Knowing where to look online can get you a standard room in a hotel far nicer than you might have thought your budget would allow. For your next trip, try these sources.
Check the Hotel's Home Page
This may sound like a no-brainer, but many people skip this step. No matter which online service you use to book your hotel, check the hotel's official web site first for deals and discounts. Many list Internet-only specials that are not available anywhere else. It's prudent to compare the deals you get directly from the hotel before you book, although it may require a phone call to confirm availability.
Compare, Compare, Compare
You might think, with real-time information zooming across the Internet all the time now, that all of the online booking web sites would have exactly the same rates. Not so. In fact, I've often found vastly different rates for similar rooms at the same hotel on Travelocity, Expedia, and Quikbook. It's worth taking the few extra minutes to pull up the same hotel on a few different services and compare the prices.
Avoid Paying the Standard Price for a Hotel Room
Hotel deals are out there, but it sometimes takes work to find them. Calling a hotel's reservation desk and accepting the quoted room rate will often result in you paying top dollar. To get the best deals you need to do your homework and keep your options opened. Following a few simple steps may result in your ability to save up to fifty percent off the normal room rate.
* Plan your trip ahead of time and during non-peak seasons to get the cheapest rates.
* Book your room during the off-season months.
* Check online at the major online agencies for special discounts but always call the hotel first to find out what the normal rates are. On occasion what may sound like a good deal online turns out to cost you more than what it would cost had you called the hotel directly.
* Join hotel frequent guest programs and check those hotels first when booking your stay. The more points you accumulate in the programs the more effort will be made by reservation operators to negotiate your room rate.
* Cash in airline points for hotel rooms when possible.
* Be direct and tell the reservation operator what you are looking for in price and ask about any special deals they may offer such as AARP rates for seniors, student and military discounts, and AAA (American Automobile Association) discounts.
* Once the room rate is quoted, ask if there is any other room available at a lower rate.
* Always ask about extra charges such as parking fee's, tourist taxes, and other small fees hotels charge.
