Cheap hotels
Searching for cheap hotels requires some serious internet browsing and phone calls to the right hotels. Cheap hotels can be found on web sites like Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Priceline.com, and many others. These companies work with hotels to offer low rates to travelers. The hotel will give a portion of the room profit to the internet web site for promoting it. Signing up with the cheap hotel web sites is a smart idea because you can get email notifications of great deals that only last for an hour or so. Having the inside edge with the internet sites means you can finally get into the Winn in Las Vegas or the Hilton in New York.
The days of driving on the road without a hotel to stay in are in the past. You can't get the best deal by rolling into a town and choosing the first hotel you see. Booking your vacation well in advance will not only give you lower rates, but it will help you avoid last minute searching and paying higher prices. Smart travelers know they can get a room at Marriott for the same price someone else pays at the Holiday Inn. It is all up to your dedication and you're searching ability.
When you are looking for cheap hotels, you need to create a map of the different places you want to stay. For example, if you want to stay in Las Vegas, decide if you want to stay on the strip or if you want to stay outside the city. You can find great deals for hotels on the strip, but you can also get cheap hotel rates for hotels on the old Las Vegas strip, like the Golden Nugget. If you are familiar with the city you are going to stay in, write down all the hotels in that area and visit their web sites. You can get a cheaper room rate at the Travelodge by booking through their web site versus booking through Expedia.com or another online travel web site.
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It is important to decide on what type of accommodation you need. If you have kids, you will probably need a couple extra beds, if not two rooms. How important is it to you to have a pool, a gym, a spa, a restaurant, and other accommodations within the hotel? Larger hotels often have contracts with tourist companies around the city. If you go to Florida, ask your hotel desk receptionist if they have any deep-sea scuba diving adventures or other local attractions that might interest you.
Simply sitting through 2 hours of time-share selling can get you a free meal and a free helicopter ride or another promotion. Staying at time-share hotels are a great bargain, but be ready to listen to some sales pitches about time shares. If your not interested, at least go to them for the free lunch. The longer you stay there, the bigger the prizes get. You might enter your name in a drawing for a free vacation to one of their sister hotels, and you may actually win.
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"Five ways to find a cheap hotel"
When it comes to booking your dream vacation, you have two options: early or last-minute. Cheap hotel rates are always offered to individuals that plan ahead and book their vacation months, even years ahead. Doing a search for "last minute vacations" will also pull up several cheap hotels. This is because companies have too many vacant rooms available and they need people to fill them up, even if it is half the cost. Here is a small guide to help you find a cheap hotel:
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Decide on what options you need. Do you just want a comfortable bed with cable TV and a hot shower? Small motels will probably fit your needs just fine. If you spend a lot of time in your hotel room and you want one that feels like a home, be ready to pay a little extra. The trendy hotels are always pricey, but checking their web site and travel magazines often can give you an insight about their pricing.
Always watch for the off-season. Going to Disneyland over Thanksgiving is much cheaper than going during the busy summer months. The packages offered during the off-season by travel companies will be almost half the regular price. Take a look at the city you want to go to and try to find a calendar of events. If a football game, like the Super Bowl, is scheduled in that town in a couple weeks, you may want to put off your vacation. When big events are in town, the hotel rates nearly triple. The balloon festival in Albuquerque causes every hotel to book all their rooms for 3-4 times their normal rate, this includes the Holiday Inn. If you really do want to go see one of the big events, consider staying 30-40 miles away, as you can get hotel deals for a fraction of the price.
If you are a night owl, you can also find some cheap hotels. Web sites like Travelocity.com will offer cheap hotel rates at late-night hours. This is a key time to swoop in and book your room at the Radisson over the Motel 6. Always compare the rate you are being quoted to other online booking web sites. Expedia.com may have the same deal as Travelocity.com, but it is a few dollars cheaper. Keep a few travel web sites open at the same time so you can refresh them to see if the rates have changed.
Another way to find cheap hotels is to find the web site for the city you want to stay in or one of the neighboring cities. If you can get to the web site, you normally have a good chance of finding a list of all the hotels in that town. Call each of the hotels individually and ask them what their rates are, give them a few dates throughout the year so you can compare which hotel has the best rates year-round. Some hotels will be willing to match the price you have been given by one of their competitors so never be afraid to offer that information to them.
Check the state and national park web sites for hotel listings. If you are planning to stay in Yellowstone or outside of the park, you might be able to get a cheap hotel by going to their national park web site. If you are going to a national park, you can't be too picky about your options. Camping national parks tend to have links to web sites for bed-and-breakfasts or rustic cabins. As long as you are comfortable lighting your own fire, you might enjoy the comfort of a cozy cabin for two. Most national parks actually have nice lodges and resorts. The only way to book a stay at those hotels is through the park web site. If you call several months in advance, say 9-12, you can easily get a great discount. You can also request to be put on a wait list for the lodge if they are booked solid for a few months.
Sign up for email notifications through all the hotel web sites. When a hotel is desperate and they need people to start booking, they will start offering discounts. If you are on their mailing list, your chance of getting a cheap hotel room, are pretty high. These hotel chains often leave the discounts up to the individual owner. These owners will try to create package offers with local companies. For example, if you are interested in touring New York City, the Marriott may offer a 3 day 2 night stay in combination with a city tour and a ferry ride. The complete package will be cheaper than buying the ferry ride, city tour, and 3 day stay on your own. Keep a separate email account open just for all the notifications you get from the various hotels. This way you won't be too frustrated with all the different offers.
Package deals are the way to go for many people. Expedia.com and other travel web sites will combine your air fare, rental car, and hotel room and give you a reasonable figure. Always do your research on your own by looking at different airline rates, rental car rates, and hotel rates. If you think you can get a better deal on your own, drop the hotel room or the other thing that is holding you back.
Check your local newspapers for time-share rentals. Some people purchase a time share and discover they will not be able to go on their vacation. To recoup some of the costs, they will rent their time share to someone else. People that are desperate to regain some of the money will offer low room rates for nice places. Time-shares usually have a beautiful outdoor yard that every room overlooks and they also come with gourmet foods, lavish rooms, and inside connections to local attractions.
Another great way to find cheap hotels is to let your friends know you like to travel. Companies often book extra rooms for conferences and other events, if the rooms are not used, they will give them away. If your friend works for the company, you could be one of the lucky individuals to get a free hotel room or a cheap hotel room. Keeping your connections solid with several people will help you stay up-to-date on new hotels and hotel rates across the country, even across the world. Always check with your employer before you book a room. Several employers can get cheap hotels by working out an agreement with them. If your employer can get you an employee discount, take advantage of it and save yourself a few bucks.
