Avoid Hotel Telephones

UniquePhones > Travel > Avoid Hotel Telephones

For years, hotels have looked up the phones in rooms as legalized highway robbery. While they provide you with a phone by the bed, on the desk with a data port and fax and maybe even one in the bedroom for convenience, they also charge rates that are beyond reason. Often international rates are as much as $10 per minute with even local calls clocking in at $1 per minute. And you thought hotel laundry was expensive!

Because most of the larger hotels in the world have upgraded their phone systems to provide you with all this, they've spent a lot of money doing those upgrades. Consequently, they are now becoming more clever about keeping you talking on their phones. Many travelers rely on phone cards but many hotels now block their use completely or charge a $2-3 access fee for even dialing them.

Having your own cell phone can get you around this bit of blackmail. With localized SIM cards or global roaming cards, you have smaller hotel bills and less chance of needing oxygen upon seeing your bill at checkout.

Check card rates for your itinerary using our comparison tool and think of all the other fun things you can do with the savings.