TarHeelMom
Cathlete
I answered a question on another thread about how roommates handle the hotel finances, and I thought I'd re-post it here for everybody to more easily notice. Also note my add-in info about getting your boarding pass for Sunday.
Our hotels are aware that many people are splitting a room, and they're happy to divide the bill equally for you.
We DO recommend two things:
(1) When you check in, tell them up front that you need the bill split even-steven, and tell them how many people will be sharing and what the roommates' names are. Make sure each roommate has given the front desk his/her credit card number sometime before Saturday.
(2) Go down to the front desk with your roommate(s) on Saturday (you can even do this in the late evening when you get back after the party at Cathe's gym -- I know it'll be late, but trust me it's better than going downstairs at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday) and make sure your bill is all set. Then you won't even have to "check out" on Sunday -- they'll put a final bill under the door during the night showing you what was charged to whose credit card, and you can just leave your keys in the room and vamoose.
P.S. Don't forget when you leave on Sunday to leave a little cash tip in your hotel room for housekeeping. Rule of thumb is: $1 per roommate per day, more if you're generous or the service has been especially nice.
Re: your boarding passes for Sunday --- There are a couple of computers with printers in the Fairfield Inn lobby and I'm sure there must be some over at the Residence Inn, too (I'll confirm that and get back to ya. ;-)). This means that you can print your boarding pass for Sunday's flight. Airlines generally allow you to confirm your ticket and print your boarding pass from their website at least 24 hours in advance.
Last year I didn't manage to get this done in that little window of time between "get back to the hotels feeling really stinky and gross after the all-day classes to shower and dress for dinner" and "have to leave now for dinner", and I discovered when I got back to the hotel later that there was a pretty long wait for those computers at that point. So I washed my face, brushed my teeth, took out my contacts, put on my Coke bottle glasses, lavishly moisturized my pitiful tired face, put on my jammies, packed all my gear, laid out my Sunday morning clothes, double-checked my Sunday morning gym/flight bag, laid out my housekeeping tip, and THEN went back downstairs in my p.j.'s and glasses (nope, not kidding) about midnight to print my boarding pass. Worked like a charm. Cheap thrills for the night crew at the front desk. ;-)
http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/6.gif Kathy S. http://planetsmilies.net/sport-smiley-5536.gif
Our hotels are aware that many people are splitting a room, and they're happy to divide the bill equally for you.
We DO recommend two things:
(1) When you check in, tell them up front that you need the bill split even-steven, and tell them how many people will be sharing and what the roommates' names are. Make sure each roommate has given the front desk his/her credit card number sometime before Saturday.
(2) Go down to the front desk with your roommate(s) on Saturday (you can even do this in the late evening when you get back after the party at Cathe's gym -- I know it'll be late, but trust me it's better than going downstairs at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday) and make sure your bill is all set. Then you won't even have to "check out" on Sunday -- they'll put a final bill under the door during the night showing you what was charged to whose credit card, and you can just leave your keys in the room and vamoose.
P.S. Don't forget when you leave on Sunday to leave a little cash tip in your hotel room for housekeeping. Rule of thumb is: $1 per roommate per day, more if you're generous or the service has been especially nice.
Re: your boarding passes for Sunday --- There are a couple of computers with printers in the Fairfield Inn lobby and I'm sure there must be some over at the Residence Inn, too (I'll confirm that and get back to ya. ;-)). This means that you can print your boarding pass for Sunday's flight. Airlines generally allow you to confirm your ticket and print your boarding pass from their website at least 24 hours in advance.
Last year I didn't manage to get this done in that little window of time between "get back to the hotels feeling really stinky and gross after the all-day classes to shower and dress for dinner" and "have to leave now for dinner", and I discovered when I got back to the hotel later that there was a pretty long wait for those computers at that point. So I washed my face, brushed my teeth, took out my contacts, put on my Coke bottle glasses, lavishly moisturized my pitiful tired face, put on my jammies, packed all my gear, laid out my Sunday morning clothes, double-checked my Sunday morning gym/flight bag, laid out my housekeeping tip, and THEN went back downstairs in my p.j.'s and glasses (nope, not kidding) about midnight to print my boarding pass. Worked like a charm. Cheap thrills for the night crew at the front desk. ;-)
http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/6.gif Kathy S. http://planetsmilies.net/sport-smiley-5536.gif