Comments on: Today’s Tip: Saving a Bit on Your Hotel Stay

By: Lora (Tripping with Kids)

Lora (Tripping with Kids) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:12:29 +0000

Fabulous tips, Caroline! You have thrown in several links which I’m going to check out RIGHT NOW.

By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:05:53 +0000

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.

By: Carolina

Carolina — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:25:37 +0000

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.

By: CascadiaKids

CascadiaKids — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:37:40 +0000

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.