Accurate Hotel Reviews and Index Rating

The ABC News program 20/20's Jan 4th edition has a feature on hotel website ratings systems. The online article is here. They mention how reviews are gamed by hotels and their guests. Hotel owners may write positive reviews on their own property and negative ones about competitors. They may also give incentives to guests for them to write more positive comments.

AllStays.com uses TripAdvisor for it's reviews. We have had the option to use reviews from other major sites like Travelocity but found the reviews aren't as plentiful or as good of quality. The general travel websites are easier to "game" when it comes to reviews. We simply want to provide the best option available to our travelers.

We assume that reviews are going to be false by a certain percentage. And if you ever read the reviews, you'll see that people can be a bit crazy as well. They may criticize a Motel 6 for not being like a Four Seasons. Most of the time, you get pretty close to what you pay for. Other times, the hotel is deceitful with their own promotional items, like their website.

With the assumption that quantity and time tends to bring the truth to the top, we implemented a color code for our "Reviews" on each hotel. We believe this system makes it a bit easier on research to weed through the massive number of hotels out there. We recommend reading the reviews yourself but we want to help you find the better places and avoid the bad apples. If it is green, the property has an overwhelming number of positive reviews. If it is red, you need to use caution and there are many negative reviews from past guests. If it is plain or grey in color, we haven't found enough reviews to say it's a safe positively or negatively rated hotel. This neutral rated hotel may be absolutely great or it may be terrible. Or maybe it just opened recently. We just don't have enough information on them yet.

Do you think this helps you in your research? Let us know here or privately.

Green Hotel Rating System

AllStays has had a green hotel guide since early 2005. We were the first travel website to do so when it wasn't getting much respect or attention. But now it is getting more and more popular as we add and expand it on a weekly basis. Now we are taking it to another level.

We are currently rolling out our Green Hotel Rating System. It is now being added to our Green Hotel section, which includes motels, bed and breakfasts and retreats. The system breaks down lodging with 24 green aspects and then rates the hotel based on how many of those a property is integrating and running. An icon is added for easy reference, along with the list of the aspects at that hotel. Easy to read and spot what that property is doing to make a difference.

Our green rating system will be expanded and added to all normal section listings over the near future as well. Over three thousand lodging places have been rated so far.

Arizona Green Hotels

We just added 4 green and environmentally friendly hotels today in Arizona.

Under Sedona green hotels, we now have the Bell Rock Inn, Junipine Creekside Resort, Los Abrigados Resort, the Southwest Inn at Sedona and the Wildflower Inn.

As always, when you make your reservation, please let them know you are making your decisions based on their environmental practices. When you are making a reservation at other hotels, ask them what they do to minimize their impact on the environment. Do they use florescent lights or even better, LED lights? During holiday season, do they use LED lights that use a fraction of the power of normal holiday lighting? Do they let you re-use your towel or sheets? Do they use recyclable products? There are many more things that can impact the environment but these are just a few.

Halloween Haunted Hotels

It's Halloween again and tis the day to check out our Haunted hotels section. We have recently added over 30 places and their stories and will continue adding more as we do the research. What better way to celebrate fall and Halloween than to spend the night in a real haunted place.

From California to Florida, we have some haunted lodging coast to coast so there is bound to be one within reasonable driving distance of where you are located.

Make Your Hotel More Green

How often do you change your sheets at home? How many towels do you use each day at home? Not three? So why let your hotel change every thing out every day you are staying there? We can help make normal hotels more of a green hotel while we are there. Keep your towels and sheets for your three night stay and you save 66% of the hotel's laundry emissions.

Hotel guests use double the utilities at hotels than they do at home. I admit to have taken longer showers and baths, lingering in the luxury at hotels. But the costs to the world are the same. You may be on vacation, celebrating something special, on the company dime or feel what you are paying in the nightly rate justifies using everything...but the impact on the environment comes out the same. And you can impact it.

