All week long I was researching hotels close to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC for an upcoming science convention. I kept coming back to the same hotel for several reasons. It was two blocks from the Convention Center, within walking distance to the White House and Smithsonian Museums, offered a full hot continental breakfast for free, and had refrigerators and microwaves in all of the guest rooms.

The one problem I had when I tried to book the hotel room straight from the hotel website was the price. I used other discount websites to compare prices and kept coming up with the same discounted price. I was a little leery of booking through a discount website and not straight from the hotel itself. I have heard horror stories that involved travelers showing up at the hotel they booked  only to find that the front desk had no reservations in their name.

I decided to call the hotel directly and speak with a reservation specialist. She was great. The first thing she did was look to see if any groups had booked a block of rooms for the convention at a discount. She would have squeezed me in that group if they had. Then she asked if I was a member of any organizations, which I was. I have had AAA for years. She searched for the best rates for the type of guest room I needed and came back with the exact priced that I had found on those discount sites. I was able to book my stay with the hotel itself and still enjoy the lower price.