Our flight is very early in the morning… 7:15 a.m.   I know, that doesn’t seem outrageously early but a 7:15 flight actually means getting up around four o’clock in the morning.  We live over an hour away from the airport, and it is an international flight so that means you have to check in earlier. Getting up at 4:00 a.m… flying…. then filming the rest of the day sounds…..hmmmm….. not fun. So our solution is to stay overnight close to the airport.  YAY! Now where to stay?

Several years ago I remember a friend telling me that you could stay over one night at a certain hotel in Atlanta and they would let you leave your car in their parking lot for up to two weeks… FREE! They would also take you to the airport with their shuttle.  I decided to see if any of the hotels near our airport provided this service.  Sure enough all the hotels within 10 minutes of the airport allow you to do this.  Some of them charge a different rate for what they call Park and Fly, others just provide the shuttle and parking complimentary.  There are also different kinds of shuttle services. Some hotels offer a shuttle from 5 a.m. to midnight, others need 24 hour notice. There are also hotels that allow you to set up the shuttle when you check in.

Since we want to get the best rate I did a little online research and eliminated the ones that charge a higher rate for Park and Fly.  The next step after I figured out what hotel I wanted was get on Priceline and try naming my own price. Admittedly, this can be risky if you’re not careful about the booking parameters.  Priceline does not allow you to choose a specific hotel when you name your own price. However, you can narrow the field considerably by location, star level and several other factors.  In our situation, the hotel I wanted was the only 3 star in the specified location.  Essentially,  I was able to choose the hotel I wanted!  After I had the hotel booked on Priceline, I called the hotel directly to make sure they had a room for 3 since Priceline only books by room and not number of people.  I also verified my booking and their shuttle service times. Viola!  If I subtract the money I am saving by not parking at the airport ( and the extra hour and a half of sleep!) my 3 star hotel room only costs $30.   It was totally worth the hour or so I spent doing the research.

Enjoying the Journey,

Courtney