We are often asked exactly what are extended stay motels and extended stay hotels and what are their purpose? Although there are probably more answers than one, the primary reasons are as follows. Extended stay hotels and motels provide accommodations that create a "homelike" experience, and make longer stays more affordable. Instead of a small hotel or motel room, you will usually get something more along the lines of a studio suite. A studio suite is a hotel or motel room that will typically have a kitchenette and possible separate sleeping quarters. Some very nice extended stay motel and hotel suites will have a full living room to enjoy, making it feel even more like home and providing more room for entertaining business clients or enjoying time with the family.

Although there are many similarities between extended stay motels and extended stay hotels, there are also some important differences. If you are considering a family vacation that will last a week or more, you should always consider staying at an extended stay hotel or motel. The prices are affordable, the amenities are all inclusive, and you will have a lot more room to enjoy the company of your family. Just make sure to visit MotelReservations.net first and use all our free online research tools, such as customer reviews and travel guides, to make sure you book a room that is right for you.

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Extended Stay Motels and Extended Stay Hotels

Now if you are going to Europe, eating out everyday is like paying for a mortgage. IT’S EXPENSIVE. EVERYWHERE! In Europe a whopper cost 5 Euros. That’s about $7.20 USD. So just image what everything else costs. It’s crazy. Unless you are rich, get someplace with a kitchen and go grocery shopping. Shopping is comparable to the States,. A hostel, extended stay motel, hotel, anyplace you can find a kitchen. I can’t stress how important it is. Even get a Dorm. Now if you are going to the Philippines, don’t worry about getting a kitchen. The US Dollar is worth about 60-65 times the Pinoy peso. What you spend on a whopper they spend to feed their entire family for a week. So trading in your USD for Phils Peso is a good thing if you are taking a vacation to anyplace like that. Just a thought. One my last trip to London, I thought I was being smart by just looking for a cheap place to stay for my vacation…Kitchen..who needs it! How wrong I was. I would of been better off getting a more expensive motel with a kitchen and buying my food. When I tallied all my expenses up, just for food, just for myself, and my girlfriend, it came to 700 USD. That’s 2 car payments! Get a kitchen!

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How Important is it to have a Kitchen in your Motel Room?

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Stay Connected in the Air

I looked through many different containers, most to big, and finally came across the container that the 5 hours energy drink is put it. It’s tiny, and it was 4 oz. I hate the stuff, so I bought it, emptied it, washed it in their bathroom and then put my gel inside that. I also bought any other miscellaneous container that was there, and cheap. Filled them all with gel and then went back to the airport. To my surprise here are the containers they allowed me to bring on, even though they were over 3 oz. but looked small enough. 5 hour energy (small bottle), beef jerky tube (1/3 full), small advil bottle. Here’s the shocker one they allowed. Deodorant. Speed Stick to be precise. I took the normal sized plastic container they have, and turned the dial on the bottom until I was able to pull it all out. Washed it out and filled it up with my gel. Just to see if it would work. They didn’t even ask about it. They figured it was deodorant. When they didn’t ask about it, I told them what was in it. WHY? Because if I can think of it, others can to, and who knows what they can put in it. Once I told them, they called a manager on duty there, and he told me to pick it up and put it in my hair to prove it was gel. After that he allowed me to go through. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Happy it worked, but not so happy about our security. I hope after this blog an airline security person will read it and keep in mind what happened today and become a little more wise to the "not everything is what it seems" saying.

As I write this, on the tv station in the airport, Homeland Security is talking about new technologies that will allow the airports to ease up on the liquid restrictions by making the XRay scanning machines be able to more finely detect different liquids that are used for explosives by using 3D images, where as right now they are only implementing the use of 2D in the xrays. I hope so. But for right now, do a little search around your home and find tiny bottles to put your liquids and gels into. It’s better than having to throw them all away.

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Tips on Getting Around the Liquid and Gel Restrictions at Airports

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Cheap Extended Stay Motels and Flights

So here’s a travel tip. If you are going on a road trip, bring an inflatable mattress and your own pillow from home. If you are going by way of plane, then be prepared to buy a portable mattress and pillow at a local store. I know it seems like a crazy idea, but you’ll thank yourself for spending the extra $30 if you’re ever in a position like I was. Even days later I am feeling the effects of no sleep that night. Quite frankly, it ruined what would have been a very pleasant trip otherwise. I should know better by now, but now I’m making it a rule. Without a good nights sleep, the next day was just short of unbearable. If you’re planning on staying at a motel / hotel for more than a day, judge your sleeping by the first day. If it was bad, do yourself a favor and spend the extra money for an inflatable mattress and pillow. cYou will be glad you did the next day.

