How to Save Money on Hotel Rooms

You don’t have to be rich to take a trip or go on a vacation, but they do cost money. Aside from the cost of transportation, lodging can be one of your bigger expenses. Experienced travelers know that there are ways to shave costs on hotel rooms.

I have traveled quite a bit over my lifetime. When I was growing up, my parents took us on a family road trip vacation for two weeks each summer – and they were definitely NOT rich. After marrying and starting my own family, we vacationed less frequently, but still managed multiple family trips. I have also been fortunate enough to travel on company paid business trips.

Here are my tips on how to save money on hotel rooms.

Join up.

Most hotels have frequent stayer clubs and many offer discounts to those holding memberships in them. If you travel frequently on business, these can be especially lucrative. I once stayed two nights at the Park City Marriott completely free thanks to business travel points.

Now that I am retired, I have joined multiple programs for the lower priced hotels – such as Day’s Inn and Super 8.

Most hotels allow discounts for being a member of another organization. Check out the AAA rates, AARP rates, state and national government rates, senior rates, and veteran rates on your preferred hotel’s site.

Your employer may also offer a discount code you can use when traveling personally.

Plan ahead.

Shop the internet to check out the hotels, bed and breakfast’s , vacation condos and homes. A couple of my favorite sites are Trip Advisor (mainly to see the reviews) and Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO). I also use the various sites that compare rates to get an idea of the least expensive options.

This helps me zero in on which hotels are close to the area I will be visiting (for convenience and to save on transportation and time); which ones offer freebees (some have better free breakfasts than others and some even offer free drinks, snacks and/or dinner); and which ones have the amenities I desire (swimming pools, free wi-fi, workout centers and etc).

If you are absolutely certain that you will be staying in that hotel on that day, you can get deep discounts with a non-refundable fare if you reserve about 15 days ahead of your stay.

Call the local team.

Once you decide on a few hotels that meet your criteria and have located the least expensive online options, call the local number for the hotel and see if you can get a better deal. I recently did this for an upcoming stay and snagged a cheaper rate for a quality hotel than I could get online.

Wait till the last minute.

Although you should still do your research ahead of time, to find a few hotels in the area you want for the date you want, it can pay handsomely to wait until you get there and are ready to check in before reserving a room. Hotels will be eager to fill unused rooms for the night by about 5 or 6 pm the day of. Call when you are a few miles away and be sure to ask for a better price than they first quote. Be sure to have multiple options staked out however, in case the hotel really is booked fully!

This is much easier and safer to do in today’s internet-smart phone world than in yesteryear. My folks used this one when traveling in the pre-internet, pre-cell phone days. They never reserved ahead. We drove until dark and then they started looking for a hotel in the town where we stopped! I remember some very tiring nights where every acceptable room was booked and we had to drive on to the next town to find a place to stay!

My daughter-in-law uses this method – even with two young children in tow.

Hint:  NEVER try this when reserving a national park lodge – especially during the busy season.  Typically the parks are in isolated area’s without much other available lodging.  You don’t really want to get stuck sleeping out with the bears, or driving an extra hundred miles on the ‘scenic’ roads to get out of the park to find a hotel.  Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park fills up a year ahead of time.  Reservations open in May of 2012 for summer of 2013 and fill by the end of may 2012!

Think group.

If you have a group that will be wanting to stay in the same location, try for a discount with your desired hotel by per-arranging for a block of rooms. This is commonly done for weddings, and reunions, but there is no reason you can’t negotiate a block for other reasons! Most hotels have someone especially in charge of making block arrangements and you can usually find them by inspecting the hotel website, or calling and asking.

An alternative to hotel rooms for a group stay may be a vacation rental. Often it is cheaper overall for your group to rent a condo or house for a few days or a week – especially in off season. Not only can you save money on the actual lodging expense, but you can probably save on meals as well since you will be able to cook your own. Staying at a vacation rental may end up saving you money on entertainment too, if you chose a spot that has built in entertainment possibilities.

Consider alternatives.

If you really want to save money on hotel costs, don’t stay in a hotel!

If you are up to it, consider arranging to sleep in your vehicle. My folks owned a 1950′s Nash – which had seats that folded flat and made a bed by joining the front and back bench seats. When we visited Yellowstone with my Aunts, my brother and I stayed in the Aunt’s room at Old Faithful and Mom and Dad camped in the car.

If you own a van, camper or tent, you could pull into a KOA or other campground and stay for a fraction of the cost of a hotel. We camped in our pickup truck (which had a camper shell) when we went to Arizona the first time – and I was pregnant at the time. We awoke to a glorious view of Albuquerque, NM, and cooked our own breakfast using a camp stove in the crisp morning air.

Source : http://brokeprofessionals.com/2012/04/27/how-to-save-money-on-hotel-rooms/