thrift travel- via lodgings

Next on the tips agenda

Lodgings-

Accommodations are a major funds sucker.
This is especially true if you're traveling with more than 2 people.
Or with kids.
Take luck in both of those instances.
My experience is in European and American travels.
Here's generally what I've learned to save money:
I'll write some posts concerning how I use specific sites in the future.

1. Secret Deals
2. Home/Apt. rentals
3. Weekend travel to lesser known spots
4. Rewards cards
5. Shop around
6. Refundable vs. Non-refundable
7. Promo codes

#1 Secret Deals

This is literally my best kept secret that I'll gladly unkeep.
I'll do a step-by-step post about how I really utilize this trick, but for now, a general discussion.
I'm sure there are other sites that do a similar thing, but the site I use is Priceline.
They have these express deals that can be deeply discounted.
The catch is, they don't tell you the hotel name, but they tell you the location, amenities, star rating, and often times the guest rating.
From these things you can usually narrow down what hotel your really booking even though it doesn't tell you.
I have literally saved hundreds of dollar using this.
I've also helped others save hundreds of dollars.

Don't shy away from the express deals, or secret deals.
In my experience, it's a welcome surprise.

#2 Home/Apt. rentals

Airbnb and Homeaway I feel, have become a lot popular in recent days. (I've found, in general Homeway is cheaper than Airbnb- don't know why, but that's been my experience.)
Each of these have properties like apartments, houses, and individual rooms.
I wasn't well versed in the power of these sites until we went to Europe.
If you need accommodations for a lot of people using this could save you a bunch of money and allow all of you to stay together.

Be mindful of the type of accommodation your signing up for.
It is possible for you to be in a room in someones house while their whole family is in the same house.
If your in to that scenario that's great.
I personally am not.
Use the filters to your advantage and select whole house or apartment to eliminate such a sleep.

Also look at the extra expenses- this could end up costing you a lot of money instead of saving you money.
Cleaning fees or non-refundable deposits can make apartment or house rentals worthless when it comes to saving money.
Another thing to ask yourself  is if you'd like your place cleaned for you, free breakfast, a gym, or a pool.
Some apartments or houses may offer these, but many don't.
If basically staying in someone else's house for a week isn't your deal steer clear.

One of my favorite sites, booking.com, also has some apartment and home rentals.
They are just mixed in with everything else so you either have to filter your search of just sort through them among the hotels.

Check out any of these sites or home/apartment rentals to potentially save money.

#3 Weekend/holiday travel to lesser known spots

It goes without saying that hotel rates usually spike during the weekend and holidays.
Say your going to Paris, but you want to stopover in a smaller city around Paris sometime during your trip.
Staying in this random town on the weekend instead of Paris could save you a lot of money.
Be similarly mindful of international holidays.
Those can really drain your lodgings budget fast.

#4 Rewards Cards

I'm a big believer in rewards credit cards IF you always pay off your credit card.
Marriott will have a sign-up bonus deal occasionally for 100,000 points.
With these cards it's incredibly important to do exactly what it tells you to do so you earn your points.
A lot of them require you spend a certain amount of money within a certain time frame or keep the card a certain amount of time to earn the points.
Let me be frank, if you don't do this you got the credit card for no reason.

Another trick is to have you and your spouse each sign up for one.
A year or so ago Dale and I each signed up.
My deal was only 80,000 points, so we just got 180,000 points total, but with these points we paid for our accommodations in:
Amsterdam for 4 nights,
a hotel in California,
one in Helena,
another in Las Vegas,
a night in Peru,
and we still have around 80,000 points left.
The hotels in Amsterdam when we went were $300-$400 a night in the city due to the tulip festival and Liberation day.
So by spending money we would have spent anyway we saved around $1400 just in Amsterdam.
I really love the Marriott brand so we've had their card, but I know other hotels have similar deals.

If you're planning a big trip in the future you may want to consider earning points via credit cards to pay for your vacation.

#5 Shop Around

Once again comparison shopping can really pay off.
Many sites also offer best price guarantees.
My main go-to's for hotels are booking.com, priceline, hotels, airbnb, and homeaway.
I'll cross check with kayak and agoda.
Agoda supplies some of the deals for priceline so I'll sometimes search them just to make sure a better deal isn't available.

I've read of some people going to hotels in person and asking for last minute cheap accommodations. I've never done this, but if anyone has any experience with it I'd love to hear.
Some properties you must contact directly.
I've never done this either.
It's too much work for me, but I've read a lot of travel guides that recommend doing these two things.

Comparing prices between different sites can save you a lot of money.
Give it a shot next time your browsing for a fine hotel.

#6 Refundable vs. Non-refundable

Non-refundable is almost always the better deal.
Something about paying all your money up front and not having a chance to get a penny of it back can save you loads of money..... those smart/sneaky hotels, etc.
I personally have hotel commitment issues so I try to choose hotels with a refundable option.
Here's what I do:
Book a good deal on a refundable hotel.
Before the refund-ability time period is up I recheck hotels in that area.
If I find a better deal I book that one and cancel my refundable one.
Heck the non-refundable deeply discounted price is probably still available a few days out so you can still snag that deal but not be a last minute planner or potentially waste a bunch of money if you can't make your trip.
I've done this plenty of times. Anything to save a buck.

#7 Promo Codes

Let's not forget our good friend promo code.
Whenever I book a hotel I google "promo codes for priceline (or hotels.com, or booking, or.... )
I've never saved a lot of money by using promo codes, but I have saved $50 bucks here and there.
I'd rather keep that $50 and do a quick internet search than not and give it to a hotel.

Here are a few ideas I use to save money on hotel accommodations.
I know lot's of people use hostels to save money too.
I've only stayed in a couple and I wasn't a fan, but lots of people love them and they save a lot of money.
I'll defer to those experts on hosteling.
If I can answer any questions or if you have any tips for me I'd love them.
I'll do some other posts about specifics in the future.
Hope this saves you a buck or a thousand.