Seven ways to save more on hotel reservations
Traveling can be expensive, especially when you don’t plan or research your options. Whether it’s paying for airfare, eating out, or booking a hotel stay, you should be looking for ways to save money.
Affordable lodging should be at the forefront of this search. Since hotel rates are skyrocketing and hasty reservations could blow up your entire holiday budget.
We’re here to help you with seven smart tips for booking a hotel room for less.
1) Book at the right time
Hotel reservations tend to become more expensive whenever the hotel is hosting conferences, events, or concerts. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to book a room during the hotel’s off-season.
The busiest seasons of the hospitality industry tend to be between March through May. The reservations usually wind down from October to December. So, if you want to find a place to stay while visiting Anaheim, be sure to do your research on accommodation vacancy in that area on time.
Try to avoid making a reservation around special events. You can always check to see if a hotel is hosting an event by searching its website. You can also call the reservation desk to ask about the off-season.
When reserving a room, try to book it in advance rather than at the last minute.
2) Choose the right location
The holiday destination and hotel’s location can affect the hotel’s rate. Some locations will be more costly than others. For instance, you can expect a trip to New York to be more expensive than a stay in rural, low-populated areas.
Rather than booking at luxury hotels or multi-room Airbnb, consider cheaper alternatives like motels and small unit spaces.
Select from non-refundable rooms to save on money. These tend to be cheaper than rooms that offer free cancellation for lodging.
3) Use hotel comparison sites
Instead of looking up each booking website to find the best hotel, you can visit comparison aggregators that list multiple hotels all at once.
Sites like TripAdvisor and Trivago list the hotel’s rate per night, the time available, and the number of guests permitted. All you have to do is fill out the right information about your lodging needs.
4) Look for deals and discounts
Through an online search, you can find coupons, promo codes, reward programs, or bundled packages for your hotel stay.
The hotel might give you a discount if you’re associated with a particular organization or association, like a university, a club, or a military membership.
You can also find hotels that provide group discounts and airline package memberships. Look for reward programs for using certain facilities, or consider bundled packages for travel.
5) Stick to a budget
It’s easy to lose track of spending habits during a trip, which is why you’ll need to create a budget. After shopping around and choosing the best reservation option, the next step will be to calculate how much it will cost you to stay.
Take into account expenses like the number of nights you’ll pay for and how much money needs to be spent on stored meals and restaurant eats.
6) Use luggage storage
If you have a late-night flight, you can check out early from the hotel, leave your luggage at a storage facility and tour around the city. This way you can save money for a one-night stay.
Having an on-demand storage service will give you a greater amount of convenience. Sites like Vertoe are offering storage for personal items across 65+ major locations, like luggage storage in Penn station. You can take advantage of its secure storage service and insurance protection against theft or loss of your travel belongings.
7) Negotiate with the manager
You have the option of contacting the hotel to negotiate the rate per night. This idea may not always work, but it’s worth a try.
Some hotel managers are willing to negotiate the rates by waiving charges for breakfast fees or overnight parking. Price negotiation can be done ahead of time, during the stay, or even after the stay.
The more you research, the more choice you will have
The bottom line is that you have to be very accurate with hotel comparison, your booking dates and the booking platform. If you have the flexibility choose a holiday destination where a hotel stay is inexpensive. The better you research, the more information you have. More information will give you the edge to save more on your bookings.