Use the suggestion box and help make hotels more green:

Allow you to keep your linens for the stay.
Use eco friendly cleaning products.
Use recycled products wherever possible.
Use refillable toiletry dispensers.
Turn down AC and heat in empty rooms.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs and upgrade exit signs to LED models.
Recycle
Use daylight as much as possible in public areas. Install skylights!
Offer discounted rates to environmental/outdoors related groups for meetings and events.
Don't print the bill when it can be emailed. Give us the option.

California Green Hotels

We added about 18 green and eco friendly hotels today in California and a couple in Arizona. We have another dozen to add in other states over the next day or two. The movement keeps moving forward as more and more places take action to minimize their impact on the planet.

When you make reservations, please let them know you are making your decisions based on their environmental practices. When you are making a reservation at other hotels, ask them what they do to minimize their impact on the environment. Do they use florescent lights? Do they allow you to re-use your towel or sheets during your stay? You probably don't wash your bedding every single day at home so why do it at a hotel?

Solar Powered Hotel

Did you know that the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto is solar powered? It is the only solar powered hotel in California at this time. With all the roof space out there, we hope that more places will do this as well.

The installation of rooftop solar panels keeps the business activity environmentally friendly. This solar technology uses the sun's energy and illumination to provide electricity for heat, light and hot water, which means less consumption of fossil fuels as well as reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Interstate Exit Guide

We've spent the last 13 months creating a guide to interstate exits for you. It is a rather crazy project in scope but it's well worth it for us. Recently, we were traveling I-8 in 116 degree weather. We were wondering about gas fill ups between Yuma, AZ and the San Diego metro area. Using our interstate exit guide, we could check exits and see what had what. We learned there is a decent gap in services between El Centro, CA and San Diego, CA. Only a few places to fuel up between there and the long hot climb over the mountains.

We made it easy to find hotels closest to a particular exit. We also added gas stations, restaurants, repair shops, common chain stores and any other place we could find in the phone books that is close to that exit. We tried to indicate the direction from the exit that the business was located as well. But always go by the signs on the exit ramps first, in case our GPS data was wrong.

How do you access the internet as you travel to use this information? There are many options. You can research in advance, the night before, from wireless access at restaurants and truck stops or from cellular internet connections as you drive. It is getting easier and easier to find the web on the road.

Another benefit is in this scenario. You find the hotels at the upcoming exit. You can then use AllStays to find the hotels, call direct and see if they have rooms. You can try getting a rate direct by phone, you can walk-in or book online. If you are not chain specific, you may look at all the hotels by the exit and get an idea of the price ranges before contacting them. Many times the rates will be different for each booking option. I've gotten much better rates sitting in the parking lot of a chain motel than walking through the door when they think you are desperate and not likely to drive down the road.

We will keep adding data to this interstate guide to make it more useful, such as links to the official locations so you can have the phone number and addresses of the various places.

Airport Hotels and Locations

Our guide to just about every airport is now online. You can find over 2,000 airports and airstrips all over the United States. Many are small airstrips that you may not want to know about unless you are a pilot. From there, you can click a link that will search for hotels closest to that airport. Whether they are inside the airport or 50 miles away in the countryside, we'll find it for you. Sometimes, you go into a smaller airport and are not as familiar with the small towns surrounding it. This will make it easier to get your bearings for that business meeting or family event.

River Rapids Lodging Search and Maps

Whether you go rafting, kayaking, boating or just like the sound of rushing water, AllStays.com created a new guide that may be of interest to you. Our new guide for river rapids across the United States includes the exact location on map and satellite views. We then make it easy to search for the nearest hotels from those rapids.

Camping is usually closer connect to river rapids than hotels but we also know you may want a nice bed before or after your trip. More importantly, you may want to drop family off at a hotel while you feel the rush of the water. You don't have to stay dry forever just because you have family that can't do what you want to do. There are many reasons we created this river rapids guide but mostly just because we wanted it ourselves. We hope you like it too.

