We all like a little time off from the daily grind every now and then. A vacation can give you the boost you need in so many ways. Even if you’re a workaholic you need to take some time to yourself every now and then so you can recharge and come back stronger.
Planning for a trip can be a bit stressful sometimes though. You have to figure out your plans, get plane tickets, car rentals, hotels, and setup activities to do. I’m going to try and show you how you can at least make the hotel part a little bit easier.
How to get the best deal on the hotel you want
No matter what type of hotel you want to reserve when you’re on vacation there will always be prices that fluctuate. That makes it a bit harder to buy at the right time for the best price, but there are ways you can manage that a bit better.
I’ll list the best places I look for hotel deals first.
1- Google
Yes, just google the city you want and add hotels to the end. So for example you can google “Orlando FL hotels”. In the search results you’ll find google maps loaded with hotels in the area and their prices. The reason why I use this tool is so I can find where I want to be in the area. Then I can see what hotels are near there. You won’t always find the best deals this way, but it can help sometimes. The main reason why I use this is for the hotels listed on the map.
2- Priceline
This is a great place to try your hand at bidding for your hotel room. The “name your own price” at Priceline is pretty popular and you should consider it. However, I wouldn’t use this method first. If you want less of a headache then you’ll want to reverse somewhere that will let you cancel. You don’t want to lock yourself in unless you’re close to your check in date (like within 48 hours or so).
3- Hotel Tonight App
This is a great App that has some excellent deals at the eleventh hour. You’ll find the best deals usually within 48 hours of checkin. This might be too stressful for some of you, and I get that, but you don’t reserve here unless you’re sure and ready to go anyway. This, like Priceline, is where you pay and can’t cancel. So you don’t do it until you’re ready.
4- The hotels actual site
Going to the source is almost always the best way to get the best deal with you’re reserving well in advance. This is what I will do ahead of time, especially if I know I want to get a certain hotel during a certain time. The strategy you want to do is just reserve the hotel you want and make sure you can cancel without charge. Then you’re set to play the game.
Now that you have your hotel room booked, hopefully at a decent price, you can not rest easy knowing you at least have somewhere to sleep. What you do next depends on how hands on you want to be. You can use sites like Hotel.com and their Price Watch or Kayaks Price Alerts to get, well, alerts! Then if you see the price drop for your hotel you can make a new reservation and then cancel your old one. Easy
The magic will usually happen all within 72 hours of your check in date. Hotels want to fill all their rooms so they’ll eventually drop prices if they have open spots. If they drop their prices then you’ll just make a new reservation again and cancel the more expensive one.
You can usually only do this up to 24 hours in advance of your check in date. You should be sure to check your hotel’s rules for verification.
When you’re in that 48 hour range you’ll start to see some lower deals usually. You should use google or something similar to check all the hotels in the area and see if there’s anything you like that’s going for less. If you find something you just reserve it and cancel the old reservation.
There will be times when you find the best deal at Priceline or HotelTonight’s App. I’ve been evaluating the Hotel Tonight App and they’re consistently showcasing great hotels at great prices when compared to anywhere else you can look. They (Hotel Tonight) say that you can get the best deals if you can wait to reserve on the day of, but I’ve also seen great deals in the 24-48 hour window which still gives us enough time to cancel our other reservation.
If you happen to find a great deal at Hotel Tonight then don’t hesitate and take it because rooms can fill up quickly sometimes. Of course, only take it when you’re sure you won’t have to cancel your trip as it’s non refundable. Just remember to reserve with Hotel Tonight in the 72 hour window. Otherwise, why would you want to commit to a non refundable room when you might find a better deal if you wait a bit?