Take hotels for instance. I've used travel discount sites like expedia.com to save a few bucks but it always makes me a bit jittery. Your reservation is flagged from the moment you check in and chances are you're not going to get the best room, or the nice view, or the free upgrade or anything else that might be extra special. If you're not expecting much, than go for it - save the money and take your chances.
But, there are better ways to save some money and still guarantee that you're going to get the room you want. Look for hotels with the "best rate guarantee" listed on their web site. Read the rules and work it! I recently booked a room at the Hotel Palomar in Chicago. I checked back about a week later and the nightly rate on my room had dropped $20. I made a phone call and they immediately adjusted my rate. Days later, I checked expedia.com. Their rate was another $20 less than my new rate. Hotel Palomar's Best Rate Guarantee stated that they'd match the rate on a third party site. I called and a kind gentleman at Palomar happily adjusted my rate and whoo hooo! My suite for $349 is now $309 and all I had to do was pick up the phone.
Update: Well, now we're 8 days away from departure and I glanced at the hotel's website again. The rate dropped slightly. I called. They found an even better deal for me at $262 per night! More mojitos, please...
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