Feel free spread the word to your group members. You can also send a quick email to rewards@allstays.com to get a $10 cash discount off your room rate for yourself and your group.

Hotel Internet Safety Tips

In this day and age of internet being a TV alternative, access should be
just as available as color television in your room. Some guests that are
asked to pay fees may look for dangerous free alternatives.

The more often you travel on business related trips, you may wonder why
many hotels are still charging for internet access. One website is now
putting this information up front for travelers.

We are hearing more and more complaints about this so we decided to try
to help. We were one of the first travel websites to list if a hotel had
high speed internet or not. It's still been difficult to know what the
policy is until you are on the premises.

It is not like a color TV in a room. Everyone assumes that one. Many
hotels will advertise internet access but not say if it's for free or
how much it may cost. A traveler may see internet access as an amenity,
listed amongst other common ones such as a pool, coffee or cable tv. So
a guest will book it, check in and then find a fee card in the room.

We recently had a case where a chain advertised free hotel high-speed
internet access with their brand name in magazine, tv and web ads. So we
made this change on the site accordingly. Then we are contacted by an
individual location saying that they charge $10 per 24 hour period. What
is a customer to do when the chains can't be straight with themselves?

Some people will say that business travelers should avoid these hotels
but it is difficult if one is already there when they find out about the
fee or have a meeting at that particular hotel. Convention center hotels
are often the worst offenders. The room rates are generally higher and
then they charge for every extra they can find. These hotels have
business travelers where they want them and charge accordingly. A hotel
with all the free amenities with a room rate at one third the price may
be just a couple miles away. Then one has to factor in extra travel
time, traffic and cost of a taxi, car rental or parking. Many luxury
hotels tend not to mention a fee up front because if a guest is staying
there at a high price, it is assumed they can afford paying extra for
internet, parking, newspapers and general resort fees.

Complain and complain loudly. Let them know on comment cards and at the
front desk that you won't be back. That no one in your business will be
back. That you will mention this on the convention survey so the whole
event could possibly relocate to another hotel,. Hotels are lowering
rates to be competitive on internet websites like ours and then charging
little fees for everything else, including things that should be free.

Even if travelers know the cost of internet access, is it working when
they get there? The network may be down or it is being upgraded in the
hotel. The frustrated guest may be out of luck without apologies. The
complaint is not on the same level as saying there is no electricity. It
may be critical for the business travelers visit but it's not yet an
important utility to the hotels.

A hotel charging a fee can actually be more dangerous as well. Upon
arrival, the guest may look up to see what wireless networks are
available. Instead of choosing the costly hotel option, they see other
nearby networks listed. Those networks may or may not be secure. As part
of a growing trend, these networks could just be someone spoofing a
network to get access to another computer and any information that is
sent through their fake network. This can in turn compromise the guests
data and even lead to identity theft.

It is very easy to set up a network or share ones internet connection
with others. Most people just see the list and try them until something
works. We've seen it many times in hotels and public places. Someone
will open a network and call it something deceptive. Maybe they will
imitate a big companies name or play on the cities name or nearby
location such as a convention center, coffee shop, monorail or airport.

If travelers are looking for alternatives, they can get a cellular data
card for their laptop with unlimited access. Depending on the phone and
plan they may also be able to connect the cell phone to a laptop and use
the internet. But sometimes reception is poor in hotel buildings. A
hotel guest won't know if it works until they've checked in.

Think about how often you travel and pay that $10 fee in a hotel. How
much time do you spend in airports and waiting rooms that could be spent
working? If you are in a business with traveling staff, you may come out
ahead buying a card for several people to share on various trips out of
the office. You are also generally more secure on a cell connection than
on a regular wireless connection as well. You can turn your wireless
card off so you are not visible to others and are not sending your data
through another nearby computer.

