During my travels in London and Amsterdam this week, my adventures have been made a bit smoother by two tools: HotelTonight and T-Mobile.

The last-minute booking app, HotelTonight, was already on my phone, but until this trip I hadn’t had much need or incentive to use it.

But I turned to the app (and some banked credit) when faced with a shifting itinerary and out-of-my-budget prices for a long list of  familiar and recommened-by-friends hotels.

The app’s curated selection of available bookings – leaning to boutique and indepentent properties – came through for me in Amsterdam, especially, where I found a good last-minute rate and friendly folks at The Albus, a  hip, centrally-located hotel I would have been unlikely to find on my own.

Until now, the HotelTonight booking window was day-of and up to seven nights out, but the booking window has just been expanded in 14 major cities, including San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, London and Las Vegas, and should be expanded in around 30 national and international markets by the end of this year

Most all my travel buddies already use – and highly recommend – the T-Mobile ONE plan that includes  unlimited international data and low-cost phone international calls, but I’d been stubbornly clinging to an old ATT plan.

I’ve got a loaner T-Mobile sim card in my phone for this trip and have been able delighted at how it makes it easier to get around, download maps, check out attractions, read email, stay in touch and deal with some less-than-ideal wireless situations in hotels.

Note to self: switch mobile phone service when you get home.

Thanks for visiting Stuck at the Airport. Subscribe to get daily travel tidbits. And follow me on Twitter at @hbaskas and Instagram.