How I accidentally travel hacked this week

Welcome to Daily Drop, the spiciest travel newsletter on the internet. Just like that extra kick of jalapeño in your salsa, we're here to add some zing to your travel hacking game.

And here’s what we have cooking today:

• 🏨 Best Western promotion (and review of one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in)

• 🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

Just so you know, I’m aware of the absurd degree of alliteration in the previous bullet points.

🏨 Best Western promotion (and review of one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in)

I’m gonna try something new today. In addition to telling you about a pretty solid promotion, I want to tell you about a hotel that I just spent 13 nights in.

And it was a Best Western. And it changed the way I think about Best Western…

I’m talking about the Best Western Plus Market Square Lviv, located in the heart of Lviv, Ukraine. 👇

Whatever you might be thinking at this time, you’re wrong.

Unless you’re thinking of a full-service, 5-star, brand-new hotel that is LITERALLY on the historic square of one of the most stunning cities on the planet.

I didn’t know what to expect when I first booked a $50 Best Western in a country that was at war, but it ended up being an absolutely wonderful hotel experience.

It was so good that after finishing the four nights I booked here originally, I added another six nights… and then three more… It was hard to leave…

Here’s why:

As I said, this hotel has a better location than almost any I’ve ever stayed at in a European old city center… The fact that it was only $50 per night was ridiculous.

The rooms were EXTREMELY comfortable. Everything was state of the art, and I rarely sleep as well as I did at this hotel… even at home.

The staff was incredible. I felt at ease immediately after arriving here, which is important when traveling in a place like Ukraine in the current climate.

They took care of every one of my needs and were super friendly. I never even had a slight problem over my 13-night stay, which is… well… unique, in the hotel world.

The restaurant was also stunning. They renovated the underground part of the building complex and turned it into a gorgeous restaurant and bar.

To make things even more interesting, this restaurant also acts as a bomb shelter during air raids in Lviv. You’d be surprised how much more at ease you feel in a bomb shelter if you can have a beer or cocktail in your hand.

I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. When I left today, I felt like I was leaving home.

To be clear, they have absolutely no clue I work in the travel world or that I was going to say anything about them. Honestly, I wasn’t planning on doing this. 

But I don’t think they realize how much better they are than some of the “best hotels in the world” that charge 20 times as much as them and have a worse product and experience.

I stay in a lot of hotels, and this one was special. And I want them to succeed. Especially because of the added travel hacks I stumbled upon during my stay here…

I accidentally ended up getting some decent value out of this stay because of a current promotion. Here’s how:

Best Western is currently offering a promotion to earn some easy gift cards after staying just two nights.

As I’ve told you in the past, you should always register for these promos when you see them pop up.

That’s exactly what I did, and unintentionally ended up earning $100 of gift cards because of my stays here…

But that’s not all…

A couple of years ago, I completed a Best Western status match to their top-tier Diamond Select elite status.

This status match is still being offered and has “no catch.”

This means that, unlike other status matches where you need to complete requirements to maintain status, Best Western will give you the status for at least a year.

In my case, it’s been longer. I honestly have no clue when it’s going to expire.

With my Diamond Select status (again, which I completely forgot I even had), I earned a ton of points from this stay and got a free room upgrade.

Additionally, because of my status, the staff let me extend my stay at the same rate that I had originally booked, despite the fact that the price had increased by that time.

This isn’t a published benefit of being a BW elite member, but just another testament to the quality of the hotel.

So, I know there’s a lot going on with this newsletter segment, but here’s what you need to remember:

Phew… I’m going to give my paws a break from typing. In the meantime, take a look at these tasty travel tidbits. 👇

🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• China successfully completes the first commercial flight of the new COMAC plane.

• Airline passenger opens the emergency door… mid-flight… yikes.

• Emirates orders a NEW type of plane, which could mean amazing new seats.

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

This is definitely an interesting one, y’all… I was surprised to learn this exists. But we live in a strange world.

Correct answer: Diego Maradona  

And no, I'm not making this up. Many believe that Argentian football star Diego Maradona's skills deemed him half-human, half-angel. And because of that, many still worship him to this day...in a church...dedicated to him.  

Iglesia Maradoniana de Mexico has spread to several other countries around the world, and now, the church has more than half a million followers. 

They even have a set of ten commandments. Intrigued yet? Thinking of converting? You can read more about the church here. 

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That’s all for today, folks. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE it when my expectations of a hotel or airline are blown out of the water.

Take care and have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday,

49.8397° N, 24.0297° E 🇺🇦