Hotel Website Design: High End Hotels With Low End Websites

An example of a hotel website that violates so many web design rules, that it makes the site almost unusable, is Wynn Las Vegas. Don't go there yet. The website has one entry point and is all multimedia. You get sound and video. If you don't have the right browser and the latest version of Flash on your computer, you won't get anywhere. You'll get a blank screen with no option to get any more information.

You don't have a newer computer? You are not on a high-speed connection? You are in a library? You have pop-ups blocked or disabled? You work at an office that doesn't have all the bells and whistles in the budget for their computers? You don't want your computer speakers betraying what you are doing on company time? You are listening to your own music or video and don't want to hear Steve Wynn, the owner of this particular hotel, talking to you? Don't go to the official website. This is one of those cases where you get more readable information at a third party travel website like us or others.

Whether it is the ego of website designers or the hotel owners, this kind of hotel website makes it difficult for you to be a customer. You shouldn't have to hunt for phone numbers. You can't find a phone number on Expedia, Hotels.com, or Orbitz, so you should be able to easily find it on the official website. Having a website come up as a blank page on millions of computers is like a business having an unlisted phone number and locked doors. You shouldn't have to upgrade your computer to check out a hotel. You shouldn't have to mute your computer or wake up your family (or boss) to check out a hotel.

There are many hotel websites that are like this so Wynn Las Vegas is not unique. We are just picking an example that you may have heard of before.

Does Age of Hotel Factor in Your Selection?

How long does it take for the average chain hotel to decline? We notice how certain chains come on the scene and then go downhill. The locations either become poorly rated or change brands. A Red Roof Inn becomes a Motel 6. A Travelodge becomes a Thriftlodge. Is this to protect a chain's name? Is it to hide from negative reviews on the internet and in guide books?

An entire brand can change over the years as well. Travelodge began as a budget motel in southern California. I recall when Travelodge seemed to try to be more expensive and catered to business travelers in their ads and locations. I stayed at some nice brand new ones in the 1990s. Now some of the worst rated properties are under the Travelodge brand and it's more of a low budget brand than before.

Holiday Inn is a brand that had a roller coaster ride over the last thirty years are doing much better now. They have many new or renovated buildings and some old Holidays Inn have changed to another name.

Hampton Inn launched in 1984 and have held up well. Many locations are nicer and more expensive than they were when they opened. They recently began a Cloud Nine campaign with better mattresses and their prices tend to be higher than most "budget" hotels. But the reviews we see are also consistently good. Hilton bought the chain in 1999.

Many chains have flagship brands that are considered high end and slowly turn those into their lower end brand names over the years.

We have been adding build dates to our listings for those who pay attention to that. If a building is only a few years old, it has less chance of being in decline than one built in the 1970s. It would be deemed by most people to be safe. On the other hand, some of the finest hotels in the world may be a hundred years old. So travelers need to look at both age and the brand. A thirty year old EconoLodge is far different than a eighty year old Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Do you or would you consider the age of a property when booking a hotel? Will a "brand new" location look better to you than an older chain location, even if it still has good reviews?

Gay-Friendly Cities Prosper

A recent segment of CNN's Inn The Money featured a professor from George Mason University by the name of Richard Florida. He is the author of the book The Rise of the Creative Class and stated that the more "gay-friendly" a city is, the more economically prosperous it can be.

He said that the college educated youth are moving to the most "gay-friendly" cities because those cities tend to have the best job markets. Think of Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Microsoft (and now Google in their expansion) and Seattle. Other cities at the top include Boston, Portland Oregon and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida. These are cities where open-mindedness leads to innovation and new technology. These cities are prospering and tend to be both more expensive and culturally interesting. You almost don't have to look at hotel room rates in the top and bottom of these lists to know which is doing much better. The gay-friendly cities are much more expensive to visit.

