How to save money on hotel booking: practical advice and recommendations

Many people prefer to plan their stay in advance. Fortunately, modern Internet capabilities greatly facilitate this task. Today every tourist knows for certain in which hotel room he will live, and where exactly the hotel will be located. But it should be noted that not all holidaymakers understand how to save money on hotel booking, and do not always pay attention to various details, naively believing that it is more than enough just to decide on a suitable room and pay by bank card.

And later, after arriving in the cherished place for recreation, various unpleasant moments begin to appear, like not taking into account the time of arrival (as a rule, in many hotels the settlement is made after 15:00), information about food (not always you will be fed exactly 3 once a day exclusively delicacies), as well as many other moments that together can greatly spoil the impression of a long-awaited holiday, not to mention the money spent on it. And how to properly book a hotel room so that it is also profitable and not deadly for your wallet, you will learn further.

Date of booking

First of all, it is important to pay attention to when you are going to book a room. Several important points should be noted here. So, renting a room on weekdays, as a rule, will cost an order of magnitude cheaper than on weekends. It is also very desirable that your stay at the hotel does not fall on holiday dates, otherwise you will sometimes have to overpay. And you should take into account not only those holidays that are known to you personally, but also, for example, the solemn dates and events of Thailand, if you are going to fly to this country.

Also, hotels often increase the cost of living during school holidays and during any major festivals, when the flow of tourists is increasing. So, many experienced travelers prefer to book a room in the hotel 2-3 days before check-in (risky option) or carefully plan their vacation in advance, starting to find a suitable hotel 2-3 months before departure for vacation. In both cases, savings can be up to 20-30%.

Check-in time

Speaking about how to save on booking a hotel, it is worth noting that not all holidaymakers are aware of the fact that hotels are rarely populated at your first request, unless, of course, there are several free rooms. So, in each hotel there is a set time for guests to leave, when visitors rent out their rooms, give keys to the administration and leave. There is also a check-in time when you are actually settling in the room.

Typically, guests usually leave the hotel between 11 am and 2 pm. These numbers may differ from one another in different situations, but in most cases you will not be able to get to the room before the second half of the day.

For this reason, you should compare the time of arrival on the bus or the arrival on the plane so that you can before settling in the room and spend as little time as possible in tedious waiting. But here the information on how to save on booking a hotel is just beginning.

Promotions and coupons

Known to you or not, booking a hotel room through online services is often cheaper than if you made an application directly at the hotel. First, the use of such search engines allows you to find and compare the most favorable conditions among many hotels, and secondly, it allows you to often use various discounts and promotions.

On these sites, in addition to the search for profitable rental offers, you can also find “hot deals”, various promotions and promotional codes for discounts. This information you can search both on the resources themselves, and subscribe to their mailing by e-mail.

You can also save on booking a hotel with discount coupons, which you can actually find on the websites of Groupon and Cuponation.

Power on

Typically, a hearty breakfast or just a meal in many hotels costs about 4-10 euros. It is best to look for hotels where food is already included in the price of the reservation. The fact is that unlike the same Turkey and Egypt, many European hotels do not have an all-inclusive system, and food must be paid separately. Thus, you can save up to 30% of your funds in comparison with if you went to the restaurant every time.

But it is worth noting and another option. So, if near your place of residence there are various cafes and restaurants, it is much more profitable to eat in them, and not in the hotel.

How to save money on booking a hotel – bargaining with staff

Some people are convinced that bargaining for reducing the cost of an expensive room is absolutely useless, but in vain. So, many avid travelers like to call the hotel and ask a question like “is this the best price you can offer?”.

Often after a conversation with an employee, you can find out that the price on the Internet has been somewhat overstated and you are ready to make a certain discount. It can also be hinted that neighboring hotels also offer favorable conditions and in the struggle for a client you can make a concession.

It also happens that the hotel at certain times there are many empty rooms, and managers are quite ready to occupy you in an expensive room at a standard price.

The word about hostels

In recent years, many travelers increasingly give their preference to hostels, that is, budget hotels. In such establishments, you can simply rent a bed in a common room for the night, and sometimes even at an acceptable price, rent an entire room. There is even a whole hostel-movement, whose adherents are becoming more and more.

Do not be afraid of such options. As a rule, all the necessary services are available in hostels, and sanitary conditions sometimes are even better than in well-known hotels. So if you really are a budget travel fan, then do not miss this opportunity.

Now you know how to save on booking a hotel and what important nuances it is worth considering. Good luck!