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How to Find Cheap Internet Hotel Rates
How to Find Cheap Internet Hotel Rates
The internet has revolutionized the travel industry, making it possible for individuals to find and book travel deals previously available only to travel agents.
But, before you book your dream hotel, there are a few simple steps to follow to ensure you get the best possible deal on your hotel.
Know where you want to stay, but be flexible.
While you may have a particular hotel in mind, you’re likely to find a much better deal if you allow yourself a little flexibility. Instead of setting your sights on one specific hotel, pick the area you want to be in, and what amenities you would like in your hotel. Some things to consider include:
- Do you need to be in a city center, or are you willing to travel in?
- Do you prefer a hotel that includes breakfast in its rate?
- Do you need a hotel that allows pets?
- Does it matter whether the hotel has a pool or not?
- Does it matter if the hotel has a workout room?
- Do you need a hotel with a bar, lounge, or restaurant for entertaining?
- Do you need a hotel with in-room internet access?
- Do you need a hotel that offers room service?
- Do you require valet or dry cleaning service?
- Do you prefer a hotel that caters more to business travelers or more to families?
- Do you need a hotel that offers a day car or baby sitting service?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll have a much better idea exactly what you’re looking for. You may even find that the great hotel that your friends raved about isn’t suitable for your needs.
Scour the internet.
Once you’ve decided where you want to go and what amenities you require, it’s fairly simple to compare hotel prices on the many internet commercial travel websites. Most sites will let you do a detailed search that incorporates the area you’re looking in, the dates of your stay, the amenities you require, what type of room or rooms you want, how many stars you want your hotel to have, and the approximate price you want to pay. A couple of simple searches will give you a good idea of the hotels in the area that might interest you. Depending on where you’re traveling, there may be a few, or many, hotels that satisfy your needs. Once you’ve identified them, it’s important to search all the major travel websites for the best possible deal. The best sites include: expedia.com, orbitz.com, travelocity.com, hotwire.com, and kayak.com.
Kayak.com is a particularly useful website, as it does a search that compares the rates of the other major commercial travel sites, and then lets you link to the best deal.
Be careful of added fees.
Once you think you’ve found your perfect hotel, be careful to read all the fine print, not just the highlighted price quotes. Local hotel fees and taxes can add substantially to a nightly rate. Some hotels even try to hide fees such as “environmental” or “restoration” fees that aren’t advertised in the nightly rate, but as a one time fee at checkout. The fees will still be stated somewhere in the price quote page, but may not be included in the nightly rate.
Check for coupons before you book.
Once you think you’ve found your hotel, check for coupons from all the travel sites. Sometimes there will be great “internet only” coupons that pop up that can add up to significant savings. Use a search engine and just type in “Orbitz hotel coupons” to check if Orbitz has any internet savings. Do the same with any other sites. If you do find a coupon, there will be a coupon code that you then enter at checkout to get your discount. This is an important step, as many of the internet travel sites offer coupons of anywhere from 20 to 40 percent in savings regularly.
The next step is to book and pay for your hotel. You will not be paying the hotel directly, but paying for your stay through the travel website. You should be aware that your credit card will be charged at the time you book, not at the time of your stay, and there may be a penalty if you cancel your booking. During the booking process, you will be given the opportunity to use any coupons codes that you have found. Once you book, you will be sent a confirmation number via email that you can print out for your own records.
When you book your hotel, many sites will offer you discounts on things like local car rental or discounted tickets to local attractions. It’s worth reviewing these offers, as the prices often represent a significant discount over retail rates.
Finally, when you book through a third-party internet site, it’s always best to call the hotel to confirm your booking before you begin your travel.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.