Just realized I wasted $600 on prepaid hotel bookings before I ever checked local guesthouse prices

Stayed in a hostel in Medellin 2 months ago and the guy next to me paid $12 a night for a private room with breakfast. I had booked a chain hotel 3 months ahead for $45 a night thinking I was being smart. He just walked in and asked at 3 different places until he found the deal. I felt like an idiot. How do you guys find these walk-in rates without getting scammed?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.nora24d ago

Next time think of it as buying overpriced data, not a hotel room.

cole99424d ago

Add to that the fact that you're basically paying for the privilege of them collecting your info to sell to advertisers. A lot of people don't realize that these "smart" features are just a way to track your habits and preferences. Once you check out, that data sticks with you forever. It's not like a hotel room that gets cleaned and reset for the next guest. Your digital footprint stays in their system and gets traded around like a commodity.

harper69324d ago

Three years ago I stayed at a Hilton in Dallas and they lost my room key data three times in one weekend, so I'm not convinced these companies are organized enough to do anything useful with my info. @bennett.nora I get the whole "you're the product" thing but I think people blow it out of proportion. Half the time these hotels can't even get the minibar charges right, you really think they're building a detailed profile on your toothpaste preferences? I'm more worried about them losing my credit card number than some marketing profile they're swapping around. And let's be real, if you use a rewards card or a grocery loyalty program you already sold your data for pennies anyway. At some point you gotta decide if worrying about this stuff is worth the headache or if you just wanna watch TV on vacation without overthinking it.