Vacations are not a cheap affair and while it may be possible to save money on some activities, accommodation will often be one of the most expensive parts of any stay away.
Saving money on hotels is possible but extends further than just booking the cheapest hotel. There are a few things to consider when making the right hotel choice.
Comparison Websites
Comparison websites are a great starting point, but far from the end of your journey. They do make life very convenient in being able to compare, choose and book all in one place, but this often occurs additional costs that you don’t know even exist at the time.
Use a comparison website to find a baseline of hotels for your selection, from there, to find the best price, there is additional work to be done.
- Contact Hotels directly as not all the booking options, specials or packages are always included on the booking websites. Often there will be cheaper rooms available than what booking websites will offer, as they tend to only have two to three room options listed for each given hotel.
- Look for hidden costs, as they can often change the overall price of a hotel. Small fees like the additional 4% credit card fee, a fee for Wi-Fi and general booking fees can usually add up on the final bill. Be sure to ask about additional fees before making the final booking.
- Additional extras are important to your stay. Smaller things like a complimentary breakfast and free Wi-Fi can impact the overall price of your say. Be sure to confirm what extras go with the room to find out the true price of staying at the hotel.
Negotiations
Negotiating may not always be the answer but can yield some impressive results. Negotiation is best done with privately owned hotels where the staff have more control over the pricing. At large hotels, the clerks often have no control over the pricing set for a room.
Private hotels will often be able to give a discount when requested. There are key differences between the negotiation tactics to be used between private and chain hotels.
- Private – Private hotels are at the liberty to set their own price points and changing pricing as they see fit. Asking for a discount or better price when booking your stay may very well save you money.
- Chain – Chain hotels are often not able to change their pricing, but what they are able to do is provide upgrades or other complimentary services. This is especially prevalent in off seasons, where a hotel may upgrade your room free of charge simply for requesting an upgrade.
If budget is a big concern, private hotels generally offer more flexibility on already competitive prices.
Coupons
It may sound a bit ridiculous to be looking for coupons when shopping online for a cheaper hotel, but there is method to the madness. Hotels will often offer cheaper rates through promotional codes.
An application or extension, like Honey, will scour the internet in search of active codes to help you save money,