How to get the best hotel deals on offer
There is no doubt that the search engine I use and offer on this website is the best available out there. Why?
It is a powerful search engine that compares and simply searches the searches. All those big names are instantly compared by lowest prices.
Big name brands like Expedia, Hotels.com,Booking.com, getaroom.com, lastminute.com, skoosh and hundreds of others offer some fantastic hotel deals.
The best hotel deals come from checking out all these websites and hundreds more, see what they can offer and then pulling out the best prices from the entire search. This is what the search engine does. This way, you save you a ton of time and effort.
Getting the best hotel deals
There are other tricks, though, ways that you can get the best of the best hotel deals.
- Be flexible with dates – When you are doing your search, try changing the dates and see what prices are returned. Check out what happens to the rates midweek as opposed to weekend. Try checking in Wednesday instead of Thursday.
- Also, try add an extra night…many times the rates can suddenly change to your advantage. The best hotel rates come from smart searches. Use the provided search engine and it will do that. All you have to do is add a bit of your own flair to rinse it down even further to get the best travel deal.
- Use the search engine hotelscombined.com and narrow your search down to a select few hotels in the areas you are looking. I would then suggest you go directly to the hotels website and just check if you might get lucky and find a deal directly for the same or better room rate you were looking at.
- Don’t be afraid of calling the hotel and trying to make a deal. It might seem a bit crass to some, but if you like taking a shot at things, why not. Sometimes hotels will negotiate – at least a little.
- Don’t forget that a large number of private but good hotels exist. They may not have the budget of the big boys who can throw bundles of cash at marketing. You may not find them on the search engines or page 1 of Google but they are there. A little digging and research on forum sites may well uncover a real gem at the right price and that fits your needs
- Just like airlines, hotels are market demand oriented. If the demand is high then so are the rates. If you go low season, demand is less, therefore the price will be substantially less
- Look for promotions and coupons. Always a good source of saving for the frugal traveler. Livingsocial.com can be a great source of discounts.
Buyer Beware
Beware of package deals –
Packages can look good on the face of it but you’d be surprised by the difference in costs if you did a separate booking for flights and then another for hotels.
Whilst you get the convenience of a package, you could be paying up to 30% more. This is not to suggest that you cannot find a great package deal but you need to look hard and see what you get and what you are really paying for.
Convenience costs money. Remember, the more convenient the package seems, the more it probably costs. And vice versa..
For example, you buy a package and then realize that your flights are a red eye or some crazy ass early morning flight when only the night janitor and a disgruntled few airline employees are roaming about.
Now you will understand why the package seemed so reasonable. And some other fine print surprises may jump out at you along the way.
Hidden Costs
Resorts tend to have a lot of hidden costs – small stuff like charging extra for an umbrella, workout facilities, using the internet and much more.
Best to check out all the facilities on offer and call the resort up if you’re not sure.
Perhaps the best advice for getting the best hotel deals is to book a hotel that is not five star.
Many three star hotels are really of a high standard and give you a lot more for a lot less.
The best advice I ever heard was someone saying – Are you comfortable in your home?
Then why not find something comparable in your hotel? Okay, if you live in a mansion, drive a Ferrari and have a butler, chances are you’ll be less inclined to find the best hotel deals – you’d be simply looking for the best hotels.
However, for most, it is a case of making sure we do not downgrade our accommodation on vacation from that we enjoy at home.
A hotel room is about having a place to stay so you can visit the place you’re in, right?
Unless you are looking at the hotel as the destination, is it really necessary to spend a fortune when you can get away with spending way less?
You can easily find the best hotel deals on the internet. But first, start with asking yourself what you really need from your hotel experience.
Read more about Accommodation worldwide
Great website, how do you get all this information?I have read through a few posts on your website and I love your writing style. Thanks a million, keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words. Travel travel and more travel.I am glad you enjoy it.