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Travel Tip – Mattresses and Pillows

Something I took for granted when I first started traveling was that my cellphone would work no matter where I went, and that I would simply have to pay roaming charges. That couldn’t of been further from the truth. The minute I stepped off the plane in Spain, my cellphone couldn’t reach a single carrier, and neither will yours without a world wide coverage plan, or a new sim card. A sim card is simply a card you place in your phone that will allow you to connect to a local cellphone carrier. You can buy them at any airport you visit. In fact the choice for new sims or calling plans in an overseas airport is as vast as the food venders at your local state fair. But speak the language, or you can be taken.

There are a many other ways to communicate internationally. One is to have satellite internet coverage on your phone, where you can use programs such as instant messengers to communicate. Skype is a big one. In fact if you have satellite internet coverage on your phone, simply load up the mobile phone version of skype and start calling anywhere you want. But again, unless you have a service that allows international connection to the internet, this will not work either. I have T-Mobile. so I called them up and signed up for their world wide roaming plan. But at 99 cents a minute, I used my cell phone sparingly. The name of the game is plan, plan, plan! Call you cell phone provider and ask questions. You may need a special sim card put in your phone to use world wide roaming. So you may need to take your phone to your local cell phone dealer. If you’re not so worried about a cell phone, your laptop is a great way to communicate in almost all extended stay motels, hotels, inns, …anywhere they provide internet access. My suggestion, connect to the internet, and use Skype to communicate. The video feed is almost like seeing the person in real life. It’s very fast. The audio feed is just as superior. It’s amazing, and it doesn’t cost you anything if the other person has Skype. If not skype use any number of the other IM services out there. But I’ve tried them all and Skype is the only one that seemed to reliably work across the oceans without a problem. I’m not even close to an expert in this field. So if anyone has another suggestion please feel free to list them.

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Cellphones and WorldWide Coverage

Being a student usually means you’re short on cash. Just comes with the territory. But low funds never went well with traveling. My little niece for her spring break wanted to go London with her friends. They did some searching and came across a site called STA. This company deals exclusively with students and people under the age of 26, offering in some cases up to 30 – 50% off already discounted airline tickets, hotels, motels, hostels. They offer touring discounts to many destinations, as well as meal and shopping, insurance, rail pass, and phone discounts. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first cause I’m neither in school, or under 26, but what got me curious is when she started talking about their "Study and Work Abroad" and their "World Traveler Internship" programs. I went to the site and started comparing prices to other well known motel/hotel reservation sites, checking prices on other sites for tickets as well. The student discounts for traveling this sites gives is pretty substantial. If you’re a student or under 26 no matter what country you are from take a look. She ended up going to London, roundtrip for $220 and that included motel accommodations….not bad!

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Student Discounts on Traveling

A passport is usually a small book almost as detailed as the money we have today. Encoded with varies colors and other patterns, layers, codes that are virtually impossible to forge. In the U.S. once you obtain your passport you will notice about 10 or 11 empty pages, and (in the new passport books) you will also find an electronic sticker. Kind of like you see on the back of a credit cards or drivers licenses to further make it much harder to forge. The purpose of the passport is to show that the country you are from, i.e., The United States has granted you permission to visit any country where all you need is a passport to enter. Such as London, Madrid etc.. the list is vast. Once you arrive in your place of destination you would show your passport to the immigration check desk where they will see that you are approved for travel by your country, and if all checks out, they will stamp your passport signifying you are eligible to "visit" their country. I say visit! If you plan to live there, you will need to obtain a citizenship type visa from the country you wish to stay in. This can not be granted by your home country. Which brings us to what a visa is.

Some countries, i.e., Asian Countries, third world countries…etc, will not allow you to simply come to their country on a passport alone. You will need to obtain a visa. This is for three reasons, and was explained to me by one of the people certified to issue passports and visas at my local court house. She said, one, usually these countries do not have strong ties to the U.S, so the trust issue is not there. Two, these countries are usually communist or socialist in government and carefully monitor all who enter and leave for control. Three…Money. When you sign up for a passport you usually pay your local court house the passport fee. Mine was $79. And your passport is good for the next 10 years. But a visa you have to not only pay a fee to your country, but also to the country you wish to visit. They want a piece of the pie. Now I’m sure there’s a more politically correct way to say all this, but this is how it was explained to me, and it makes sense.

