Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective: Insider Tips on Getting the Best Value, Service, and Security in Accommodations from Bed-And-Breakfasts to Fi

Today show travel editor Greenberg (The Travel Detective) is determined to get travelers the best hotel rooms and perks for the least amount of money, whether they're staying at a Holiday Inn or a Ritz-Carlton. His advice covers everything from how to tip, snag a nice room and make friends with the concierge to ordering room service and childproofing a room. His advice is a choppy mix of the valuable (e.g., a hotel's Web site isn't always the best place to find the lowest rate), the commonsensical (e.g., beware the charges that may be incurred for merely opening a mini bar), the gutsy (e.g., ask if there's a handicapped-accessible room available when arriving at a hotel--even if you're not handicapped--since those rooms are larger), the far-fetched (e.g., if room service won't bring a specific dish, call the hotel dining room and ask them to deliver what you want via room service) and the paranoid (e.g., hotels that have in-room safes aren't trustworthy). All the same, Greenberg's chatty humor and use of detailed anecdotes will be appreciated by both jet-setters and those just beginning their travels