I spend a lot of my trip-planning time, trying to make my travel dollars stretch when it comes to choosing hotels. I just booked seven different hotels for one of our trips this summer and had to find a way to make them all affordable. It took time, but I’ve mastered a few simple rules for getting the best possible hotel for the least amount of money. Because I’m such a giver, I’m going to share them with you today.
1. Stay just outside the city. It’s no surprise that hotel rates in big cities are high. It may be convenient to be in the heart of the action, but for some families it’s just out of reach. I found that the most affordable hotels are always just outside the city, the cheapest options being found around airports. Some cities here in the western states have good public transportation to get you back to the heart of the city, even though you’re just outside of it. But some cities don’t. In Los Angeles, for example, you will be doing a lot of driving if you’re far from the attractions you want to visit. You don’t want to do a lot of driving in Los Angeles, so you will have to find hotels in the location you want.
2. Stay in a newly-opened hotel. Aaahh, there’s just something about that new hotel smell. I know you’re probably thinking that it would be too expensive to stay at the newer, fancier properties. It can be. But it’s not, if you book early enough to snag all those opening rates. When I browse the hotel chain websites, my eyes perk up when I see a soon-to-open property listed. If the dates match my trip dates, I look for any pre-opening or opening rates. Just know that sometimes it’s a gamble, because hotels don’t always open on time. So I book a second option (never prepaid) just in case. I love this master list of hotel openings at the website Hotel Chatter, but I’m a bit geeky like that.
3. Book early, or not. I booked many of the hotels for my June trip about two months ahead of time. I never prepay them, unless they’re an unbeatable deal, so I have time to keep looking as I get closer to my trip. There may be those last-minute deals that pop-up, so I will still keep looking. It has been my experience, though, that I rarely find a deal that’s so much better that I have to rebook my hotel. When you’re traveling with kids, you have specific room types and specifications that you’re looking for, and those are rarely the room types that show up in those last-minute deals.
4. Use your memberships. I use my AAA membership discounts at almost every hotel, the rates are almost always cheaper. Costco also has good deals, but they’re more limited in the number of hotels that are offered.
5. Find those hotel deals websites. There are hundreds of websites offering hotel deals, more than I have time to follow. I like Travelzoo and Hotwire Travel Ticker. I also have to give a special shout-out to a site that is geared for traveling in the Pacific Northwest: Northwest Cheap Sleeps.
Am I missing any other tips for saving money on hotels? Please do share.
Great points! I primarily depend upon Priceline for travel. Without it, I’d probably never leave the house. But to do so, you have to be extremely flexible and willing to just give up on plans. Or go a different weekend.
I also “like” the FB accounts of favorite hotels and the Twitter feeds — several hotels in the Portland and Vancouver (BC) offer special deals through both.
Thanks Lora for the additional tips. I’ve never used Priceline, probably because I’m not very flexible with my plans. I do like the FB and Twitter feeds to keep up on the deals and discounts, but have never actually used one yet.
Great tips! Make sure to sign up for any reward programs the hotel chain offers. They are usually free to join, and you often receive discounts and/or preferential room choices while also earning towards free stays. If you have a credit card that earns rewards, pay with that, and then pay it off in the next month so you don’t pay interest. If you can stay disciplined this way, you earn reward points that can be used towards flights or hotels, and it is essentially the same as paying with cash. You do have to stay disciplined to actually pay the card off though!
You can also ask for the rack rate when you call. This works best if you call closer to your stay, when they might be more willing to put someone in the room rather than have it empty for the night(s).
Some places offer ‘kids eat free’ deals now too, so that’s always an extra way to save a few dollars. We recently stayed somewhere where everything was free for the kids (including room service! They loved it!), its definitely worth asking about and looking for.
Fabulous tips, Caroline! You have thrown in several links which I’m going to check out RIGHT NOW.