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How do you cut the cost of staying in a hotel?
Comments
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I was booking a stay in Barcelona last month, and spotted a great hotel that I stayed in last yearon Trivago - the Melia Sarria - being offered at a smidge above the rate usually offered to us travel agents. The only thing they asked for in return was a review on the hotel. It was very tempting, but I wanted to stay in a different part of the city this time.
Because I'm lucky enough to stay in some great hotels with work, I look for something completely different when booking for myself. For me, it's all about family run hotels that have bags of personality and charm. I spend weeks trawling through the photos on booking.com looking for a photo that is just so pretty that I must book it....regardless of the price or exact location.
My biggest successes in the last few years have been Steris Beach in Rethymnon, Crete and Filoxenia in Theologos, Rhodes.Both hotels came in at under 50 Euros per night, and were way beyond my highest expectations. Particularly with the Filoxenia, I just kept going back the the photos, and it lived up to them.
Who needs 5* and spas that you never use when you can have 2 gorgeous, well kept pools, staff who know your name, proper bar prices and wonderful home cooked food!0 -
Another tip when booking online directly with the hotel is to make sure that you check out all of the available offers by carefully looking for any links or tabs.
I often stay at one of the Rosen hotels in Orlando and if you go to the website and simply click on the reservations tab you don't get to see their special offers and discounts.
These can usually reduce the price by 15% or 20% and these offers are not available when booking through a third party booking agent.0 -
The best deal I ever had at a motel was in Mobile Alabama.
I was passing through on the way from Atlanta to Florida and just wanted somewhere to crash for the night so pulled into a reasonable looking Motel 6 (some of these are better than others).
I asked the receptionist (who it turned out was the manager) how much for a room for the night and he asked me if I wanted a check (receipt). When I said I didn't his reply was "Just give me $20" which was well under half of the advertised rack rate.
It probably covered his beer and meal that evening and I was more than happy so it was a good deal for all.0 -
Hotels.com = Cashback via Quidco/TCB between 8-12% + free night for every 10.
Works best for Europe, Middle East and US I have found.
Asiarooms.com is the far east equivalent and whilst you don't get cashback they offer some stunning deals by default.0 -
Find a hotel, guesthouse or BnB on a booking site ie late rooms.com, Booking.com. Search for the hotels contact details (not given on the booking sites). Contact the the hotel direct and ask for discount because, you are booking direct with the hotel and they will not have to pay the commission (12%to 17%).
I run a guesthouse and guests do get a room cheaper if they book direct with me.
Also ask for discount if booking more than 1 room or 1 night.0 -
In my view most hotel marketing is rate focussed these days, so a lot of hotels are shaving everything they can out of the rate, to get the best headline price they can, then looking to make up for it with a large bill when you stay. If you just want a bed for the night, this can work for you, so go with any of the mainstream sites and cross-check.
If you are looking for a luxury break where you will wine and dine (and maybe spa) at the hotel, focussing on headline rate is the opposite of what's best. Look for packaged offers which include dinner and other extras you might want. And don't be afraid to ask if you can swap some part of the package if it's not what you are after - some won't, but many will. The best luxury deals I've found are on Offpeakluxury.com - quite often you get breakfast, dinner Champagne and chocolates for little (sometimes nothing) more than you'd pay elsewhere just to book a room.
The big sites "price promises" aren't worth the virtual paper they are written on, because they only guarantee to match like for like prices - so if they quote say 150 B&B, you have to find a cheaper B&B rate to claim. Sites like Offpeakluxury don't offer B&B, but you can get DBB + champagne for say 190, whereas if you booked B&B and paid at the hotel for the rest, you'd be looking at 250-300. I've booked through them many times & never been disappointed.0 -
Find a hotel, guesthouse or BnB on a booking site ie late rooms.com, Booking.com. Search for the hotels contact details (not given on the booking sites). Contact the the hotel direct and ask for discount because, you are booking direct with the hotel and they will not have to pay the commission (12%to 17%).
I run a guesthouse and guests do get a room cheaper if they book direct with me.
Also ask for discount if booking more than 1 room or 1 night.
This is absolutely correct - I run a B&B and do exactly this
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shaun_from_Africa wrote: »The best deal I ever had at a motel was in Mobile Alabama.
I was passing through on the way from Atlanta to Florida and just wanted somewhere to crash for the night so pulled into a reasonable looking Motel 6 (some of these are better than others).
I asked the receptionist (who it turned out was the manager) how much for a room for the night and he asked me if I wanted a check (receipt). When I said I didn't his reply was "Just give me $20" which was well under half of the advertised rack rate.
It probably covered his beer and meal that evening and I was more than happy so it was a good deal for all.
On a road trip around the USA 10 years ago, we just rocked up at hotels/motels and haggled a price. Also, at gas stations we found free magazines with discount coupons for hotels. We found a great place in New Orleans using that.0 -
Whilst not advocating credit card debt or having multiple credit cards the sign ups for the Hilton HHonors card and Intercontinental cards give a free night. The Hilton one can be used in a very nice propertySchool is important, but Rugby is importanter.0
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I forgot to say, NHS discount (and other public sectors too) can work a treat with the Hilton group
http://hiltonpublicsector.co.uk/ascl0
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