HotelChatter

As Exhibit A demonstrates, parking can get seriously expensive. 30% of that Smyth guest's total charges went to parking alone — yuck. We cannot say enough to emphasize the importance of calling ahead to check on the parking situation before you book your room anywhere, especially in a big city — more often than not, hotels won't post the nightly parking rate on their website, so do your homework (Smyth's site certainly says nothing about the parking sitch — but then again, cheap parking in NYC is a pipe dream no matter where you go).

And as Exhibit B shows, that Philly Overnight package — which a pretty solid number of hotels in the Philly area have been offering together for several years now — doesn't really include anything significant except that free pass on hotel parking. And it's the best-selling Philly package ever.

Yes, we know: Hotel parking has always been expensive; none of this is news. But in this economy, with so many hotels struggling to fill rooms, might free parking be one of the most important incentives properties can offer guests to entice them to book?