Seaside resort at Pemuteran, NW Bali. 100,000rp / $10 US

How To Afford Long-Term World Travel

pt 6 – Minimizing Costs on Accommodation

A big part of low cost travel around the world entails cutting accommodation expenses.

But before I get started on how to minimize accommodation costs, I’d like to point out that traveling long-term doesn’t necessarily mean having to travel on a tight budget and pinch pennies. Many clever, business-savvy world travelers have figured out ways to earn substantial incomes.

For example, I know several travel bloggers who steadily earn $4000-5000 US per month. With that kind of steady income, they can travel pretty much anywhere, stay in their choice of rooms and participate in all kinds of rather costly adventures and tours

As proof, on FB I just spied David Lee of null driving a flashy red sports car. And Johnny Ward of One Step 4 Ward lives in a delux condo in Bangkok, with killer views over the city.

So your own income, budget and travel style are entirely up to you. How can you use your ideas, talents and abilities to create the travel lifestyle you want for yourself?

That having been said, assuming that most long-term world travelers will be on some sort of budget rather than traveling like royalty… and also considering that this post is all about minimizing costs on accommodation, I present you with the following tips and advice for reducing your budget on rooms:

Camping with my tent on Perentian Besar Island, Malaysia. Free.

A. Free Accommodation

Did you know that there are many types of free accommodation just about everywhere in the world? It’s true. Free options include camping, staying at temples & monasteries, sleeping at airports & stations, couchsurfing & tripping, and house sitting & house swapping.

I’ve written a detailed post about these free accommodation options around the world. Check it out for more info. 

View from my balcony in Sapa, Vietnam. Room $4 US

B. Budget Accommodation

Many different types of budget accommodation are also available all over the world. There are youth hostels, YMCAs, budget hotels, guest houses, homestays, bungalow resorts, pensions and losmen, among others. Typical rates range from $5 – $20 US per night.

I’ve also written a post explaining all the different types of budget accommodation, including their prices, throughout SE Asia. Check it out for full details.

C. Work in exchange for accommodation

1. WWOOFing

World Workers on Organic Farms is an international organization of farms, B&Bs, small resorts and personal homes who offer accommodation and meals in exchange for work. The guideline is a half day work in exchange for room & board. Check out WWOOF website for details.

To get a first hand account of what WWOOFing gigs are like, read my personal stories about WWOOFing in Kuranda and WWOOFing at Sanctuary Retreat, both in Australia.

2. House Sitting

Home owners who go on holidays, business trips or extended travels often seek house sitters to take care of their homes and properties while they’re away. Many have pets that need to be cared for, others don’t. House sitting assignments can last anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to several months, to even a year or longer. Such gigs are found all over the world, but more predominantly in USA, Canada, Australia and Europe.

Several house sitting organizations exist online that bring together home owners and hopeful house sitters.

Dalene & Pete Heck of Hecktic Travels have written an excellent guidebook How to Become a House Sitter. Check out their book if you’re interested in house sitting. Or read my review of their book.

3. Casual work at hostels

Youth hostels often employ travelers to work various jobs at the hostel. Sometimes they post signs when they need more staff. Whether they’re advertising positions or not, you could always ask or suggest working in exchange for a bed.

common balcony at a budget hotel in Kandy – Sri Lanka – rooms $5 US

D. General tips for cutting costs

1. Don’t book budget and mid-range rooms online

As far as online bookings go, budget and mid-range accommodation options work exactly the opposite as booking luxury accommodation. In the cases of 5-star and 4-star hotels & resorts, you can usually get the lowest rates by booking online. Show up in person at reception and you’ll be quoted the ‘rack rate’ which is much higher than rates you’ll find online.

But when it comes to budget rooms, you’ll get lower rates by simply showing up in your destination and finding a room in person. Seriously. Why is this so?

Treehouse bungalow on Koh Samet, Thailand. 200B / $5 US in 2001 = $7 US now

For one thing, many budget places don’t have their own website and they’re not listed on reservation sites like agoda and trip advisor. Thousands of budget places simply don’t exist online. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They are alive and well. But you’ll only find them in person or listed in a guidebook.

