Travel Deal of the Day (May 3, 2010)

The recent volcanic activity and the related flight cancellations brought up an issue for many airline passengers - what do I do if I am stuck in a location (other than my home) overnight and need to find accommodations. If you find yourself in this situation and the airline will not pay for your accommodation expenses, be sure to check out the "distressed passenger rate."

The Deal:
Many hotels will offer an extremely low nightly rate usually referred to as the "distressed passenger rate." This rate will often not be available online and may not even be available by calling the nationwide reservations number. Usually, you must call a hotel directly to obtain this rate. You will usually find this rate is most common at hotels that are close to an airport. Some hotels will require that you obtain some sort of document from the airline you are flying demonstrating that you have been stranded because of some event and that you are eligible for this rate.

The Inside Scoop:
The distressed passenger rate is often quite a discount off of standard rates. You may still do better by using a deep discounter such as Priceline or Hotwire, but if you are stranded overnight without complimentary accommodations, you should enquire before leaving the airport about documentation for a distressed passenger rate and call around to airport hotels to check on the distressed passenger rate.