In order to stretch our travel budget, I’ve found 12 ways to save money on hotels and lodging. The goal is to travel as often as possible, for as long as I can. In order to do so, I work to save money on hotels and lodging to stretch my travel budget every time I travel.
1. What Type of Lodging
The first thing to consider when trying to save money on hotels and lodgings is the length of stay and the purpose of the stay. For example, if we are on a road trip and just staying overnight the must-haves are focused on location, cleanliness, noise, and safety.
On the other hand, if the length of stay is a week, with the purpose of relaxation, then accommodations with more amenities may be appropriate. Budget motels such as Super 8 and Motel 6 are a good option when on a road trip or traveling from one location to another. Many of the budget motels offer specific amenities focused on travelers who are passing through. Budget motels located near major roadways often offer amenities such as free breakfast and “pets stay free” offers.
I always recommend reading reviews on TripAdvisor or other sites to check on location, cleanliness, safety, noise, and amenities. Free breakfasts are a nice amenity that can save money, time and get travelers back on the road as soon as possible. Not every free breakfast is the same, so travel reviews can clarify what is provided and describe food quality.
2. Flexibility in Travel Dates
As mentioned in Save Money Traveling During Shoulder Season, the time of year has a direct impact on the price of hotels and lodging. While planning a trip to Thailand, room rates during peak season were $70 more per night compared to room rates during the low season (rainy season). One option to save money on hotels in the shoulder season. The shoulder season is the transition between two seasons. Rates in the shoulder season are low and the weather and temperatures that come with the low season may improve.
In our case, we saved money on hotels by traveling during the shoulder season. We did have short rain showers in the late afternoon, but it was worth the cost savings. Traveling during the shoulder season allowed us to stay at a resort that otherwise would not have been within our budget.
3. Hotel or Resort Website
Don’t assume that websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Booking.com, and Orbitz have the lowest prices and will save money on hotels. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. There are times that a hotel or resort’s website will have cheaper prices, specials, or discounts not available otherwise.
Hotel and resort websites often provide specials such as “stay 3 nights and get the 4th free”, free transfers for a 7-day stay, or spa deals for staying a specific number of nights, etc. This is an example of how a hotel or resort website may provide special deals not offered by other websites.
4. Scanning Travel Sites
Travel sites such as Kayak, Skyscanner, and Hipmunk scan multiple travel sites at once. These scanning sites increase efficiencies in finding the best prices across multiple websites to save money on hotels, flights and other travel related costs. It also saves you time as you do not have to enter the same information into multiple websites.
5. Airbnb and Vacation Rentals
Airbnb and vacation rentals can be an inexpensive option and can provide more space than a standard hotel room. With both, travelers can rent a private party’s house, apartment, cabin, tree house, or other dwellings.
There are opportunities with Airbnb to rent as little as a room or share space with other people, again saving you money.
The cost of Airbnb and vacation rentals, generally includes a cleaning fee, service fee, and lodging taxes so watch those as they can add up.
Both can be a great money-saving option for families, groups, or with another couple, etc. When we went to Greece we traveled with friends. In lieu of both couples paying for hotel rooms, we shared beautiful accommodations through Airbnb for a fraction of the price of a hotel room of equal quality.
An additional cost-saving with these type of accommodations is having access to a kitchen. Dining out can be costly especially when traveling as a family or traveling for long periods of time.
Depending on the host, there can be additional perks with Airbnbs. We had fabulous Airbnb hosts while traveling in Greece. In all three Airbnbs, the hosts were incredibly accommodating. Each met us upon arrival and stocked the kitchen with breakfast and snack items. Now, not all hosts have the ability to do this, but the hospitality of each host enhanced our stay.
6. Memberships Like Costco, AAA, and AARP
Memberships such as Costco, AAA, and AARP offer members a variety of travel discounts and benefits that save money on hotels and lodgings.
Costco Travel
Costco has member travel discounts on vacation packages, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and theme parks.
In addition, we have found Costco to have the best deals on car rentals. One of the best perks is no fees for adding an additional driver, especially when multiple people will be driving.
AAA Travel
AAA members booking flights, hotels, cruises, rental cars, and vacation activities through the AAA website receive member discounts.
They also provide Travel Agents who assist with travel planning and packages that save money on hotels. We used an AAA Travel Agent for our Disney World trip and paid significantly less with their package than had we booked it ourselves. Plus, AAA often provides additional perks depending on the specific package.
AARP Travel
AARP members receive a variety of travel benefits and savings accessed through their travel center affiliated with Expedia. This provides AARP members-only discounts with what they coin as “the best rates from Expedia”. Members save money on hotels, car rentals and cruises, as well as do not pay booking fees on flights.
7. Hotel Rewards Programs
Hotel and resort chains, as well as travel websites, offer member rewards programs or loyalty programs that can save money on hotels. Marriott, Starwood, Wyndham, Hyatt, Best Western, La Quinta, and many others all have their own rewards programs.
8. Travel Website Rewards Programs
Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz and other sites have individual rewards programs. Those can include either earning free nights, earning a percentage based on dollars spent, or points that help to save money on hotels.
Expedia Rewards
I started using Expedia several years ago in lieu of other sites such as Travelocity and Orbitz. I found Expedia’s website was easy to navigate, their reviews were helpful, and they had free cancellations.
