TRAVEL TIPS: UNIQUE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON HOTEL ROOMS

2016/02/04

TRAVEL TIPS: UNIQUE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON HOTEL ROOMS

Even millionaires sometimes tend to look for ways to keep themselves away from overspending. And that is vital to know, especially since while you are traveling, it is super easy to forget about your budget and go over it without even noticing. However, you have to consider what might happen if you return home with an empty wallet and try to avoid that as much as possible.

The Travel Ticker team and I prepared the exclusive list of tips you should definitely try out when you are booking a hotel room. Along with these tips and some help from my new friends, I bet that you will never overspend while booking a hotel room again! So, without any further ado – here it is:

Call the hotel

Sometimes the easiest way to save money while booking a hotel room is the simplest. By having a frank talk with the hotel receptionist, you may get a better deal or even get a room upgrade so easily you will be amazed. It is also worth mentioning that this way the staff will often be more open to telling you about rates that are not promoted online, so you might actually have a better chance to save money on a hotel room and avoid overpaying.

Use your memberships

Many of us are members of one association or another. Usually, it is AAA or AARP associations which can help you get a hotel room cheaper as well. In fact, most membership organizations offer their member benefits that include special hotel discounts for particular hotels.

So, if you are a member of any kind of association, check if they have some deals for hotels and then book your room at one of those that your organization is friends with. Also, your credit card company probably has even more relationships with hotels, so check that too.

Offer a review

A clever way to get a discount on a room, or even an upgrade, is to tell the hotel receptionist that you can write a pretty awesome review on them at most famous travel advice sites. It is also helpful to mention that you are a blogger (if you are) too.

Every hotel loves good recommendations and comment online since many people take that as the best way to know how the hotel really is. And so, the hotel might take a risk and actually give you a discount and some treatments just to get a nicer review from you.

So, while booking a hotel room, casually mention that you can write a pretty great review of them and hope to score. If that won’t work – well, at least, you tried!

Check smaller hotels that don’t appear on search sites

Since a lot of small hotels don’t want to pay search sites, it is hard to find them online just by simply Googling the destination you wish to travel to. But that is a good thing, especially if you want to save money!

TripAdvisor is a very helpful site to use to find these small hotels, but you should remember that booking a room there might be a bit harder than at big chain hotels.

First of all, you probably should go directly to the hotel to make reservations, or somehow find a phone number and call them directly. But that has some benefits too. When you call them, you are often talking to an owner or manager who is empowered to offer a discount. So this is when the first trick I wrote about can work out too. Use it!

Travel without reservations

And finally, if you are a little daring, you can try out this trick too. Of course, this might not work for Paris at the height of the tourist season, but often it will get you the best deal at hotels that start the day with loads of empty rooms.

Therefore, if you just show up and ask for a room, you can also see it before you book it, so there are other advantages of not making reservations. Consequently, if you are brave enough and don’t mind the adrenaline rush sometimes – don’t make any reservations at all and try to score the best hotel room just like that!

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