The South Carolina Picture Project is sponsored by readers like you and HotelGuides.com.
Hotel Guides
The South Carolina Picture Project’s major sponsor is HotelGuides.com. Based right here in South Carolina, Hotel Guides helps people make hotel reservations across the United States and Canada.
Here is why I personally love and value Hotel Guides – aside from the fact that they help keep this website up and running, of course!
One of the things I appreciate most about this company is that when I call to book a room, I get a local South Carolina customer service agent on the phone to help me. No outsourcing! Hotel Guides employees over 20 South Carolina customer service agents, and even though this is more expensive for them, they believe in investing in South Carolinians and they believe that the service you get from a local agent is more personable and more competent than you would get otherwise.
Of course, I can also make a reservation easily online, because their website is the simplest, most straightforward hotel booking website in the world. It is absolutely transparent. For example, they show you all the available discounts (like discounts for AAA, AARP, government, and military), which most other companies block.
They also don’t charge booking fees, which is unheard of, so the price you see is the price you get. Same thing with cancellation fees. None!
Another great thing? If something goes wrong with your hotel reservation, they will reimburse you for that shortcoming with a check for actual cash cash! No other companies do that. They just give you a credit to use on their own website in the future.
Same thing if you happen to find a rate that is lower than theirs (although, because they don’t charge booking fees, that can be difficult to do). But if you do, they’ll send you a check for the difference – plus $10!
Absolute best thing, though? For every reservation you make, you earn $5. When you make 5 or more reservations, Hotel Guides will send you a check for $25 dollars. This is not a credit. It’s cash. People who make a lot of reservations – for example, administrative assistants who book rooms for their companies – earn hundreds of dollars this way.