How to Find and Book the Best, Cheapest Hotels
Cheap Hotel Rates & Rooms Mot Always Found With Online Reservations
Aug 23, 2009
Anyone looking for the cheapest hotels might be making a mistake by always starting with those rated by guidebooks as the budget places to stay – the 1-star and 2-star hotels, and the backpacker hostels. Sometimes it pays to start at the top and work down, as cheap room rates can sometimes be found in even the top luxury hotels.
Cheapest Hotel Rooms Not Always in Cheap Hotels
One tip when looking for bargain hotel rates is not to limit the search to only cheap and budget hotels. If traveling at short notice always check for late availability in luxury hotels. In these recessionary times, taking a cheap booking is better than having an empty room. Hotels hope to make up a little for the cheap room rate if guests drink and dine in the hotel, but it isn't necessary to do that. In luxury resorts there may be few alternatives, but a hotel in a big city may well have less expensive dining options right outside the door.
Phone and Quote Cheap Online Room Rate
The cheapest room rates for hotels are often available online, through websites like Expedia, Opodo, Ebookers or Travelocity. They strike bargain deals with most of the major hotels, and travelers will usually find the best rates by comparing hotels on these different sites. But having found a bargain rate, there may be an even cheaper deal by phoning the hotel direct and asking them to match or better the online room rate. They may be able to shave a few dollars off the quoted rate and still make more profit if the guest books with them direct.
Cheap but Secret Hotel Room Rates
Some websites like lastminute.com offer so-called 'secret room rates'. They quote the room and describe the hotel without giving away the name of the hotel or its exact location. Savvy travelers and smart surfers can often find the name of the hotel by taking a phrase from the 'secret' description, which usually comes direct from the hotel's own website, pasting it into Google and doing a search. The cheapest room rate might still be by booking through the original website, but at least the traveler then knows exactly what they're getting.
An Alternative to Cheap Hotel Rooms
The savvy traveler should think outside the box, too. For a short stay in an expensive city like London or New York, a hotel may not be the cheapest place to stay. But that doesn't mean sacrificing home comforts and staying in a budget backpacker's hostel. Many residents earn some extra cash and allow visitors to save a few dollars by renting out cheap rooms.
Websites like crashpadder bring locals and visitors together by offering a bed for the night that's cheaper than the cheapest hotel rates. How about a double room in London in September for £35, and only three minutes walk from the Elephant and Castle underground station? Or a double room in Brooklyn in October for $50, only 40 minutes from central New York and 15 minutes from the beaches?
Some of the rooms with crashpadder are private rooms in people's homes, while an alternative is the CouchSurfing website. This non-profit organisation also aims to bring travelers and locals together and provides another option to cheap hotel rooms.
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Suite Links for Cheap Hotel Ideas
Find out how to get not merely a cheap hotel room in England's Cotswolds, but even a free room in a luxury Cotswolds hotel.
Read about a cheap hotel near the beach in Santa Barbara, close to the Pacific Coast Highway and the Amtrak station. The cheapest hotels aren't always cheap hotels.
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