Inn is out: 5 reasons to skip a hotel
Your next hotel might not be a hotel. It could be a condo, a rental apartment or a home. And maybe it should be. It isn't just that traditional hotels, inns and resorts turn off many travelers. There are plenty of reasons to check out of the lodge these days -- through-the-roof room rates, being nickeled and dimed for every little extra item -- and the alternatives are often roomier, less expensive and more convenient. No one is predicting the demise of the hotel industry. Not by a long shot, but when it comes to overnight accommodations on your next trip, you might consider an alternate to a traditional hotel. Here are five reasons why: for one night. "I was pleasantly surprised at how charming the accommodations were as well," she told me. In France, for example, she rented a 200-year-old house that had been completely remodeled. "It was actually nicer than the pictures on the Internet," she adds. to experience environments outside our normal comfort zone?" including grandma and grandpa -- on your next vacation. Don't try squeezing everyone into a hotel room, or even a suite. But rent a home or an apartment, and no one is likely to tell you to cap the number of guests, or threaten you with a surcharge if there are too many people in the place. That's what travelers like Dave Sturtz, who works for an overnight delivery company in Boulder, Colorado, likes about today's lodging alternatives. He's rented homes directly from owners in places like Maui, St. Croix and Belize, and takes anywhere from four to six people along -- something he could never do in one hotel room. "I've had good luck renting houses and condos," he says. Reality check: this is not for everyone. Some travelers will still be more comfortable in a traditional hotel. For example, business travelers who are in town for just a few days will probably want to stay away from a condo or a home exchange. It's not worth it for them. Darryl Cohen, an attorney in Atlanta, explains his preference for hotels as follows: "I'm well taken care of, and if there is a problem, a staff member is available to remedy the situation." But the longer I watch these non-hotel alternatives develop, the more convinced I am that they represent the future of lodging. Just ask someone like Lois Sealey, who runs a site called Home Base Holidays (http://www.homebase-hols.com/), and you're left with the impression that at a time when lodging prices are at or near record highs, these options offer an attractive way around the headaches of staying at a hotel. "They're more convenient, offer you more freedom and space," she says. In other words, for a lot of travelers, staying at the inn is out. |
