Last Friday, I wrote about The Suitest, a new hotel finder, and Declan asked what I thought about Hotel Tonight. He must have read my mind, because I just saw that app advertised and was wondering about it myself. Hotel Tonight is an app that offers last-minute deals on unsold hotel rooms in many cities. Discounts can be up to 70%. You can book the deals “easily and securely” on your smartphone. Rooms open up at noon on the first day of the reservation and can be booked for 1 – 5 days.
I went online last Friday and today looked for rooms in Chicago and NYC. Here is what I found:
The rates were remarkably good and they have many price points and good descriptors. They are live in many cities, too. I just picked NYC and Chicago because I know the price points in those cities. This is a great option if you have a reservation that can be cancelled on the first day of your stay (or if you are adventurous and show up places with no reservations!) I am too much of a nervous Nelly for no reservations, but if I have one that I can cancel, I would definitely give this a shot.
What do you think? Will you try this? Do you ever wait until you get somewhere to make reservations?
I first tried Peet’s Coffee with my friend Josh in San Francisco in the late 1990s and could easily see why he was hooked. Since then, I happily have Peet’s in Chicago whenever I am nearby. Peet’s just launched a new single serving product and a new initiative called Give A Cup, the Internet’s “first social sampling experiment.” This week they are in Chicago!
What is a social sampling experiment? Here’s how it works: Each week, people can go to Give A Cup (doyougiveacup.com) and vote on a topic. The topics are “fun, current and sometimes a bit quirky”. Votes determine where in the four cities they will host the sampling events each week. You can then go to the place (find out the exact locations and times on Twitter) to try some coffee (free) from their coffee truck.
Give A Cup about kale? Maybe they will show up at Green City Market. Don’t give a cup about kale? See you at Vosges instead. Well, Chicago friends, you may have missed the vote in the social sampling experiment! The Chicago question was “Do you Give A Cup about Zombies?” I answered “no” but the majority of voters said yes, so they will be at the Classic Cinemas at Ogden Plaza. Get it? You can always keep up with where they’ll be on Twitter.
Well, I do Give A Cup about good coffee and getting free things (and sharing info about free things in Chicago, too.) I am going to see if I can get me one on this weekend. Where? Saturday on Randolph St or Sunday in Wrigleyville/Lakeview/Andersonville. (Godspeed coffee truck – it’s the Pride Parade in Lakeview!)
How about you? Do you Give A Cup?
Please note: Peet’s Coffee sponsored this post. All opinions are my own.
Deals and Finds:
- Want to support an awesome women owned company with a great mission? Help Handful move their sports bra manufacturing to the USA and get great perks in their Crowd Supply campaign, too – a WIN WIN!
- Active Junky has 10% cash back at Moosejaw and they have a 50% off sale with an extra $5 off with the code ACTIVE 5. You have to sign up for Active Junky but it’s free! Click through Active Junky for the cash back deal.
- Check out great national deals at Gilt City get 25% off if you are not a member and sign up – free!
- National deals: Get 50% off on Paleo or vegetarian meals for delivery from Beetnik and 30-40% on memberships and DNA kits (whoa) from Ancestry.com
- In Chicago: Get 48% off on a massage or facial with a pedicure at Balance Spa at the Palmer House (Stacy and I did this and it was worth $85 for sure!!). get $10 free for Hailo taxi app or save 40-45% on Meez Meals – delicious meal ingredients and recipes with all of the pre-work done – (I also love these!)
- In Los Angeles, get 54% off on brunch or wine and mezze at Momed in Beverly Hills or get the Gilt City special dinner for 2 at Wolfgang Puck’s WP24
- Of course, there are great city deals in NYC, San Diego and more!
- Get an extra 10% off of already discounted prices at Derailed with code DALJULY3. 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.)
- Give the gift of blissmo with $5 off coupon code: GIFT.
- Need another great reason to check out Amazon local deals? How about 3% cash back from ebates? They have great national deals, too. Check it out! In Chicago, you can save 32% on the Bastille Day 5K or 10K in Lincoln Park on July 11 – it’s always a fun one!
- Get 20% off at Athleta this weekend with the code 20FIREDUP (don’t forget an extra 2% cash back from 3% cash back from ebates, too!)
- Get an extra 20% on great spa deals in major metros this weekend from Lifebooker Loot with the code DEALTWENTY (valid on deals up to $250)
- In Chicago, NYC, DC of Philly? Sidetour is celebrating getting 10,000 likes on Facebook by giving a $20 credit on any experiences booked by July 1. Click here
That’s all I have for now! Have a great weekend and if you are in Chicago,have fun and be safe celebrating the Hawks and Gay Pride!
PS. Don’t forget to check out and enter my The Cookie Department Functional Cookie giveaway!