Let’s make no bones about it, the easiest, and best, way of finding cheap hotel rates is on the Internet. Before you start searching, however, you’re going to need to have your trip planned and your flights booked. Finding a hotel after you’ve locked in your flights is easier than the other way around, and you don’t want to book a hotel only to find that there are no flights available for you to get to where you’re going. Once you’ve booked your flight, however, there are some simple things you can do to find the best hotel rates going at the destination you’re travelling to.
First of all, use travel sites that help you to quickly compile a list of the cheapest rates on the market. There are comparison sites for just about everything these days, from car insurance to credit cards, and hotels are no different. Using these comparison sites you’ll be able to find out exactly where hotels are situated and how much they charge for the dates you are intending on going there.
Call up hotels directly. This is a little done trick but it can work wonders. Sometimes you’ll find that the only way of getting the best rates at any hotel is to actually call them up and ask for them. As they say, if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so don’t be afraid to call up and see if you can negotiate yourself a great deal. Remember, there’s no harm in trying, and you can always revert to booking online if you don’t get anywhere.
How about booking your flight and hotel together? If you haven’t yet booked your flight, you might find that the airline you choose to go with has some relationship with a particular hotel chain, or a number of hotels, at your destination. Once you’ve booked your flight you may be presented with discounted hotel fares for your times of travel, so consider this option as well.
You can also simply book your entire trip as well. Travel companies like Transun sell entire package deals, allowing you to pay for your entire holiday up front. Sometimes paying for package deals from the likes of Transun and other companies will be cheaper than paying for flights and accommodation separately.
Look for last-minute hotel rates as well if you are a little tight on time. It may be that you have only just booked a last-minute flight or that you’re just very bad at organising things, but looking for last-minute hotels will often yield some very low prices, often at decent places.
All in all, look for hotels as early as you can if possible. While some people will go down the ‘last-minute’ route, this should only be used as a last resort, or if you suddenly find yourself with a couple of weeks to kill and you decide to go away. In most cases, looking for hotels and flights well in advance will help you to lock in cheaper rates before they inevitably rise.