My final pieces of advice are almost what you would call last ditch efforts to get money for a hotel room or to eat with if you ever find yourself out of cash with no where to stay. The first is the most obvious option – you find a hotel that takes checks. If you can – you are in like Flint. But this presupposes several factors: You have a check with you, you have a credit card to back it up AND you find a hotel that accepts checks. Of course if you had a credit card you probably wouldn’t need to pay with a check and if you have a card but it has no credit left, the hotel may be very wary of accepting a check. Most hotels do NOT accept checks but some may have a check guarantee system in house that allows for personal checks, assuming they get an authorization approval. You may need to call around a bit to find hotels that do accept checks – my advice would be to stick to the larger, more expensive hotels. Smaller properties or cheaper motels will almost NEVER accept a personal check.
Here’s an off the wall idea – see if any hotel or property accepts PayPal. Of course this would assume you have a PayPal account also AND have sufficient funds in it. Most PayPal accounts are linked to your bank account so as long as the hotel is set up for PayPal, this is a great option. I will be honest and admit it is unlikely that at this time many hotels do have PayPal options, but I offer this advice because I believe in the future more and more will. I also think that even if you don’t have a PayPal account but know someone who does and is willing to sponsor you, they can effect a transfer to the hotel and pay for it from the comfort of their home.
This last piece of advice is also way out there – but we are talking desperation anyway so here goes. See if there is anyway you can either get accommodation from your airline OR see if there is any way you can change flights to a cheaper one and perhaps have them refund (in cash or a hotel voucher) the difference. If you plead your case with an airline agent and explain you are going to sleep on the floor at the airport, there may be a way they can provide a hotel voucher and charge your credit card later or bill you later. This would probably only happen if you were a frequent flyer member or frequent traveler that they value but you never know. I admit that not many hotels would allow you to stay on a promise of future payment. I know I have been burned 2 or 3 times over the years by people doing this and I will not accept anything but cash or a credit card or an airline voucher now, so I don’t suggest your trying to plead your case with a desk clerk. I know it is a longshot, but I think your better bet is with the airline you are flying on – especially if you missed a connection because of something they did or due to weather.
Keep in mind that airlines (and hotels) are not banks or lenders so they are not in the business of loaning money. Do not be offended if they say no – they may have their hands full with many customers and can’t spend 30 minutes trying to find you a place to stay on their dime. But depending upon your status with them, it is worth a shot.
Along with the other tips I offered in previous articles, this gives you many options to try if you find yourself stranded. I truly believe one of them will work for you, it’s just a matter of finding out which one.
By: David C. Reynolds
About the Author:
David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who has seen a drastic change in the hotel environment once the Internet became a fixture. He offers common sense, money saving advice about how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination ’specials’. His blog can be viewed at http://www.bookhotelscheaper.com
