Paul Jenner - The Travellers Pocket Bible: Every Travelling Rule of Thumb at Your Fingertips

THE

TRAVELLERS
POCKET BIBLE

EVERY TRAVELLING RULE OF THUMB
AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

PAUL JENNER & CHRISTINE SMITH

The Travellers Pocket Bible

Paul Jenner & Christine Smith

This first edition is published in 2008 by Crimson Publishing

Crimson Publishing, Westminster House, Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2ND

Paul Jenner and Christine Smith 2008

Epub edition 2011ISBN: 978-1-907087-83-7

The author Paul Jenner & Christine Smith has asserted their moral rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Will you be able to plug in your mobile phone charger in Barcelona? Will you be able to plug your laptop into the telephone socket in New York? What jabs should you have for a trip to Morocco? Is that perfume in the airport shop really a bargain? How can you get the cheapest flight to Bangkok or the best-value hotel room in Paris?

These, and hundreds more questions, are answered in The Travellers Pocket Bible.

Were all of us travelling far more than we used to and are far more sophisticated about foreign countries than we used to be. But, if anything, in our increasingly complicated world, the number of questions just keeps multiplying.

Whether you travel a great deal, whether you travel once a year or whether youre planning your first ever trip abroad, The Travellers Pocket Bible gives you all the answers at your fingertips. It could save you a lot of money. And a lot of problems and frustration, too.

Weve been all over the world in our work as travel writers. One thing we lacked was a little book we could slip into a pocket that would remind us about all those elusive but vital bits of travel information. We never found one. So weve written one.

We hope you find it useful.

Paul Jenner and Christine Smith

Catalonia, 2008

Anyone walking into a hotel, or telephoning, to ask for a room will be quoted the walk in price or rack rate. That also happens to be the highest price. However, what you want is the corporate rate, the rate paid by companies that do business regularly with the hotel, or, better still, the preferred rate, an even cheaper rate for companies doing large amounts of business with the hotel.

One way to get a reduction is to use an internet booking company such as:

www.expedia.com

www.expotel.co.uk

www.hotelpronto.com

www.hotels.co.uk

www.laterooms.com

www.octopustravel.com

www.superbreak.com (short breaks)

www.travelocity.com

The website www.priceline.co.uk has a system in which you literally name your price. The idea is that you select the town, city or area of the city you require together with the star-rating you want and then make an offer of the price youre willing to pay. Quite often, if a hotel has empty rooms, youll get a bargain. But remember that by initiating the search youre committing yourself to whichever hotel accepts the booking (if one does) and your credit card will be debited, whether you like the hotel or not.

Experts tip

If you arrive in a city without having booked a hotel go into the nearest large travel agent and ask if they can book a hotel for you. Many of the travel agency chains have special arrangements with hotels and should be able to get a much lower price than you can. Of course, the agent takes a commission from the hotel so, in theory, if youre good at negotiating (see below), you should be able to get an even lower price but in reality you probably wont.

The hotels website should give you a pretty good idea but to get an independent opinion try www.tripadvisor.com.

www.iapa.com Members of the International Airline Passengers Association enjoy a range of benefits including discounts on hotels. Membership costs 69/99.

www.travel-offers.co.uk 01507 617750 has two different clubs. For an annual membership fee of 47.95 you and a partner can stay free as many times as you like at some 320 UK hotels, provided you pay for dinner and breakfast (typically ranging in price from 23.50 up to 49 each). Or, for an annual membership of 69.50 you can save up to 50% off the B&B price of 130 hotels.

www.theaa.com Membership of the AA entitles you to discounts at various hotels.

Theres no point in trying to negotiate with Central Reservations because they usually cant offer discounts (except as part of some advertised promotion). But if you enjoy negotiating and are good at it try some of the following directly with the hotel:

Phone the hotel at different times to see if you can get a better rate from a different staff member.

If you intend to stay several nights in a city including a Sunday night, book the Sunday night on its own first. Few city hotels are busy on a Sunday night so youll probably get a good rate. Then, later, call to add the other days which, hopefully, youll get at the same price.

Always ask for a non-smoking room and say youll pay by credit card hotels find that smokers who pay cash are the most troublesome.

If youre flying in and out with the same airline your carrier should be able to get a discount for you on selected hotels.

Some of the same principles applied to fast food chains have been adapted for hotels. Theyre purpose-built using lots of prefabrication, usually situated on the outskirts of large towns on factory estates, and run by a tiny staff. At the very cheapest you might, for example, gain access to the building and to a room using a credit card without ever seeing a receptionist. As with fast food chains you get an inexpensive product in modern surroundings and with a good standard of cleanliness.

Experts tip

Have pen and paper handy if theres an automated check-in at your fast hotel the screen will show a code which youll have to remember for access to the main door and to your room.

www.hotelformule1.com Mostly in France but also hotels in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Japan.

www.premiereclasse.com Mostly France but also hotels in the UK, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

www.kyriad.com Mostly France but also hotels in the UK, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

www.comfortinn.com Worldwide, slightly more expensive chain embracing several brands in the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australasia, Asia, the Caribbean and South America.

www.balladins.com Some 160 slightly more expensive hotels in France and Belgium.