Some people pick hotels by best price (the husband) or best value (me, of course). Some people are more discerning. Good news, discerning folks, now there is a site for you. Check out The Suitest. Now in beta, this new travel site promises, “More bed. Less bread.” The Suitest crunches [numbers on] billions of room prices and amenities so you save money from standard digs to the penthouse suite.”
The site is also kind of fun to use. It lets you pick the location and then offers a variety of information on the rooms, deals, pricing and most innovatively, amenities. They summarize this with a “Suite Score” which tell you how the offered room “measures-up to its peers” by comparing the size, amenities, view and hotel quality of tens of thousands of room-types in their database. They also have a “Deal Grade” which gives a report card by room of whether you are getting a good deal or not. (You can also double check on Hotwire – just saying!)
They “hunt-down and clean-up room data from across the internet so you know exactly what you’re getting before you open the door to your room.” Their statistics engine crunches a ton of data points to determine the fair value of each room on any set of nights – they even tell you by square foot. (That is nice but I am not buying the place!)
One feature that I really like is that they also show additional fees like resort fees, parking and wifi fees. The Suitest lets you see whether a room is still a deal after including all the fees that matter to you.
I am having a ton of fun playing with this site. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Ever want to record the oral history, or exploits, of your most interesting family member? If you are in Chicago (or NYC), now you can, with StoryCorps. The decade-old oral history project that has captured 45,000 Americans’ stories for preservation at the Library of Congress has a new recording booth at the Chicago Cultural Center ( 78 E. Washington St.)
When you go to the Cultural Center’s soundproof studio, you’ll have 40 minutes of uninterrupted time for to ask all of the questions you have been meaning to ask. A StoryCorps facilitator manages the equipment and helps to move things along. When you are finished, you get a free CD of the taping to take home.
Recordings from StoryCorps play each week on NPR’s Morning Edition and a selection of great stories is available online or via this app. Just try not to tear up at this one. Read more on Pure Wow.
As usual, lots of great deals out there! Lots of cool deals on summer fun at all the national/local deal sites, too!
- Check out great national deals at Gilt City get 25% off if you are not a member and sign up – free!
- Get 25% off on full priced products at Coach – FREE!
- Get $50 for $25 on cool watches from RumbaTime
- In Chicago, get 50% off on juices and smoothies at Starfruit, try dinner, brunch or a delish picnic from Pecking Order in Uptown (36% off) or make like Erin and get 54% off on a class at The Trapeze School of NY
- In NYC, get summer fit with over 50% off at Pedal NYC, over 50% off great yoga options at Yoga Union Square
- Of course, there are great city deals in San Diego, Los Angeles and more!
- In Chicago and need a sous chef? Try Meez Meals this week for $15 for 3 meals for 2 people. All ingredients come prepped with recipe cards and nutrition information. They are delicious. Use code Friend15 and my name (Erica Agran) or get $20 off with code TRY20.
- Fleet Feet Chicago is offering a free pair of SmartWool PhD Run Socks with the purchase of any in stock SmartWool apparel while supplies last!
- Get an extra 15% off on summer apparel and running gear at Derailed (discount included in prices) through June 26th. Get an extra $10 off for signing up for their newsletter – great deals!
- Choose organic beauty products with Juice Beauty and get free shipping over $50 and 3 free samples. Check out their web specials for great deals like the Summer Beauty Pack ($65 – a $95 value! includes free shipping.)
- Free shipping, sale and extra 20% off at Abe’s Market with code PANTRY20 (must create a free account to use discount)
- Get running shoes and lots of other great sports stuff direct from MizunoUSA.com
with Free Shipping over $75 with the code SHIP75.
- Get great deals on summer travel from FareBuzz. Get $15 off on flights with the code MANAGER15 or $10 other reservations with the code FB10.
- Living Social has Miracle Gro Gro-Ables Salad and Herb kits for $19 (37% off) with free shipping. Cool summer project started for you!
That’s all I have for now! It is going to be a hot weekend here in Chicago. Stay cool, friends!