The cities at the bottom end of gay-friendly cities? They include Pittsburgh, Birmingham AL, Detroit, Buffalo, Charlotte NC, and Oklahoma City. These are not the most prosperous, open-minded cities these days. The kids are leaving and not many new jobs are coming in. The educated youth then goes to where the money and ideas are growing.

Cancellation Fees and Policies In Detail

It is time again to address cancellation policies, fees and charges. Hotels are the ones that charge them but it sometimes appears as if we do.

We get emails from upset customers when they are surprised by cancellation charges and sometimes even have to pay for a hotel stay they didn't complete. This anger is directed at us but that fact is that we don't charge any fees at all. The hotel controls the policies and collects the money. We just take all the blame because it's our name on the reservation.

Most bookings on AllStays.com do not have a cancellation fee at all if it is cancelled by a certain time, usually 24-48 hours ahead of the check in date. However, certain rates are negotiated with the hotels and these include cancellation fees and are clearly stated on the pages for the hotels. Please always read this policy (#3) on the booking page. This is stated before you ever enter your personal information. This fee is in place for about 8,000 out of 54,000 bookable hotels listed. It is part of the contract with the hotels for the cheaper rates. The hotel gets a certain amount of money regardless of what happens in the booking. They are set in that point.

Holiday Inn is an example of a hotel chain that gives out discounted rates. Whether booking with us or at the official Holiday Inn website, if you book one of those rates and cancel, you will pay between one nights rate and even possibly the entire stay. You basically save $5 or $10 a night to give up the right to cancel.

This is one of the most frustrating things about the travel industry these days and we hope you will read all of this to see the concrete proof that we are not the ones that caused fees for a cancellation. If it was up to us there would be no fees at all. But we do not control the hotels policies. We just link to them so you can book your travel. When complaining about fees, make sure to include the hotel. They are the ones that got all the money in fees. We didn't get a dime of it.

For example, please check this link from the official Holiday Inn website for this hotel where they charge you one nights stay for the cancellation. We are picking on Holiday Inn in this case but many of the chains and independents do the same.

Because the credit card is accepted by us and passed onto the hotel, the hotel can dictate the fees charged and they appear as if they are coming from us. AllStays.com does not get a dime of these fees. Zero. They are charges put upon us by the hotel and/or the GDS network (Global Distribution System) which in this case is Sabre which is the same company as Travelocity. They control the most number of access points for travel agents. You get charged the fee, we take the heat and get nothing for it. You get mad at AllStays or your local travel agent and the big greedy corporation gets the money.

You may still want to blame us for charging fees but you can also look up the same hotel on other travel websites like Expedia/Hotels.com (actually same company), or Travelocity. You will find in most cases, the same exact cancellation fee and policy.

And remember that anytime you make a booking for the next day or the same day you are making the booking, you will be paying for the hotel stay. You can't cancel at that point. You are charged the whole room rate because the hotel doesn't have any time to re-sell that room if you cancel.

Because we are always trying to make improvements and want to keep your business, please let us know if there is any way we can make the fee more obvious up front. we state the policy before the booking takes place but we realize it takes time to read the text on the page.

We don't answer to any stock price and stockholders like other websites. We answer to you. We really are on your side, the guest, but the rules of the game are tough on independents and those trying to do the right thing.

Adam Longfellow
President, AllStays.com

Average Hotel Prices Up

The average hotel price has increased around 15% in the past year. The industry has recovered and expanded from 2001 when hotel rates dropped sharply to get people traveling again. Some cities have gone way up, like Bangkok at a 55% increase, while others have had a little dip like Washington DC being down by 3%.

In general, travel is costing more. If you can plan far enough ahead, booking a room can save you a little money. You can lock in today's rate which may keep going up over the next so many months. Most reservation systems such as ours at AllStays will takes reservations up to about 11-12 months in advance. On the other hand, a major world disaster could drive rates down and you'd have paid a higher rate. It's playing the odds and doing what you are comfortable with to find savings wherever you can.