How to Find the Best Deals on Hotels
So you’ve finally booked your flights for that epic adventure that you have been dreaming of, but then you realize you need to figure out where to stay. Figuring out where to stay and which website to book it through can be very overwhelming. Luckily this mini-guide will help you find the best deal on hotel rooms and simplify the process for you.
First, you should check out our destinations section to see if we have visited the destination you will be traveling to soon. All of my destination guides contain several hotel recommendations for all types of travelers. I also do my best to keep the archive of Hotel Reviews up to date as we visit new places. If we haven’t yet visited your destination keep on reading and I’ll help you through the process.
Using TripAdvisor to Find Hotels
When I’m visiting a destination for the first time, after checking out a couple of my favorite blogs, I’ll go over to TripAdvisor to begin my search for the best hotel deals. I love that you get real reviews and photos from travelers just like me to help me narrow down my search for the best deal for hotel rooms.
Finding Hotel Deals Using Booking.com
Another site that I like to use when searching for the best deal on hotels is Booking.com. Booking.com has hotels and vacations rentals all in one place making it easier to see your options in one place. Booking.com also shows when the cancellation period ends because we all know plans change sometimes.
Find the Best Deal on Hotels with Hotels.com
The final third-party booking site that I use to get the best deal on hotels is Hotels.com. Hotels.com has a great deals section where sometimes you can find a nice hotel at a fraction of the typical cost. Plus Hotels.com has a rewards program where you get secret insider prices and earn a free night after staying 10 nights anywhere in the world.
When Not to Use a Third-Party Booking Site
Hotels have been battling third-party booking websites since their inception. Major hotel chains would rather you book directly with them so they don’t have to pay the commission to the third-party website. I’d say there aren’t many times where I’d 100% say don’t book with a third-party site, but if you have status with a hotel chain, whether it is from a credit card benefit or frequent travel, hotels will no longer honor your status if you book through a third party site. This means no points, no free room upgrade, no elite benefits at all. So if you have status with the hotel chain that you plan on staying with, then you’re better off booking directly with the hotel chain. If you are working towards status with a particular chain and you find a better price on one of the third party websites, you can try and get price match directly with the hotel, but it can be a tedious process. Below are links to the major hotel groups here in the United States.
