Motel & Hotel Stays

My sister is good at this. She gets a price then says to the guy "we'll be here x days, we don't need any service beyond fresh towels and I'm paying cash can you do it for XYZ" She often gets a smoking deal.

Of course that only works if you're riding a particular for a number of days.

The Squeeze and I prided ourself on finding low budget mom and pop joints. That said we sometimes got what we paid for. We stayed outside of Deal's Gap at a place where the door would barely close. I also remember one place where although the bed looked fine and checked out (bed bug inspection) the carpet was such that I put my boots on when I got in the night to piss.
 
I basically need a roof over my head along with a great view from where I am staying...

€41 per night or about CA$65 in 2006 with my cabin overlooking the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
Hotel Mare e Festa, Solenzara, Corsica. GPS: N41° 51.333' E009° 24.070'
Being on the sea it needed a bit of airing out. Nothing fancy, but what an experience listening to the waves all night long.
Corsica SM.jpg

And then the view from my room in Arabba, Italy.
Arabba, Italy 1 SM.jpg

And this wasn't one group of motorcycles but well over eight different groups staying at Hotel Olympia in Arabba, Italy. My bike is the second one in at the top left.
Arabba, Italy 2 SM.jpg

ALL inns are very motorcycle-friendly in Austria, Germany, Italy and France.

After 27 years of this, all I can say is, I am going to miss this kind of riding.
 
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I basically need a roof over my head along with a great view from where I am staying...

€41 per night or about CA$65 in 2006 with my cabin overlooking the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
Hotel Mare e Festa, Solenzara, Corsica. GPS: N41° 51.333' E009° 24.070'
Being on the sea it needed a bit of airing out. Nothing fancy, but what an experience listening to the waves all night long.
View attachment 72974

And then the view from my room in Arabba, Italy.
View attachment 72975

And this wasn't one group of motorcycles but well over eight different groups staying at Hotel Olympia in Arabba, Italy. My bike is the second one in at the top left.
View attachment 72976

ALL inns are very motorcycle-friendly in Austria, Germany, Italy and France.

All I can say is, I am going to miss this kind of riding.
We're planning our next trip to il bel paese in the fall. Prices in the tourist hotspots are wildly different to the places less traveled. In Rome, it's almost impossible to find anything in the historical centre for less than $200/night, but in Genova it's easy to find nicer places for less than $100. It gets even cheaper in the mountains of Liguria, with a fair bit of choice under $80.

Compare that to here, we just had to spend over $200 in Huntsville with hotels full on a Friday night, and finding something downtown Toronto for less than $400 is a win.

(Would love to ride Liguria on a bike, but not in the cards this trip, sadly)
 
Would love to ride Liguria on a bike, but not in the cards this trip, sadly.

When you find an excuse to put things off, you never end up doing it, so DO IT the next time. I felt the same way about Newfoundland with "damn, I have to take a ferry". Well it was worth it.

Most of my riding in Italy was above the Turin, Milano, Verona, Venice and Trieste area, where the mountains are. One time a run on the SS12 from Rovereto to Lucca, Pisa to Livorno to catch the ferry to Corsica. I wish I could have done Sardinia and Sicily and then crossed over into Calabria to Amalfi.

Trust me, this is life, this is riding. And I hate to break it to you, but it cost me more to tour eastern Canada per day than it costed to tour Europe per day and the latter included airfare. I keep an Excel spreadsheet because people would ask. I kept a motorcycle in Europe, so that is not included.
 
When you find an excuse to put things off, you never end up doing it, so DO IT the next time. I felt the same way about Newfoundland with "damn, I have to take a ferry". Well it was worth it.

Most of my riding in Italy was above the Turin, Milano, Verona, Venice and Trieste area, where the mountains are. One time a run on the SS12 from Rovereto to Lucca, Pisa to Livorno to catch the ferry to Corsica. I wish I could have done Sardinia and Sicily and then crossed over into Calabria to Amalfi.