There’s a reason that the cheapest budget rooms are never listed on reservation sites like agoda and trip advisor. Those booking companies, while being very handy, earn an income by taking a small commission from each booking made. They couldn’t make much on a room that only costs $4 US. Besides that, many budget places are run by locals who aren’t necessarily internet savvy. They just don’t know about or don’t know how to list themselves with such websites.

As for budget rooms that are listed on such reservation sites, the rates for those rooms are higher than the actual room rate because of the small commission added to each booking.

Several times I’ve checked out budget accommodation rates on reservation websites for destinations that I’m very familiar with. Their room listings are always higher than room rates I know are available in that destination.

Unless you’re going somewhere super popular in the peak season, there’s really no need to book your rooms ahead of time. Just show up and talk to the owners in person. You’ll get a much better rate.

Thatched bungalow on Phuket, Thailand. 250B / $8 US

2. Travel during low season / avoid high season

Prices on rooms are often much higher in peak season, much lower in low season. Traveling during the low season of any given country is a great way to get lower prices all around, not only on accommodation, but also on tours, activities and transportation. You will also avoid crowds. In many tropical regions like SE Asia, traveling in low season usually means cooler weather too.

3. Ask for a discount

When you show up looking for a room, after you’re quoted a price, ask for a discount. It never hurts to ask. You could ask for a discount because you’re traveling alone, you’re going to stay more than one night, the rate is expensive for you, it’s low season, the hotel is empty… or even without any specific reason.

Obviously, you’ll be more successful if you’re friendly, easy-going, you smile and ask politely. Be someone they want to have at their place. Don’t act like you ‘expect’ or ‘demand’ or ‘deserve’ a discount. Just ask in a friendly, non-demanding way. And don’t get huffy, mad or rude if they don’t give you a lower rate. Just take the room at their usual rate or go elsewhere with a ‘thank you’.

4. Solo travelers can often get a discount on rooms

Most room rates are based on double occupancy. So if you’re traveling solo, point out that you’re just one person and ask if they can give you a lower price. Even if they don’t normally give a lower price, they might empathize with you if you ask nicely.

I usually say that I’m traveling alone so the room price is a bit expensive for me. And ask if they could give me a lower price. Usually they do, though not always.

Seaside room in Yeh Sanih, Bali, north coast. 100,000 rp / $10 US

5. Get a discounted weekly or monthly rate

Almost every hotel, resort and budget accommodation place provide discounts to guests who stay one week or longer. They usually don’t post that anywhere. You have to ask. So if you’re planning to stay anywhere for one week or longer, ask about a discount right away before you settle in. Some places might require that you pay in advance, others not. Sometimes they’ll give you a discount for as few as 5 nights or even 3 nights. It won’t hurt to ask and you might get a lower rate.

6. Rent an apartment or house

If you’re going to stay in a place for 1 month or more, renting a small house or apartment is most likely going to cost a lot less than staying at nightly accommodation, even budget accommodation. Ask locals if they know of any place to rent monthly or how to find out about such places.

You can really save a huge chunk of money by doing this. I’ve managed to save heaps of money doing this. For example, in Amed, Bali the cheapest rooms at resorts in the area cost 100,000 rp per night. $10 US. I was able to rent an entire house for $100 US per month. That’s about $3.30 per night – only 1/3 the cost. I managed the same sort of rates monthly while living in the Philippines and in Thailand while teaching scuba diving.

QUESTIONS:

Which of these tactics have you used to minimize your accommodation expenses?

Do you have any other tips for saving money on accommodation?

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Be sure to catch the other posts in this series for more ideas on how to afford world travel. Here are a few specific posts: 

part 1 – Overview of Low Cost Travel

part 2 – How I Personally Afford to Travel the World

part 4 – How Travel Bloggers Earn a Living

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

You might also enjoy:

TRAVEL TIPS: BUDGET ACCOMMODATION AROUND THE WORLD BOOK REVIEW: How to Become a House Sitter How To Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 3 – How Other Long-Term Travelers Do It How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 9 – Minimizing Costs on Food