Hotel Hacks to Save Money (10+ Tricks to Save Big)

Planning your next trip? Check out these Hotel Hacks to Save Money in order to stay on a budget!

Planning your summer trip? If you’re looking to save money on accommodations and hotels, you’ve come to the right place!

These Hotel Hacks to Save Money will show you a few simple but effective ways to save big on your accommodation. After all, besides flying, hotels can eat up a huge chunk of your travel budget. So why not try to save!

Keep reading to find out the best ways to save money on hotels…

Hotel Hacks to Save Money

#1: Get Free Hotels.com Gift Cards

Using free hotel gift cards is probably the ultimate way to save money on accommodation. Using Swagbucks, you can do simple tasks such as watching videos or searching the web to earn ‘SB Points’, which in turn you can use to trade in for free gift cards.

Here’s how it works:

• Sign up with Swagbucks
• Then start earning Swagbucks SB Points.  There are so many EASY ways to earn Swagbucks!  You can earn by Searching the Web {just like you would using Google}, Taking Surveys, Using Coupons, Shopping Online, Watching Videos, etc.  I typically earn an easy $25 each month on Swagbucks!
• Cash in your Swagbucks SB Points for free Hotels.com gift cards. 10,000 SB = a $100 Hotels.com gift card!

#2: Look for Loyalty Point Programs

Many hotels including Best Western, Marriott, Hyatt, and many more all have excellent rewards programs. By joining one of these, you can begin to rack up rewards and save big!

#3: Search Multiple Booking Sites

Another great way to save big on hotels is to search multiple booking sites. By searching and comparing multiple sources, you can find the lowest price available. Some great booking sites include:

• Kayak
• Hotels.com
• Expedia
• and more.

#4: Watch Out for Hidden Fees

When booking hotels, look out for tacky add on fees. Some hotels do this far more than others, and if you’re not careful, what otherwise might seem like a good base price for a hotel could be much more expensive it reality.

Some things to look out for are:

• Parking fee
• WiFi fee
• Early check in fee
• Additional person fee
• etc.

#5: Book in Advance if Traveling in the Peak Season

Last minute bookings in peak season usually cost much more, as with such high demand, the hoteliers don’t need to discount rates. You’ll want to book in advance to prevent this.

#6: Experiment With Traveling in the Off-Season

When it comes to saving money on hotels, booking for the off season and shoulder season are terrific ways to reduce the expense. If you have the flexibility to travel at a non-peak season time of year, then you can really begin to save big on your accommodation! For instance, by going to Las Vegas in August, the hotels were far cheaper than they would’ve been in the winter.

#7: Stay in Certain Hotels Certain Times of the Week

When traveling to cities, one useful tip is to stay in business hotels if you’re going on the weekend, or tourist hotels during weekdays. As that will be the low point of business during the week for most of those hotels, you’ll usually be able to get a discounted rate.

#8: Make Your Own Tasty Breakfast

Does the hotel you’re planning to stay at not offer a free breakfast? You could always look for a nearby grocery store to pick up some ingredients to make your own! Making your own breakfast can be much lot cheaper than eating out as well.

#9: Skip the Laundry Machines and Do Your Own Laundry

Washing your own clothes can be such a great way to save money, especially on longer trips! Rather than constantly paying a lot of money to use hotel washing machines, or visiting laundromats, invest in a few supplies ahead of time such as:

• Drain Stop
• Clothesline
• Zote or other soap

Related: How to Wash Clothes While Traveling

Hotel Hacks to Save Money – Alternative Forms of Accommodation

#10: Skip the Hotels and Camp to Save Big

When camping in National Parks and state parks, you can spend a fraction of the cost as compared to hotels and other forms of accommodation. Besides that, you’ll often times be much closer to the main hikes or attractions as opposed to staying in some town far outside the park.

In some parks like the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, for instance, you can walk to the rim in just a few minutes, whereas with hotels, you’ll have to spend 30+ minutes waiting for and riding the shuttle to reach the same destination.

For more awesome campgrounds, check out these Best Campgrounds in the US.

So, now that you’ve seen these great ways to save money on hotels, go check out even more great tips below…

17 Cheap Flight Hacks

Road Trip on a Budget

Suitcase Packing Tips

Staying Healthy While Traveling

Long Haul Flight Tips and Tricks

Bucket List Trips

Don’t miss out!  Follow along with Never Ending Journeys for more fun Travel Tips and insider Ideas!

What are YOUR favorite ways to save big at hotels

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