Comments on: Travel budget squished? How to find the best hotel deals

By: let's save some money | transient travels

let's save some money | transient travels — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:05:36 +0000

[...] On Family Travel Logue Sheila Scarboroug has informed us How to find the best hotel deals. [...]

By: Cheap Motels

Cheap Motels — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:22:16 +0000

Thanks,for the excellent tips.
I will definitely take it into consideration on my next trip.

By: this week’s travel finds: let’s save some money | Transient Travels

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:01:49 +0000

[...] On Family Travel Logue Sheila Scarboroug has informed us How to find the best hotel deals. [...]

By: poetloverrebelspy

poetloverrebelspy — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 07:00:35 +0000

I have also been known to give the advice that you should call the hotel . . . but if, after comparing their own website with that of a booking site, the latter’s still a lot cheaper (say $30 or more), don’t you just book via the latter? “Best” case scenario: the hotel simply matches the cheap rate — saving them, but not you, money. I sort of feel that any hotel that doesn’t give its customers the best rate directly deserves to pay a booking engine its fees.

Also wondering if you’ve not run into the problem of the hotel having nothing to do with booking and referring you to their national hotline? Those are a lot less flexible, usually offering you nothing better than you can find on the company’s site online.

I often read about Hotline-ing hotel deals — have you ever done this? Used those bidding helper sites to target a specific hotel for a good price? Would love to hear about your experience, if you have.

Finally, one easy way to “upgrade” your hotel experience that you’ve overlooked here is to join the chain’s loyalty program. Just filling out the form (even in the lobby, but preferably beforehand) makes you eligible for room upgrades when available and a number of small perks — from free juice or a snack basket to wireless internet or morning newspapers — which are pleasant and can in fact (at business hotels, for example) save real money.

By: Latin American Travel Guide

Latin American Travel Guide — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:22:26 +0000

Great article….lots of info!

To find the best travel information and great deals in Latin America and the Caribbean please visit us at:

http://www.latinamericantravelguide.com

By: Sheila

Sheila — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:00:56 +0000

Thanks for all of the great commenter ideas and links for saving on lodging!

By: Ric Garrido

Ric Garrido — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:01:58 +0000

Another tip for finding some of the lowest rates, particularly when checking a big chain like Marriott, Hilton, Starwood is to go to the specific hotel’s own homepage.

Look for the link on top for Special Offers. Many times there will be a special offer with the same rate or even lower than the main hotel corporate site rate search. Often you can get parking or breakfast free at no additional charge.

And if you actually are looking for a suite there are sometimes deals to book a special offer suite package that can be hundreds of dollars less than the main search page.

And remember that sites like Expedia, Orbitz, and Kayak do not even return simple rate discounts like AAA or senior. In most chain hotels the AAA and senior rates give a $10 to $50 discount. You have to look for these rates specifically because most hotel booking sites exclude these “Group Rates” from default rate searches.

By: Sean O'

Sean O' — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:27:38 +0000

Once again, a great post, Sheila.

btw, you mentioned Google Blog Search…did you know it just got turbo-charged?
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj-YYqaR1q0cl5UbV0gMn19jr7Qw

By: sam

sam — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:33:31 +0000

Thanks for the review on the deals… This helps me in my next big travel…

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:28:03 +0000

The url for Darn Good Digs is http://www.darngooddigs.com. I made a mistake above.