Another thing I learned was the rewards points I was earning for each of my purchases that could be applied to new bookings. With continued use of Expedia, my rewards level increased and I was saving money on hotel rooms for being loyal to Expedia.
This has continued to unlock a variety of benefits including member-only prices, earning 2 points per $1 spent on hotels, packages etc.
The thing that surprised us the most was when we were planning our trip to Greece. We had lower pricing options than our friends, and when we arrived in Crete, we were upgraded to a suite based on our Expedia benefits. Who knew! I had used Expedia because it was convenient and we earned additional perks!
Expedia App
An additional benefit with Expedia is travelers can receive up to an additional 30% hotel discount when using their app. I rarely remember to use this feature, as my eyes prefer a larger screen, but it is a benefit I plan to use more in the future.
Expedia’s Free Cancellation Option Saves Money
One of the major reasons I have continued using Expedia is that for a slightly higher price, travelers can have free cancellation up to a couple of days before a trip.
This feature has saved me hundreds of dollars. I watch the prices of rooms after booking and if the price goes down, and they often do, then I cancel that reservation and rebook at the lower price. On one seven day stay, I saved $400 when prices dropped. This does entail going back and checking prices periodically, but the savings are worth it.
Hotels.com And the Capital One Venture Card
I recently found out that my favorite rewards card, the Capital One Venture Card, (read all about why you need it in my 10 Secrets to Optimizing Your Travel Rewards post), has now partnered with Hotels.com. Instead of earning 2x points for every dollar spent, Capital One Venture Cardmembers earn 10x points for every dollar spent through Hotels.com.
Hotels.com also offers a stay 10 nights get one night free, with the value of the free night being the average price of the 10 nights previously booked.
Similar to special price discounts for Expedia members, Hotels.com has Secret Prices or special promotion rates, on hotels and vacation rentals for their rewards members or those who have downloaded the Hotels.com app.
Secret Price bookings also are included in the 10 nights get one free program and on free cancellation bookings. In one comparison of room rates with free cancellation, the Hotels.com cancellation price, for the same type of room, was $30 less a night than Expedia. This shows how loyalty to a program can pay off, as can shopping around.
9. Rakuten
Several travel sites have teamed up with Rakuten to provide cashback to members for travel-related purchases. Some of the many travel sites affiliated with Rakuten include Expedia, Travelocity, Holiday Inn, Orbitz, BookIt.com, TripAdvisor Hotels, Marriott, Howard Johnson, and Comfort Inn.
Here’s how it works, sign up for Rakuten and search for a travel site or search the Travel and Vacations section to view a list of all affiliated travel sites. Select a travel site and book the hotel, flight, cruise, or car rental of choice. Purchases automatically earn cashback and within 21 days of purchase, an Rakuten cashback check will arrive.
Currently, hotel bookings on Expedia through Rakuten earn up to 8% cashback. A 7-night stay at $150 a night will earn approximately $84 cashback.
As discussed in “10 Secrets to Optimizing Your Travel Rewards”, by using Rakuten, a hotel rewards program, and a rewards credit card, rewards can be earned in three ways. I would use my Capital One Venture Card to make my purchase accessing Expedia through Rakuten. I would then earn rewards miles through Capital One, rewards points through Expedia and cashback with Rakuten. Cha-ching!
10. More on Free cancellation
I recently found a website called Pruvo.net. Understanding that hotel prices often change after booking, Pruvo.net was developed to notify travelers of price drops so a reservation can be canceled and rebooked at the lower price. Ugh! I wish I would have known about this sooner!
This is how it works. After booking a room with free cancellation, the traveler forwards the reservation to Pruvo.net. If Pruvo finds a price drop, on the exact same room, an email is sent to the traveler. The traveler can then cancel the original reservation and rebook at the lower price.
It’s what I’ve been doing for years, but instead, it’s like having an assistant looking for price drops. Hallelujah!!!! I love this travel hack that saves money on hotels!
11. Last Minute
For hotels, the most costly room is an unbooked room. HotelTonight is a website that assists hotels in filling unbooked rooms. They will often offer last-minute bookings at a reduced price to fill any unbooked rooms.
In a comparison of a 5-star hotel in downtown Seattle, HotelTonight was $20 less than the hotel’s website, although there was only a $1 difference when comparing prices for a 4-star hotel in Portland, Oregon.
Depending on the hotel, HotelTonight can provide significant discounts, but it is still good to check options on multiple sites.
12. Package Deals Can Save Money
Package deals can often save money on hotels and lodging. When we traveled to Fiji, we purchased a package including airfare and lodging through Expedia. The package saved around $400 in comparison to booking airfare and lodging separately.
Packages that include airfare may not be the best option when wanting frequent flyer miles, although by paying with a rewards card, like the Capital One Venture Card, a package can be purchased and the traveler can be reimbursed with rewards miles.
Saving Money on Hotels and Lodging
It pays off to use multiple trip planning tools to stretch any travel budget. Using a travel scanning website to compare prices and checking the specific hotel website for specials are good strategies for saving money on them. Lodgings such as Airbnbs and vacation rentals can also be an economical option, especially when traveling with multiple people. In addition, using membership discounts and rewards programs can also assist in maximizing savings on hotels and lodgings.
Life is short! Book the trip!
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