all the times I have done this, it has worked every time! It's worth the phone call! Hotels want you to stay with them and are usually willing to work with you. Give it a try and let me know if it worked! =)
If anyone decides to book a trip through www.bookit.com - let me know first. I have a discount code that will save you another $10.00!
Blog: Vacations on a buget. Step #5: For each thing you reserve (hotels, flights, attractions, restaurants...), ask if they have any discounts. Some of you have AAA. AAA is giving more and more discounts. There are also rates like: AARP or for those of you living in Florida, there are many Florida Resident Discount Rates. It never hurts to ask for a discount!
RSS Feed
