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How to find cheap hotel deals shouldn’t be a tricky question as nowadays there are lots of tips and tricks to do that. Accommodation usually eats most of the travel budget when planning your trip. Right?! Why would you want to get expensive housing if you are going to sleep there and take a shower?! And instead, why not take advantage of the hotel deals whenever possible?

So, to avoid overpaying for hotel stays, I created a list of things to know before you book your accommodations and 20 best tips and hacks on how to find the cheapest hotels.

What is Important to Know and Do Before Booking a Hotel?

Always check the hotel details, such as amenities and if they have resort fees. Sometimes the hotel prices can be low until you look at the fine print and find out about the resort’s cost, which can make the total cost insanely expensive.
If the hotel offers complimentary breakfast, read through the details to ensure it is provided for all rooms.
Confirm check-in and check-out time. Most of the time, you will be able to check in earlier, but you can’t rely on that for sure, and if you come earlier than needed, you might end up in a long wait.
Check if they offer airport pickup and drop-off. Even if there is no such info on the website, they can still provide this option. Never afraid to ask. They can either do it for free or at a discounted rate.
Check their return policy upfront. You never know if you will have to cancel your booking, and it is better to get a full refund.
If you have a car, check what parking options they offer. Most of the time, parking is free, but with some additional
requirements.
If you have a pet, check with the hotel first if they allow fur friends; if they do, ask if it’s free or if you have to pay.
If you buy a hotel with your points, most likely in case of unexpected cancellations, you will have to deal with your bank directly, not the hotel. If you must cancel your stay, contact your bank before check-out. Otherwise, you will never get a refund.

That is what happened to me. I didn’t know this before, and as I was in a different country, I thought I would call my bank after I came back home, but it was too late, and they never gave me my money back after I had to check out earlier.

How to Find Cheap Hotel Deals:21 Best Tips and Hacks

1. Make Sure to Mention How Many Guests Need a Room

As the default number of guests is always 2, you might miss updating those details if you travel alone, and then you will receive a higher price. For example, when I searched the hotel for two guests, the lowest price I got was $382, but when I changed two guests to 1 guest, the cheapest price was $352. So, the $30 difference is not bad at all, especially if you stay more than 1 night.

2. Call the Hotel Directly to Check the Prices

Once you find a reasonable price, call the hotel and check the price with them. Sometimes they might have a better price or can offer you a room upgrade which you won’t be able to get if you book online.

3. Be Flexible

Be flexible, as the lowest prices are always during the week, and the most expensive will be on the weekend and holidays.

4. Book Package Deals

Consider package deals (flights+hotel+car rent+attractions). The package hotel prices are always different from booking a single room, and you might get a good discount.

5. Get a Last-Minute Deal

Keep an eye on the last-minute deal. An excellent app to use for that purpose is Hotel Tonight. I’ve checked the prices there and was able to spot a 4-5 start hotel the same day for less than $100.

6. Book a Hotel With Your Bank Directly

When you book hotels, check your bank website, as they can offer additional discounts if you book through them directly.

7. Check Groupon for Best Hotel Deal

Do not forget about checking Groupon. Most of the time, you will find good hotel deals or all-inclusive packages.

8. Apply for a Hotel Credit Card

If you are an avid traveler and like to stay in the same chain of hotels, definitely apply for the hotel credit card as they also offer good discounts and deals.

9. Book the Hotel Room on Roomer

Check out the Roomer site to find good-priced hotels. Roomer was created for those who had non-refundable bookings before and couldn’t get their money back from the hotels. Roomer allows posting those hotels for a discounted price, so it is a win-win situation for the previous guest and the new one.

10. Book Your Place to Stay in Advance

The best time to book your hotel room for the best price is 14 to 21 days before your travel dates. Try to stick to that time frame if possible.

11. Book Hotels Outside of Downtown

Look for hotels outside of touristy places. If you noticed, hotels near the airport are always cheaper than hotels in the city. So if you do not care about the distance, it makes sense to look for the nearest options.

12. Book Multiple Rooms

If you book multiple rooms, ask for discounts. Most of the time, securing more than 1 room can guarantee a good deal and other benefits.

13. Book a Non-Refundable Deal

Look for non-refundable deals if your plans won’t change, as those deals are always cheaper than refundable ones.

14. Apply for Cashback Apps and Save

Please apply for the cashback apps, as they give a pretty good amount of money back for mostly everything, including flights and hotels. For example, if you have a Rakuten or Capital one shopping app, you can get 4% back from the price you paid with Priceline. Since I started using those for every purchase, I have saved a lot of money as I get a good percentage of what I spend back into my account.

