How to Save on Hotels – 10 Tips

Hotels rarely fill up and by being a savvy traveler you can use this fact to your advantage. Hotels also offer many ways to save on their rates, but the seldom advertise these methods. Here are ten tip to help you save money on your next hotel room.

Want to Save Money? Just Ask. Most hotels offer a wide range of discounts. These may be based on where you work or organizations you belong to. But you won’t know unless you ask. While most hotels offer discounts that doesn’t mean they’re going to go out of their way to tell you about them.

Just Say No to the Minibar and Room Service Purchasing snacks, drinks, and meals outside of your room will save you a lot of money. Resist the urge to eat that four dollar bag of pretzels and drink that six dollar beer, and you’ll save plenty.

Weekends are More Expensive If you can arrange most or all of your hotel stay during the middle of the week you can save a lot over the higher prices charged during the busy weekends.

Skip Hotels That Don’t Offer Free Internet Amenities in general are important but a lot of hotels still charge for internet access, if they charge for internet there’s a good chance they’re cutting you out of other amenities as well.

Search the Web You can always find great deals on hotel rooms online. There are certain luxury hotels that only offer discounts to members of online travel booking sites.

Choose a Hotel a Little Further Out A hotel in the center of downtown is always going to be convenient, but you’re going to be paying for that convenience. Even staying just a little bit out of downtown can often save you twenty-five percent or more on your hotel.

Cheapest Rate May Not be the Best Deal The lowest rate may seem like a great deal, but there are a couple of things to think about before signing up for the cheapest room a hotel has to offer. The cheap room may be in a terrible location that makes it difficult to sleep, but it may also come with less (or no) amenities forcing you to pay extra for everything. If you’re wanting to try and get a free upgrade always skip the cheapest room, hotels seldom upgrade people who pay the lowest rate.

Arrive Late, Without a Reservation This can be a bit risky but it can also save you a lot of money on your hotel. Hotels seldom fill up, unless there’s some big event, and it’s always better to have a room occupied rather than empty. Arriving after six in the evening can allow you to negotiate a better rate on a better room that would otherwise be left unsold for the night.

Book Well in Advance If taking the risk of arriving without a reservation isn’t for you, make sure you book several weeks in advance if you want to save money on your hotel. You can also save money when you book early by understanding where the hotel will offer discounts. Most typically offer discounts at three nights, one week, two weeks, and one month.

Travel Offseason The less busy a hotel is, the cheaper the rates will be. If you can arrange to travel during the offseason you can save a lot on your hotel—as much as thirty percent or more.