Trust me, this is life, this is riding. And I hate to break it to you, but it cost me more to tour eastern Canada per day than it costed to tour Europe per day and the latter included airfare. I keep an Excel spreadsheet because people would ask. I kept a motorcycle in Europe, so that is not included.
Oh, it won't be my last chance, believe me. We go to Italy at least every couple years, sometimes annually. But traveling with the wife makes taking off on a solo bike trip a little bit of a selfish move, as she doesn't ride and I'm not a fan of riding two up. I like travelling with her, so taking time to myself would mean sacrificing travel time with her. Our plan is to retire there, so worst case, I'll have lots of time to ride there then...

I haven't done much exploring into the Alps, but we're looking at doing Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and eastern Veneto on the trip after this one, as we've now watched three shows that take place in the area (L'Alligatore, La Porta Rossa and Il Silenzio dell'Acqua), and it looks spectacular...
 
'Pays to book ahead if your travelling along the trans Canada in Ontario during the summer...
So many hotels/motels booked solid by work crews... Some for weeks
Don’t try to stretch the day. Rooms disappear after 4:00 PM
 
I still find that small (non-chain) indy motels usually (but not always) end up being the best bang for the buck - but if the chain hotel is $120 and includes a hot breakfast for my wife and I vs the $100 motel that doesn't include anything, well, we usually for the chain hotel as breakfast anywhere will cost you more than $10/pp.

The other reason I like motels is that your bike is right outside your room - convenient on several fronts, and IMHO better for security - if someone trips my alarm I'm just feet away, and I'm going to come running out full tilt in a state of appearance and undress that would scare away even the most hard core gangbangers. 😄

In all seriousness though, nothing is cheap anymore when it comes to accomodations, but keep in mind that when it comes to the bigger hotel chains...there is flexibility in pricing - you just need to know how to ask for it. Show up at the front desk in a great mood, have a laugh with the person at the desk, ask about room availability, and then ask for the rate. They'll usually give you the rack (standard walk-in, no discounts) rate. And then don't be afraid to ask politely if there's any better rate possible vs "rack" - mentioning rack rate tells them that you're a savvy traveller.

I **** you not I've got rooms at big chain hotels for $70-$80/night (vs $120-$150 rack) using this tactic - sometimes the poor minimum wage people working the dead end jobs at these hotels (especially later in the evenings once the manager has gone home) just appreciate having someone show up in a good mood for a change (vs the miserable/grumpy/complaining crowd), they appreciate someone making some funnies, and then being polite in asking for a deal - quite often they have the ability to find discounts or are able to just override pricing within allowances that the hotel manager has programmed into the system.

Also, don't be afraid to go somewhere where there is multiple hotels within walking distance and walk back and forth between them asking for rates, and then mention "the other place across the road quoted me x dollars, but I'd rather stay with you, can you do a better rate for me? Again, there's often surprising flexibility. We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Vancouver near Capilano for $500 for an entire week using this tactic.

Just don't do this sort of negotiation when there's other people at the desk - if there's a line up and you start haggling they're much less likely to offer you a discounted rate as then everyone else in line will kick and scream to get it too. Be savvy about the process.

I'm pretty shameless when it comes to haggling, but it's saved me a lot of money over the years. And done right, with some humour and a smile, you'd be surprised at how often it can have the desired effect.
At a Motel 6 in the states the clerk and prospective customer passed a slip of paper back and forth.
 
Don’t try to stretch the day. Rooms disappear after 4:00 PM

Depends. My experience is that when you're in an area with 3-5 hotels from different chains all in a few block radius (more common in many parts of the USA, but not unheard of here as well) that unless there's some major local event going on, there's often rooms. And in that case, the later you arrive, the better deal you're almost certain to get as much beyond 8-9pm, anyone who's looking to stop already has, and whatever they've got left room wise is going to go empty otherwise, so a cheap rate that fills a room is better than zero.

