Your vacation is soon approaching and what you need is an excellent travel plan. Costs tend to form the more significant part of your travel budget, why wouldn’t you want to save? The problem is, hotel prices change all the time depending on various factors (demand being the top-most).
This makes it tricky to find a good deal. We’d rather you don’t take chances; instead, focus on practical things that you can control. Luckily enough, our team has come up with some excellent tips on how to save money on hotels while traveling.
Some Tips to Save Money While Traveling
Create a Budget
First, determine how much you have to spend while traveling. Try prioritizing if the budget is tight. Do you prefer to enjoy the best food on your trip, or spend the night in a nice hotel? Or do you want to just camp and cook from the back of your car? There is a silver bullet to all this; there are good hotels out here that provide an all in one experience; from attraction sites to camping, to cook-out joints to barbecues, you name it. These hotels also come at pocket-friendly prices, so take your time on the internet and do some research.
Use a VPN
The main reason it’s nearly impossible to pin down some of the best deals is that hotel booking websites usually track your location and give you prices based on where you browse from. They track your cookies, see your IP address, use mobile tracking, and track your Wi-Fi. So if you change your location, you can change the price.
A VPN does the following:
- It changes your location depending on which server you connect to
- Adds encryption to your browser
- Secures your internet connection
You could easily switch to a lower income country with a good VPN and get a booking at a very low price. It might seem difficult to choose the right VPN as there are many different options in the market. Therefore, it’s always better to read reviews and comparisons provided by review sites like VPNpro.
Book in Advance
Several hotels offer special promotions if you book earlier; let’s say five months prior. You are guaranteed to get the best price and secure a room of your choice before they all sell out. There are chances that the booking might be non-refundable, but then again, why complain, and yet you’re looking to save?
Even if you decide to travel during traffic times, many of these early booking deals are still available. Some hotels go to the extent of lowering their rates so that you might be able to book at a lower price.
Bundle Your Travel
In case you’re using airfare and still need to book hotels, you could as well save money by booking through the same travel providers. They offer discount services for such. The best part about these discounts is that sometimes you don’t have to book things right away. The service providers could extend your pay window and add more days to finish paying.
Do Your Own Laundry
You’re traveling, but you don’t want to lug four suitcases full of clothes (who has money for all those baggage fees?). We’d rather you be wise with your packing and pack only the essential clothing.
With this, instead of paying through the nose for the hotel to do the laundry for you, you could wash your clothes yourself. Lest we forget, this works perfectly with light, quick-drying fabrics. The hotel dryer could also come in handy to blast away any remaining dampness.
Talk to a Bartender for Recommendations
Using social media to ask for recommendations about cheap places to stay, eat, etc. is an excellent idea, and it works. But once you’re at the destination, don’t be timid. Locals are well familiarized with cheap places that offer superior services, and you can sure count on them.
Leave alone the hotel concierge where they might be promoting nightlife and restaurant partner brands; instead, ask the guy carrying your bags, the bartender, or the valet. You could as well chat with your taxi driver who always seems to know the best and cheap places to be. Just tip them, and they’ll be eager to offer suggestions.
Use Credit Card Rewards
Some hotels come with reward programs for their customers; you could quickly earn points once you sign up for their co-branded credit cards. Others come with travel insurance and no foreign transaction fees; this could help you save big in the long run. The cards have huge sign-up bonuses with enough points to claim multiple nights right away.
Conclusion
Hotels can be expensive and all your nights while out traveling can sum up to an enormous amount. This doesn’t mean that you have to stay at home. Nope! There are several ways to help you save money on hotels while traveling no matter the kind of trip you on. You have to do some little homework.
What are the best ways to save money on hotels while traveling? Which of these has worked for you? Feel free to share with us in the comments.
