The Ultimate Guide to Save Money on Hotels When Travelling

 

Frequent travelers know the ins and outs of getting great hotel room deals while being flexible with their travel dates can often save time and money when traveling during high-demand seasons or special events.

Check multiple booking sites as some have exclusive hotel deals that could result in lower prices.

1. Book Direct

Hotel staff may not always make this clear, but loyalty programs or direct booking guests tend to receive superior service and amenities than those who book through third-party sites. As direct bookings tend to be more profitable for hotels, this allows them to provide their best customers with exclusive offers and rewards.

Booking directly with hotels rather than using an online travel agency (or their official website) often pays dividends in terms of savings. Third-party sites charge fees, whereas when booking directly through them there won't be any such costs attached.

Hotels often provide non-refundable prepaid rates that can save you money if you know when and where you will travel, but it's important to remember that should your plans change unexpectedly, your payment won't be returned unless you purchase Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance.

Hotels may add additional fees that aren't part of the room rate itself, such as parking or resort fees. Therefore, it's essential to evaluate all costs associated with staying at each hotel and compare them in order to ensure you're getting an excellent value.

Hotel chains now frequently offer best-rate guarantees that match or beat prices found elsewhere when it comes to hotel booking. This can save a considerable amount when making reservations if your travel dates are flexible and you are willing to devote some time researching prices. With a travel rewards credit card, you could even reap additional savings, as 1.5% cash back will be added directly to your account for each dollar spent.

2. Travel During the Off-Season

Hotels often seem like an inevitability when planning a trip, prompting travelers to cut other parts of their itinerary in order to accommodate hotel costs. But hotel prices can actually change according to season and time of year - those willing to travel in the off-season can save a substantial amount by booking hotels at lower rates.

Off-season travel destinations generally experience lower tourism numbers and offer reduced hotel and travel essential prices, including airfare. Furthermore, many hotels will even provide complimentary amenities or suite upgrades during lulls in bookings. Of course, visiting a destination at any time may not always be best; visiting a ski area during winter can offer very different experiences than enjoying beaches during summer.

Research your destination carefully, understanding that every destination has an off-season for good reason. At these times of the year, it may be extremely cold, rainy, or snowy making outdoor activities impractical, and tourist attractions may reduce hours or close altogether.

Based on this, it's ideal to travel during the off-season whenever possible, which will enable you to experience a destination more affordably while avoiding large crowds and long lines at tourist sites. Popular cities like Paris, Amsterdam, and London often offer huge discounts during this period; you'll be able to explore them with greater ease while saving a bundle on hotel costs!

3. Be Flexible

While it can seem challenging, being flexible when traveling can help save money on hotels. For example, booking flights and accommodation during less popular days of the week or avoiding travel during events or conventions that increase hotel prices may help save you money when booking hotels.

Adjusting your itinerary to save money can also save money on accommodations by selecting nearby destinations instead of your original desired one. For instance, if Paris is too costly for your budget, look into other cities or regions in France offering similar experiences at lower costs; this way you'll get to explore more of this beautiful country without compromising your travel goals.

One way to be flexible is to join hotel loyalty programs. Hotels appreciate repeat business and will often reward loyal guests by providing discounted rates or upgrades; in addition, booking directly through hotels often yields better deals than booking through aggregator websites.

Stay flexible by booking non-refundable room rates, which typically saves significant money but limits flexibility if your travel plans change last minute. Or consider bundling airfare, hotel reservations, and car rental through websites such as Expedia to save additional cash.

Make sure to take full advantage of all the complimentary amenities a hotel provides, such as breakfast, pool access, game room access, and gym membership. Bring along reusable tableware to reduce how often disposable items need to be purchased at the hotel for use during a family trip.

4. Check Multiple Booking Sites

Keep an eye out for pricing trends and book as soon as you see a deal, such as KAYAK or Google Hotels, to take advantage of any savings opportunities. Online travel agencies like these are great tools to compare prices; many hotels may also provide deals directly through their own websites that aren't offered through third parties - this may save both money and time by booking all necessary accommodations in one go! Vacation packages offering airfare, hotel stay, and rental car reservations could save even more time and money by consolidating everything in one place.

If you're planning a trip, begin tracking rates weeks or months in advance of your personal booking deadline (this can depend on how flexible your itinerary is). This will equip you with all of the data necessary for quickly acting when an attractive rate becomes available, as well as helping prevent overspending.

Keep in mind that hotel room price tags often exclude taxes and miscellaneous fees (such as resort fees). So be sure to double-check the total cost before making your commitment; if you find a lower price after booking, contact the hotel and see if they can match it; they are more likely to offer a refund or room credit than lose you altogether!

Expedia can be an excellent source for comparing flight, hotel, and travel essential prices all in one convenient place - saving hundreds on airfare, hotel stays, and car rentals alone! Bundling also increases your chance of receiving hotel upgrades, since hotels value repeat business and will more likely upgrade rooms accordingly if they see repeat buyers return again and again.

5. Bundle Your Trip

Many travelers are familiar with the "Flight + Hotel" options that are offered on booking sites. These bundles often work out cheaper than purchasing each component separately - especially at the last minute when hotels and airlines need to fill space quickly and are willing to offer deals to do just that.

However, it's important to keep in mind that sometimes booking flights and hotels separately may be more affordable. This is usually the case due to hotels paying commissions to online travel agencies for booking through them; this commission must then be passed along to customers at some point later - in some instances this commission can even exceed what would otherwise have been saved when booking directly with the hotel.

One way to save on vacations is booking during a hotel's sale period. At these times, many hotels reduce rates or add in special treats that sweeten the deal for travelers - usually around Black Friday, the start of a year, or other holiday periods.

Expedia is one of the best places to find such deals, offering all kinds of bundled trips for every corner of the world and being consistently cheaper than their competitors.

Additional options for finding these packaged vacations include daily deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial which provide various vacation packages. Finally, be sure to visit the website associated with your favorite travel credit card - they often provide their own bundle trips that you can book using travel rewards points!