Colin Cowie's main jobs are as a celebrity wedding designer and a luxe party planner but he's also the proprietor behind the CBar in Greece inside the Belvedere Hotel so he knows a few things about the hospitality business.
We got a copy of his book Colin Cowie Chic: The Guide to Life As It Should Be and we are a little tickled to see a section on travel and staying hotels.
Colin's #1 thing as soon as he's checked into his hotel? Change into exercise clothes for a quick workout that includes some push-ups, sit-ups and stretches.
If he has more time, he'll do some cardio. His reasoning is valid--after being on an airplane for a while you want to get those vital organs jump-started.
Our first thing we do when we check into a hotel? Check the internet connection. God, we're such geeks!
If you've been ill in a Los Angeles hotel and needed a doctor, the chances are high that the white-coat who came to see you was Dr. Mike Oppenheim.
He's been a hotel doctor since the 1980s and reckons he's made 15,000 hotel room visits. And advised thousands more over the phone.
He wrote a few tips for hotels recently that might just be useful for you, too, if you end up sick in a hotel room. Lots of hotels are using those agencies who take calls and then page a doctor who might turn up, eventually.
How do you beat the crappy US-Euro exchange rate without whipping yourself on holiday?
Paris ain't a cheap destination for anyone, least of all when the bottom's falling out of your currency. We've put together some insider tips for US travellers staying in the French capital. Read 'em all after the jump.
When it comes to finding the best hotel deals, it's always best to shop around, a mantra that pretty much everyone but our dog knows by now. (Then again he's pretty smart. We bet he would do it for some "human" food.)
Shopping around usually means comparing the rates offered on two or three third-party booking sites next to what the hotel is offering. It may also involve doing some more research on message boards if you are looking at blind bidding sites like Hotwire or Priceline. HotelChatter's Deals Guru Tim Leffel explains all here.
And don't forget about loyalty program rewards points, credit card points, AAA discounts and the like.
But lately, we have been seeing a trend where the hotel is offering either the same or sometimes less rates than the third-party booking sites. And more and more hotels are offering Best Price Guarantees--meaning if you found a better price on another site, the hotel will match that price.
Fodors has put out a list that we strongly suggest everyone read because it might save you some moolah and the frustration of finding random fees on your bill when you check-out.
The 14 Hidden Hotel Fees includes some charges we knew about (pay-for towels at the pool, business center and fitness center fees, mini-bar charges, etc) and a few we didn't really think about like Groundskeeping and Baggage-Holding, which we do all the time thanks to the crappy early check-out time hotels enforce.
Some of them you can't fight like energy surcharges and resort fees but the hotel should make you well aware of these charges before you book or at least when you check-in.
We also say pay close attention to the Random Incorrect Charges. This happens frequently when we check-out. We get double-billed for a movie or internet access or even room-service.
But most importantly, try to settle these unnecessary charges at check-out if you can. If you leave the hotel without checking your bill and then discover the charges upon returning home, you will have to deal with a hotel's accounting department and they keep Mon-Fri., 9-5 with an hour lunch break type of hours.
Conde Nast's Portfolio magazine which just started publishing last summer has easily picked up the slack where Business Week, Fortune and Forbes have left off. Each issue includes meaty, informative business articles, rather than a picture on the front page, that leads to a one page three question interview. I'm not bitter.
Their Seat 2B column, just posted to their website today, contains some great tips about traveling:
On why you should tip the housekeeper everyday:
...leave your tip every day, not at the end of your stay, because the housekeeper may change from day to day. How much to tip? I never leave less than $5 a day...
If staying at a luxury hotel (this one will probably not work at a Motel 6):
...introduce yourself around, especially to the general manager. If you intend to be a regular, let him know. Give him your business card and write him a thank-you note after your stay. When you're headed to the next property, call and ask him whom to contact. He'll do the work for you and alert the next hotel's G.M...
And for people like my parents who insist on calling hotels directly for reservations:
..Time has passed it by. Most major hotel chains now work off of a centralized database of rates. In fact, many properties don't even have an on-site reservations department anymore...
And last but not least - is the hotel you want overbooked?
...ask if an "out of service" room is available. That's industry jargon and it means you're willing to accept a room that has been temporarily taken out of general inventory due to a small flaw that needs repair.
Now that we know how pricey Bobby DeNiro's hotel will be ($725 a night!), it's time to wonder, "Where can we put that much money to good use?" First, a couple NYC options.
Good old Six Columbus has a King Suite available for $625, which is the property's priciest room. It comes with all the standard amenities plus two flat screen TVs and, of course, tons of square footage. Suites at The Bowery Hotel go for $750, where you get hardwood floors, 400 thread count sheets, marble bathrooms and other niceties like outdoor terraces with jacuzzis. The priciest suite at the Duane Street Hotel, in TriBeCa like DeNiro's place, is a "cheap" $536.
But why stop at just Manhattan? If you're gonna be throwing around this much coin, you might as well go somewhere far, far away. You can stay at the Explora Atacama for four nights for $3,140, which works out to $785 a night. Or you could explore Uruguay and Argentina from the Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, where giant riverview bungalows start at under $400 a night. That should leave some cash to refuel your private jet, rock star!
Smarter Travel has an interesting tip today about getting a "distressed traveler rate" at hotels near airports when your flight gets cancelled or delayed. Most often airlines will (and should) offer you travel vouchers or at the least, a list of hotels that give special rates to travelers that have been grounded. But that doesn't always happen.
So Smarter Travel suggests taking matters into your own hands.
But if availability is scarce or your carrier doesn't contract with local properties, you can call hotels in the greater metropolitan area to see if they offer similar prices. Call your preferred hotel's front desk directly, not a central reservations line. When calling, be sure to ask specifically for the "distressed traveler rate."
ST also recommends, if there's time, checking those distressed rates against a hotel's online rates as well as making sure the airlines compensate you in some way for the delay whether it be paying for a portion of the hotel room or offering some flight credits.
It's crazy stressful holiday travel times like these where we would be comforted knowing there's a Yotel or other capsule-like hotel in each airport.
Colin Cowie's main jobs are as a celebrity wedding designer and a luxe party planner but he's also the proprietor behind the CBar in Greece inside the Belvedere Hotel so he knows a few things about the hospitality business.
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by juliana
When it comes to finding the best 
