I use Expedia for booking hotels plain and simple. While you can use many of the other apps available for researching and booking hotels, Expedia’s customer service is the most helpful and the website and app functionality are easy to navigate. But even if you are an Expedia expert, there are some tips and tricks that can help land you the best deal on travel accommodation. Find out more about these hotel booking secrets.
1. Don’t stick to one booking site.
Although I am an Expedia supporter, I use several comparison websites to get a feel for pricing in the area I’m looking to stay. When I feel I have a clear picture, I go to Expedia. Their customer service team has helped me negotiate refunds and gotten me out of some sticky situations while traveling abroad. They also allow you to accrue points that you can use for discounts on hotels.
2. Use filters
I begin with setting a filter to eliminate any hotel I would not choose to stay in. I do not need a five star hotel, but in order to keep a minimum standard, be sure to check ‘air conditioning’ and ‘free WiFi’ in the filter as that will eliminate most of the less-desirable hotels right away. You can use many other filters to find a hotel to your personal liking. Other popular filters include price range, guest rating, property type (hotel, apartment, hostel, bed and breakfast, etc.) neighborhood, pet friendly, ocean view and many more.
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Related: Reduce Your Flight Costs with Google Flights
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3. Do undercover searches
Your digital footprint can work against you when it comes to booking accommodation. Some sites can recognize what you’ve been searching and change their prices for areas and hotels that you’re interested in.
It’s called dynamic pricing or personal price hikes, and it’s allegedly a common online marketing method. It seems unfair and a little creepy, but it happens.
The best way to beat them at their own game is to use ‘incognito’ mode when you’re searching so they can’t track you.
You can also use different browsers and clear your cookies when you’re cross-checking prices to make sure you’re looking at the best price possible, not one that’s tailor-made based on your search history.
4. Avoid hostels
Hostels can run as low as $10 per night, but that is usually in a non-private room with bunk beds, which leaves your belongings vulnerable to thieves. Some hostels offer private room options for a higher price (usually $25 per night depending upon location). The room is very small, but if all you are doing is sleeping there, the size of the room does not matter. I have seen decent hotel rooms in the $30-$60 per night range in many locations. In some parts of the world (usually Western Europe), you will not be able to find non-hostel hotels for less than $100 per night, so sharing a room with your travel companion is a good way to keep this cost down.
4. Book in advance
Making hotel bookings in advance can often help you save money. Many hotels offer early bird discounts for bookings made months in advance, meaning you can grab a great room at a great rate.
However, these bookings are often non-refundable and offer no flexibility. It’s essential that you’re 100% sure of your travel dates, otherwise you risk making a booking that you can’t change or cancel without losing money.
It’s a common misconception that waiting to make a last-minute booking will save you money. While this is true in some cases, it’s also risky and can result in overspending if traveling during busy periods or high-demand events. For example, if a high-profile performer announces a concert in the same location you’re planning your getaway—you can expect prices to skyrocket.
5. Be flexible where possible
If you have a time-constrained event that you need a hotel room for, skip to the next tip – this one’s not for you. However, if you can afford some flexibility for when you travel, you’ll likely find considerable price differences only a couple of days apart.
Weekends are typically most expensive in many tourist destinations, and special events and holiday periods also see higher hotel room rates than normal. The increased demand enables hotels to raise their prices, as people are still willing to pay out of necessity.
6. Find a good location
I prefer to get a hotel that is close to the action or at least close to some cafes and restaurants so I can step out the front door and walk to a good spot without having to take a taxi every time. To do this, find a good location near any hotspots in the city using TripAdvisor, which is a website/mobile application not only for finding fun things to do but also booking tours, hotels and flights. As you may have learned in my article How I use TripAdvisor for Booking Tours, TripAdvisor has a function in which you can indicate your destination and research attractions that interest you in that location. First, go to TripAdvisor and type in the name of the city. Click on “things to do”. On the left side of the page is located a list of attractions by type. I usually click on the first option, which is ‘sights and landmarks’ and then click ‘view map’ on the right side of the page so I can see where the concentrations of these landmarks are located. I may even use this same procedure to find any hotspots in a particular city.
I will give you more tips and tricks in Hotel Booking Secrets – Part 2 which will be published in October.
Hotel Booking Secrets – Part 1, compiled by Tor Kjolberg