Hotels, Motels, Condos and Dumps, I have stayed in them all when traveling.

I don’t usually plan too much when traveling other than having an overall plan but as far as planning every day, I don’t do it. The one thing I do however is spend time looking at various accommodations before I travel to a new place. I try not to spend too much with somewhere around $50 USD being my max target. I don’t stay in Hostels though; I like a little more privacy and comfort.

I stayed in a hotel in London one time that cost $100 USD where the main room was about 6ft wide and 7ft in length. I had to stand on the toilet to close the door so I could get into the shower. I only slept there and averaged about 6 hours a day in the room, all sleeping.

If I am going to spend a week or more in one location I try to find a condo or similar type hotel room to stay in. By doing some research you can find these and pay the equivalent of a standard room or even less.

The photos pictured are from a Hotel in the Philippines that I stayed at for 5 days. These types of hotels are called Condotels or Apartelles and primarily offer suite like rooms with kitchenette. I paid $51.00 per night for this room.

My last week in Manila recently was in a hotel that also had private condo ownership. I rented one of the condos from a private owner and I paid $30.00 USD per night for a one bedroom condo with separate living room, separate kitchen and balcony. That same hotel rents standard rooms for $40.00 USD.

As you can see it is usually better to get a room from a private owner. For the most part they will be less expensive than the same room owned by the hotel.

Here are a few tips to finding a place to stay.

In Asia check out agoda.com and asiarooms.com, both seem to have better a selection than other sites. In the US and Europe check out Venere.com, they offer hotels, B&B’s and Apartments.

I also do a search of condos in the city where I am going to be. You will find independent owners renting rooms in private homes, condos and more.

There are also new sites such as roomorama.com and Airbnb.com that offer some great finds.

Spend a little time looking around and you can find some really great deals.

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