5 Tips For Booking A Cheaper Hotel

Travel out of season

Fewer tourists and lower prices than in high season: traveling out of season has several advantages, and does not mean that the weather will be bad, provided you choose your destination carefully.

Many hotel establishments have understood the vein, and set up seasonal pricing, offering preferential rates during the low season. As customers, knowing that hotels are less full at certain times of the year also gives you room for negotiation.

In addition, some places have set up loyalty programs, which encourage tourists to return to their establishment at different times of the year, by rewarding them with a small discount, or on-site advantages.

⋙ Where to go on vacation month by month?

Find a hotel far from the city center

Once you’ve determined when you want to go, it’s time to find the perfect location for your accommodation. Here again, here is a little trick to save money: the price of overnight stays in hotels is generally set according to the comfort and services offered by the hotel, but also according to the prices of competitors already established.

Thus, if you move away from the city centers, which are often saturated with hotels, you may be able to find cheaper nights than in the center. This implies having a means of transport to get to these outlying places, but the game is sometimes worth the effort!

⋙ Offers for teleworkers are increasing in hotels

Book your room directly with the hotel

If platforms like Booking, Expedia, Trivago, eDreams or even Liligo have exploded in recent years, they do not necessarily save you money… On the contrary! Indeed, if these hotel comparators are very practical for finding accommodation for your holidays, and for consulting traveler reviews, they generally take a commission on each reservation, if you book directly on the platform.

Thus, it is better to favor direct booking with hotels, via the Internet or by telephone. The operation is a win-win for the client and the hotelier: the latter saves the commission paid to the platform, and can offer his client a preferential rate.

Good plan to book a hotel directly in France: Booking better, a collaborative platform that allows you to book your room on the website of hotels, which are nearly 1,000 to be referenced (mainly 3 or 4 stars). The customer does not pay a commission and the platform is remunerated via the subscriptions taken out by the hotels.

Book a hotel room at the last minute

We tend to believe that booking your flight or hotel well, even very long in advance, can pay off in order to save money. And that’s not necessarily wrong. However, if you have an adventurous soul, be aware that most hotels tend to sell off the price of rooms at the last moment, sometimes the same day, if the hotel is not full. And this in order to avoid running empty.

Platforms like Hotel Tonight also make it possible to book, on the Internet or on the mobile application, last-minute accommodation in Europe, on the American continent and in Australia. A trick that can be worth it in places where there are many hotels, but not necessarily in destinations far from everything.

Same concept for the platform as a Guest, set up in 2019 by a former journalist and two travel enthusiasts. 150 independent hotels, from 3 to 5 stars, offer their unsold hotel items at a fixed price of 99 euros for two, all year round. Note that the platform has just launched a Premium offer at 179 euros, bringing together more luxurious establishments.

One night in a luxury hotel at bargain prices

If your budget allows it, some sites offer to spend one or more nights in luxury establishments… at a lower cost! This is, for example, the concept of off&away, which allows you to book two hotel nights on Friday and Saturday, and to be offered the Sunday night. And this in a selection of independent 4 and 5 star hotels only!

How can the concept work? Weekends are offered in low and medium seasons, and the third night free is compensated by paid activities on site, according to the leaders of the site.

Since 2017, Staycation also offers stays in the most beautiful hotels in France at unbeatable prices. Initially, it was only preferential rates for luxury rooms in Paris, and only on Sunday evenings. Since then, the offer has expanded and more nights and destinations are available. To take advantage of it, members – registration is free – must log on Wednesday morning at 9 am, to reserve a room the following weekend.

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