$hit happens. No matter how well you plan a trip, something is bound to go wrong that isn’t in your control. Whether or not the trip becomes a ‘disaster’ is totally in your control. Here are 5 quick tips for rolling with it…
1) Confirm! After recently showing up at a state park for a cabin reservation made 11 months in advance, turns out not every booking agency is going to call you for updates!
In this case the park was still open (cabin able to be occupied), but all of the park activities like swimming, kayaking and hiking were closed due to flooding (no fun to be had!).
Large hotel chains might be more apt to notify you of a change, especially if you are a rewards member of some sort, but sometimes it is about the activity planned, not just the accommodation. Find ways to confirm to help ensure the experience you are planning.
2) Don’t be scared to bail. When that moment comes that you realize you have to totally change plans, commit. Don’t waffle. In this case, we knew the state park wasn’t going to hold our attention for 3 days (never mind the attention of 2 young, wild boys).
We knew we should pull the plug. Had we waffled, planning an on-the-fly alternative would have been even tougher. A few details lined up immediately, others didn’t and changed several times.
But in the end, we ended up in a sweet 4-star resort, a waterpark hotel, and even found ourselves as annual pass holders to Sea World. Didn’t see that coming!
3). When possible, keep electronics (and extra accessories) handy, charged and organized. Lucky to have cell service, the most stressful part of re-game planning was hearing the 10% power beep and no reservations. On top of it, I couldn’t find my cord and the back up charger was almost dead too.
I found myself hustling back to the truck to “plug in for some juice” right about the time I was ready to click confirm on a hard to find last minute accommodation. Seeing the phone go dead with only ‘one room left’ on hotels.com didn’t exactly help the situation.
4) Know your apps. Re-book and plan with the apps you are most familiar with and have your info saved to. Stick with what you know and with what knows you.
When you have a profile and billing info saved, it will speed up the process and keep you connected with what’s going on in front of you.
Besides, if you are a weekend warrior like us, you don’t have time to waste on creating a new plan! We use the Hotels.com app quite a bit.
5) Keep calm. Even in those trying moments, keep the spirits upbeat and try not to make your entire group wallow in the ‘what-could-have-beens’.
Take one step at a time and one-decision at a time. Find ways to experience something you otherwise wouldn’t have. In the end, you’ll have quite a story to tell!
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