How to obtain a passport or visa. It’s simple. First do not have warrants against you. Do not be a felon, and basically have a clean record. If you do not, your application will most likely be turned down. All you do is go to your local courthouse, ask where you apply for a passport, they will tell you, and at the station you will see a form for new applicants for passports. You grab the form and fill it out. It’s not tough, and takes about 5 minutes. You will need, however, two valid forms of identification and your SS card. Some say you need to bring an extra picture, and they will use that picture for your passport, but if you don’t have one, they will take one for you. That’s about it. You pay the fee and they will tell you that you should expect it within 4-6 weeks. If you are in good standing with the U.S. there’s really no reason you should be denied. The Visa was just as easy. I needed a visa to the Philippines. I told them where I wanted to go, they gave me a form. It took about 5 minutes to fill out, and I paid the fee. $55. I was told I would have to wait 3-6 weeks. Again, though, I just needed 2 forms of id and my SS. And my passport. You definitely need a passport to get a visa. That’s how simple it is for Americans to travel. If you can’t wait the 3-6 weeks to get your passport or visa, there are certain agencies that can get your passport or visa to you within 24-48 hours.

Losing your passport in another country can be a nightmare! I can’t stress this enough. Guard your passport with your life. In other countries, you’ll need to show your passport many times over. I.E. to get into lodging (hotels, extended stay motels, bed and breakfast, inns, vacation rental properties, car rental), trains, places of business. Even if you look suspicious the police have the right to ask for your passport. And you can not get back on your plane to go home without it. You’ll be stuck and forced to pay more fees to get a temporary passport to get back home, that’s of course providing you didn’t lose your identification as well. If you lose that you’re in for a whirlwind. Visiting international destinations can be great, but always keep track of your identification.

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What is a Passport or Visa? How do you obtain them?

As I got back from my flight today, and was sitting outside waiting for my ride to come pick me up, what I saw made me think one thing. The right travel luggage can make a world difference! A saw one family with the plastic luggage you might have bought back in the 80’s with the click and snap lock. The parents each had two of these suitcases, and their little boy (probably around 10) was carrying the same exact 30lb+ suitcase. Just dragging it on the ground trying to keep up. I had to laugh.

I saw a man carrying a duffle bag with clothes hanging out, while he was carrying his laptop in his other hand like a school boy carries his books. He was also waiting for a ride, so he leaned to his side to set his duffle bag down and when he stood up his laptop slipped and fell to the hard cement. I cringed! He cringed as he immediately kneeled down to pick it up to see if it was ok, and from his colorful use of english slang, everyone around him knew he had broke something on it.

Travel tip 1 – Get yourself some luggage on wheels. Usually this type of luggage has a handle that can adjust up and down, and you can drag it behind you with ease. Most airlines will allow you to bring onboard one carry on item and one piece of carry on luggage. Most of the luggage on wheels can fit right into the top shelf above your airline seat. Saving you the extra $25-$50 extra luggage fee most airlines are charging now.

Travel tip 2 – Never take your laptop with you if it’s unprotected. Get yourself a laptop case. Then set your laptop case on top of your wheeled luggage and stroll your way through the mile long walk to your connecting flight or to baggage claim to pick up your extra luggage, or anywhere! There’s no reason to muscle luggage up and down the airport. Plus if you carry your laptop with you, without a case you’re just asking for someone to steal it. Get the laptop case with a strap. Put the strap around you, and no one will steal it. If you put your laptop case on your wheeled luggage, take the strap and tie it to the handle. NEVER put your computer in your luggage and let the baggage handlers put it in the back of the plane! Always carry your computer with you onto the plane. Luggage gets lost all the time. It’s one thing to have your shirts misplaced, it’s a completely different ball game when your laptop goes missing.

I know luggage can be expensive, but if you know where to look, you can save a bundle. As much as 40 – 50% off store prices. All three of the stores in this article offer incredible deals. Do yourself a favor. Get yourself the luggage you deserve, and make your travel experience that much more enjoyable.

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The Right Travel Luggage Can Make a World of Difference