Discovering Savings In A World of Change

The world, the travel industry, and the life of yours truly has undergone a rapid fire change over the past several months. That included a change of homes. Oddly enough, that change of homes led me to discover a way to legally not pay taxes for our “between houses” hotel stay.

I sold my old house. About a month before closing we had an estate sale, as I was downsizing to less than half my space and possessions. Because neither the cat nor I had any interest in sleeping on and eating under furniture that were constantly being shuffled around, I decided the better part of valor was to take a temporary leave of absence.

Being the penny pincher that I am, we wound up at the Budget Suites in Addison, Texas (they refer to this venue as Suites of America). And that’s where the discovery began.

I knew we would be there at least one month. After all, the estate sale was still two weeks off, and although I had not made a final decision on the purchase of my new home, the one I had my eye on was going to take some restoration before we could move in. My contractor told me it would take two weeks to restore. Having enjoyed watching The Money Pit more than twice, I immediately translated his estimate into six weeks. We were both wrong: It took a little over two months.

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The 30-Day Rule

During that time I learned a travel secret or two for folks wanting to take a month-long vacation, a between-houses/remodeling/restoration stay, or an extended business visit in the U.S. After 30 consecutive days, hotel guests get their stay TAX FREE! (I referenced the rule from Texas, but other states have similar rules.) Two extended stay hotels I checked had a policy of charging the tax up front and reimbursing you on day 31. Budget Suites allows you to pay the full month’s bill and not bother with the tax at all.

This amounted to more than $104 in savings, as the tax rate I would have paid in that location was over 13%.

If you visit their website, you’ll see an advertisement “rates starting at $179.” I called to find out which location(s) had those rates (these are standard rates, not specials). Given that I didn’t want either the cat or me to wind up as characters in a future CSI or SVU episode, I kept looking for a more suitable area. Addison happened to be in both a desirable area and relatively close to “home” but normally at a rate of $229 per week. Happily, they were running a special. So at the $199 rate per week for a first floor room, less the tax, but with the prorated pet deposit ($40/mo up to $150), our first 30 days ran us $836, or an average of $28 per day.

After the initial 30 days, we were able to use the locked in special rate to pay weekly — as they have a nasty little policy that states if you pay them more than you actually stay in advance, you’re pretty much SOL. No Refunds! And we weren’t really sure just how long we needed to stay in residence. The catch here is that when you do that, you get charged an $11.95 installment fee — per week, or day.

Photo credit: Destination360 Addison Texas

You see, after 30 days, hotel guests are considered “permanent residents.” And although it is not required for said “residents” to pay their “rent” in full, they are charged an “installment fee” for their partial payments. After all, who wants to pony up four weeks worth of rent and discover your stay was cut short by half, leaving you with an involuntary contribution of $398 you could not recover? Yet, had I known we would be there a full two months, I could have saved approximately $48 in “installment fees.”

Knowing Your Options for Savings

Residents at Budget Suites usually provide their own linens, kitchen supplies, and anything else one would normally use in an apartment. TVs are standard; HD-TVs are extra, as are microwave ovens and maid service. Other venues include these items as part of the deal, but their rates are higher. We chose Budget Suites strictly for the price and pet-friendly policy.

The point here is to know your fee structures and options. If you’re planning on staying in one location for a month or two, ask for their residency policy. Knowing their policy helps you manage your cash flow in saving hundreds — or even thousands, depending on the venue (there are some plush extended stay options as well) — of your vacation or business dollars. Then ask about their refund policy, if they charge installment fees, and what is and is not included in the quoted rates. Also ask for specials they may be running, even in peak season (naturally the specials will be better off-peak, but don’t assume they don’t exist during peak, especially in today’s economy). These policies, depending on your venue of choice, can make a real difference in cost savings.

Happy Traveling!