Remember when booking a hotel used to be accomplished with a telephone (the kind that had a dial-tone) or, better still, an in-person conversation with an actual person at the front desk who was ‘qualified’ to offer you a rate, take actual cash for room payment and, subsequently, hand you an actual key for your room with a bed?
Back then, the only question of real value to answer, before booking your room, was “How many people in the room?” Today, although booking a hotel room is considerably easier and far less personally interactive, there seem to be a lot more variables that can affect the price you may be willing to pay for your hotel room. Of course, number of guests sleeping in the room is still of primary concern for hotel management, but the price can also fluctuate based on the time of year or day of the week you are planning on staying. In addition, you might need to pay extra for WIFI or fast(er) WIFI, or you might be able to pay less if you are a member of the hotel’s loyalty program.
Having been in the hotel business, I can easily wrap my head around this system of hotel pricing fluctuations because one room that can accommodate 4 people SHOULD be more expensive than a room that accommodates only 2 people. But what I really don’t understand about the wildly varying hotel pricing system, is the answer to the question “What view would you like?”
You may have already figured out that, when it comes to my travel expenditures, I am a medium type of consumer. I prefer premium economy over business class, well-located 3- or 4-star hotels over 5-star luxury brands and a great meal from family-owned restaurants rather than a teeny tiny meal from a Michelin star chef.
Therefore, when I am presented with different view choices at a hotel, I, typically, select the ‘medium’ view as I would prefer NOT to overlook the hotel dumpsters, and do not find it necessary to pay double the price for the same quality of room, just so that I can face the ocean, at night, when I am sleeping… In addition, over the course of my travelling experiences, I have also learned that a medium view category is often the one that offers the most interesting and unique views. For example, I would rather overlook the parking lot (as opposed to the pricey pool) at my favorite Disneyworld hotel because, typically, then I can see some of the fireworks show. And I enjoy a view of the front of a city hotel, rather than the sides or back, because then I can people watch; a far more interesting past time than watching the stillness of a landmark building facade.
I would, however, be remiss in this column if I did not also caution you about your response to the view category question in different cultures. For example, in one country, I opted for the far less expensive, yet equally pretty, courtyard view.
Apparently, the courtyard is where the hotel hosts their weddings, complete with loud DJ thumping music, which start at about 9 p.m. and end at about 4 a.m. So perhaps, my advice would be, when presented with varying view choices at a hotel, to simply ask for the QUIET view.
Zzzzz… Zzzzz…  

Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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