At a Motel 6 in the states the clerk and prospective customer passed a slip of paper back and forth.

This is exactly what happened at the Capilano/Vancouver situation I mentioned above come to think of it now. I quietly mentioned the quote I got from the hotel literally walking distance across the road for the number of days we were looking to stay along with the "we'd much rather stay with you guys!" with a smile thing. The clerk wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it back across the desk. I gave thumbs up. We proceeded.
 
Listening to the radio this morning about less Canadians heading to the US, a Canadian that was interviewed mentioned that it was cheaper for him to ski in Japan where he has been twice already and in Austria than it is in western Canada. Go figure! Greedy Canada once again.

That reminds me about accomodations here versus there that I stated in the first post here.
 
Funny you mention skiing , standing with buddy on the ski hill yesterday aft. Whistler has incredible lines for lifts / food crazy pricing now . Vail Aspen are for millionaires . I can fly to France for less than Banff . I can ski the alps for less than Louise and eat better . Maybe ski into two countries same trip . We will be in France next winter . I was going to be Alta Utah , but the US dollar says go to France .


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Funny you mention skiing , standing with buddy on the ski hill yesterday aft. Whistler has incredible lines for lifts / food crazy pricing now . Vail Aspen are for millionaires . I can fly to France for less than Banff . I can ski the alps for less than Louise and eat better . Maybe ski into two countries same trip . We will be in France next winter . I was going to be Alta Utah , but the US dollar says go to France .

The report I heard on the radio is that the majority of ski slopes in Canada are owned by an American company, therefore no competition. Plus they know Canadians are well off... :rolleyes:

Not that I am there in the winter, but the area between Canazei and Cortina in Italy, you can daisy chain your slopes. Endless slopes and lifts in that mountainous area. The Dolomites offer the best motorcycle riding.
 
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Listening to the radio this morning about less Canadians heading to the US, a Canadian that was interviewed mentioned that it was cheaper for him to ski in Japan where he has been twice already and in Austria than it is in western Canada. Go figure! Greedy Canada once again.

That reminds me about accomodations here versus there that I stated in the first post here.
My cousin has been in Italy the past few weeks posting how cheap it is to ski the alps there, less then 100 Eur's
Just posted a hotel room stay for $40 Eur, and it was nice, but not in a big city.
 
We just got back from Hungary 2 weeks was 750 cad for accommodations food was slightly cheaper but better at restaurants. Groceries seemed expensive but we were in a downtown area.

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^^this.

Last year I ended up sleeping in my car in a truck stop parking lot in White River...Lol.
I'm debating about driving to Manitoba this summer. If it was just me, I would consider renting a Caravan and do some van camping. Once in Winnipeg I can stay with a cousin but if I want to sight see, Manitoba has a lot of tiny, interesting places but they're 100 miles apart. I don't know the van camping rules.
 
I'm debating about driving to Manitoba this summer. If it was just me, I would consider renting a Caravan and do some van camping. Once in Winnipeg I can stay with a cousin but if I want to sight see, Manitoba has a lot of tiny, interesting places but they're 100 miles apart. I don't know the van camping rules.
We van camp as a family all the time trucks stops or rest areas. Out east warfs and scenic lookouts work. Download ioverlander and it will show you all the spots that are allowed.

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My ride to BC this year will be a mix of camping and hotels.
Provincial parks, municipal campgrounds, hotels, motels...
'Have done it before... Nice combination of "roughing" it and living like a human being.
 
I'm debating about driving to Manitoba this summer. If it was just me, I would consider renting a Caravan and do some van camping. Once in Winnipeg I can stay with a cousin but if I want to sight see, Manitoba has a lot of tiny, interesting places but they're 100 miles apart. I don't know the van camping rules.
First time I’ve heard anyone use the words sight,see and Manitoba in the same sentence.
 
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