15. Download Chrome Extensions for Price Comparison

To make sure you know if there are lower prices, you can install some Chrome extensions that automatically will search for you. Pruvo tracks hotel prices after you book the place to stay and sends you the price drop alerts to your email. So if Pruvo finds a better price, you can cancel the booking and re-book or call the hotel, and they will do all the work for you.

16. Use Website Extensions Outside of the US

As prices can vary based on the country and currency, try to look for the UK version instead of the US, India, etc.

17. Check if You Qualify For a Special Discount

You may qualify for the discount if you are under one of these categories: seniors, government employees, students, members of the military, and AAA members. Always do not hesitate to ask.

|Hotels.com offers 10% OFF for hotel accommodations if you are a student, a teacher, a US Military, Government Employee, or a first Responder.

18. Check-in Late

Sometimes you can get an upgrade to your room if you check in late. Let’s say you had a single room for the night, and if you check in late (when most likely no other people will be checking in), the hotel staff can upgrade your room if they have additional vacancies.

19. Book a Room in a Brand New Hotel

Look for brand new hotels which just opened recently. Most of the time, those hotels offer lower prices than their competitors.

20. Take advantage of the Special Days and Types of Hotels

If you stay at resorts, the lower prices will be during the week, and if you stay in a business-type hotel, the best prices will be on the weekend.

21. Divide Your Stay Into Separate Bookings to Save on Hotel Prices

Before booking a hotel for all days, compare prices for each day separately or half and half. For example, let’s say you need a hotel for 4 days and instead of booking all days together, check if booking only a few days as a single purchase makes a difference. I have a good example that saved me a lot of money with this strategy.

I searched for a hotel in the US Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), and when I included all 4 days, the price per day was $160. After doing more research, I accidentally realized that if I book half and half (2 days and 2 days separately), it makes a huge difference. In that case, the price per night was only $76-85. Amazing right… I highly suggest using this strategy with your hotel booking next time.

The Best Hotel Booking Sites to Get Good Deals on Hotels

Booking.com

That is the first site that comes to mind, right?! I use this website very often to compare prices. Booking.com offers good deals and easy cancellation policies. Unfortunately, as the site is viral, most popular hotels are sold out quickly.

The good thing about booking.com is that you do not have to pay anything immediately, so you reserve it for free or spend a small deposit. Also, they will send occasional emails with the best deals if you sign up.

Skyscanner/Snaptravel

I personally never booked hotels with Skyscanner before, but out of curiosity, I checked what it looks like. So when you select the hotel’s tab on Skyscanner, it sends you to the Snaptravel site, where you can get a special discount if you choose the communication channel by SMS or FB messenger.

Snaptravel also claims that they can match the price (if you find the better deal for the same hotel) and will give you a $10 credit for future use. The prices there were slightly lower than on other sites, but as they offer a price match and good discount, it might be worth checking.

Hotels.com

Hotel.com is very easy to use, and they do offer good discounts, such as 1 free night for the 10 stamps you collected or secret prices if you sign up.

Most of the hotels come with Free cancellations, and they offer a price guarantee policy. You can also unlock secret prices and earn extra benefits if you have elite status.

Hotwire

Why do I love Hotwire?

They stand out from other third-party sites because they offer great hidden deals. For example, Hotwire is a website where you can’t see the hotel name if you select the Hot sale. But you can see all other details such as location, rating, etc. This is the best site to book a last-minute hotel.

You can also turn on the price change alert, and if the price for the hotel you had an eye on has changed, you will get an email and be able to book it for less.

They also state that if you have an account with them, you can even save more.

I’ve used them once for a same-day booking in Miami at Christmas time. First, of course, I had to find same-day accommodation. Still, as you can imagine, Christmas time in Miami is insanely busy, and finding a hotel for a reasonable price, especially same-day booking, is just unreal.

All other sites I checked offered prices that started from $300, which was super expensive, and then I found out about Hotwire’s hidden deals. I found a fantastic hotel, and the price for the night was half off ($150). So, as you can see, I saved 50%. Not bad at all.

Priceline.com

Same competitive prices as on other sites, but a good deal can also be found. They offer price matches, discounts, and express deals similar to what Hotwire offers. In addition, they do not tell you the hotel name but provide reasonable prices for such sales.

Remember that to find the best price; you must check all these websites.

For example, when I checked the same hotel on all these sites, the best price I got was on Priceline ($114) for the same room compared to $128 from all other sites.

Final Thoughts

Staying at the hotels shouldn’t be so expensive, so finding the best hotel deals is also significant. Knowing all these hacks and tips on finding cheap hotel deals will save you good money, which you can invest in future travels instead of overpaying for the room.

I hope you enjoyed learning these 20 Best Tips and Hacks on how to find cheap hotel deals. Thank you for stopping by!

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