Like iris, I also am comfortable winging it.. it's part of the adventure. This may sound contrary to what I said about having a destination and a timeframe, but I'm used to being in positions where I'm not sure exactly where I'll be staying the night. I do what iris does, but I usually filter the findings by my hotel rewards memberships.

When my daughter and I took a half-cross-country trip from Houston to NJ, we just took what we got most of the time. The only time I am quick to book a hotel is if I'm going to a conference because the blocked rooms tend to go very quickly and I like not having to leave one hotel to go to another.