While planning a vacation, we compare the prices of travel, food along with the accommodation. Sometimes, a vacation can cost a lot which might be discouraging for some. Thus, saving on hotels and room bookings can plan a vacation for you at the cheapest rates.
A few true-and-tried hotel booking tips and tricks can help you get the best price possible. With these tips, you’ll be spending less money on hotels and freeing up funds for other parts of your trip — or even the next one!
Get the best hotel deals online
- Compare prices online with Hotel Booking Sites: Thanks to the advent of the Internet, there are more ways than ever to compare prices directly. While you could check with each hotel’s website and compare them, you could also make use of hotel booking sites such as SATA Travels or any of the countless others that will do that work for you.
- Travel Offseason: The biggest savings come from travelling during your destination’s off-season or shoulder season. But even if you can’t plan your trip around low-season prices, you can still save by opting to start your stay on a Sunday rather than a Friday. Travel midweek for even better prices.
- Call or Email the hotel directly: While comparison sites can offer great deals, the only real way to know that you’re getting the best deal is by contacting the hotel directly. The email will often work, but calling is a more immediate option. You can inquire if there are any special packages, deals, or discounts, and even consider mentioning the prices you’ve found for their rooms on comparison sites, in case they want to make a competing offer.
- Search for coupons online: Coupons are an easy way to save money. Sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial are great for finding coupons. Make sure what you are purchasing in a particular time frame and whether the coupon is valid for cancellation or not.
- Look for packages: Travel packages are liable to be very specific and may or may not fit your exact needs, but if you find one that’s workable, these packages tend to come with a sizable discount for bundling everything together! Try looking through tour sites for your particular area. Sometimes big destinations will have bundles that offer attractions, food, and lodging together.
- Don’t forget to check sites like Airbnb: Airbnb and similar sites offer a huge number of listings of locally hosted homes and apartments available to rent for a time. The offerings are also wildly varied, so if you’re interested in staying somewhere other than your run-of-the-mill hotel, this is a great option. While these offerings tend to be cheaper, they often don’t come with the same commodities that a hotel stay would, and the policies of each listing are entirely up to the owners, so keep that in mind.
- Consider hotels that don’t appear on major search sites: Look for the hotels that are not in the list of majorly searched because these hotels are likely to be cheaper. In fact, these hotels tend to be cheaper since they’re not getting internet customers! Talk with family, friends, and locals; anyone who might be able to give you some good local hotel tips.
- Avail membership privileges: You don’t have to be a frequent traveller to take advantage of frequent-traveller discounts. Sign up for rewards programs linked to a credit card and start earning points toward free stays. Even if you never achieve a free stay, simply belonging to a program can ease your way to a room upgrade or, at the very least, free Wi-Fi.
- Book in advance: Hotels hate empty rooms, so the earlier they can fill them the more willing they are to give you a deal. Many properties will discount rooms anywhere from 15 to 20 per cent off the going rate if you’re willing to commit more than 14 days before your stay.
- Beware of hidden costs: Mandatory resort fees don’t always appear in the property descriptions posted on popular online travel agency (OTA) sites. Likewise, parking costs and Internet charges may be buried in the fine print. Read carefully to make sure you’re really comparing apples to apples before you book.
- Don’t pay for the amenities you don’t need: Your hotel is passing the cost of its swimming pool and fitness centre onto its guests. If you’re not likely to take advantage of them, find another place to stay. Odds are you’ll find a suitable room for a lot less.
- Get upgraded for free: Price isn’t the only measure of a great deal. To improve your chances of getting a room upgrade, wait until about 6:00 p.m. to check-in. At that point, the front desk will know which of the nicer rooms are still vacant and you’ll have an increased chance of scoring a better room, minus the extra cost.
- Take advantage of freebies: After the cost of flights and accommodations, meals take up the biggest portion of most people’s travel budget. Look for a hotel that offers daily free breakfast—even a buffet—to rack up real in-trip savings. The same goes for an in-room coffee pot, refrigerator, and microwave.
- Bundle your hotel and flight bookings: Booking your flight and hotel together can lead to savings. While booking flights, deals appear on various websites, try and choose the best one!
- Check to see where prices are increasing or decreasing: If you’re not set on a particular destination, take a look at Hotel.com’s Hotel Price Index, which provides information on where hotel prices are increasing or decreasing. The results are based on bookings made on the website and prices paid by customers per room per night including taxes and fees.
- Mention when it’s a special occasion: Whether it’s your birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, or the first time at the hotel, it never hurts to mention that you are celebrating a special time. Sometimes, it can lead to upgrades or amenities kits that make you feel special.
Thus, get ready to save on your hotel deals with the help of the above hacks! Happy Vacation!