If you follow the advice we dispense, chances are you don't pay "rack rate" for your motel room at the end of the day.
You've used search engines to find a base price for rooms in your destination city. You have learned that Priceline can cut your bill in half, and can be a real money-saver in certain circumstances. Perhaps you take advantage of hotel promotions and you've learned that places with empty rooms are ready to make deals.
All of that is great, but the potential pitfalls don't fade after you settle in for the evening.
The hospitality industry makes lots of money from services that are completely independent of your room rate.
At least one unpleasant surprise at checkout is unavoidable: now matter how outrageous, you must pay the room taxes. In many places, those now exceed 13 percent of the room rate.
But there are other charges that are easy to side-step if given some thought before departure.
Click "next" to the right and see how many of these mistakes you've made or perhaps are about to make.
