With so much choice, booking a hotel room can throw up as many problems as it solves, not least the uncertainty around knowing if you’re getting the best deal. Some say you should always book way in advance and others reckon you should leave it ‘til the last minute, but in reality it all depends on when, where, and why you are going to stay in a hotel.
So before you part with your hard earned cash, with the help of LateRooms.com, we’ve put together a guide to making your money go further when booking a room.
The early bird catches the worm
Going to a concert, festival, conference, or any other popular event? Book in advance. It’s basic economics – the higher the demand the higher the price. So if you’re headed somewhere everyone else is headed too, it’s better to get in there early if you want the best deal. You’ll also avoid the dreaded ‘No Availability’ notice from your favourite hotel.
It’s better late than never
If you are looking to steal a couple of nights away in your favourite city, because, well, you’re worth it, then go at a time when there isn’t a big event or occasion taking place. This way you can monitor availability and prices in the weeks leading up to your stay and bag yourself the best deal. The really brave jetsetters will leave it until the day before they travel (or even the day itself!) to find the best rate – exciting and thrifty, what’s not to love?
You’ve got the world in your hands
Be tech-savvy about booking – LateRooms.com has ‘app only’ deals and users can benefit from discounts of between 10 and 40% on publicly available rates which are perfect for people looking to snap up a hotel room for a stay within 48 hours – so get off Snapchat and get searching! Trivago is also a fantastic hotel comparison website – you can easily compare over a million hotels from more than 200 worldwide booking sites on their app!
Get on the bus
Happy travellers should always consider hotels in neighbouring towns and cities to their chosen location if a big event means that rooms are scarce (or scarily pricey) – you can grab a bargain, see two places in one trip, and get to chat with the locals on the bus.
A hotel for all seasons
Bear in mind the season which you’re looking to go away, too – city breaks tend to be cheaper in the summer, as there are usually fewer events, fewer business travellers, and a mass exodus to the coast. It’s worth pointing out that if you try and book a hotel for a June skiing break though, you’ll probably be left disappointed.
Embrace the unknown
A lot of four and five star hotels like to remain anonymous when offering discounts and run ‘secret’ deals for their rooms, meaning you can get a great rate but you won’t know where you’re going to stay until right before you arrive. LateRooms.com has top hotels on its database willing to offer discounts of up to 40%, just put ‘secret hotels’ into the search bar and step into the unknown!
Me, myself and I
Take advantage of travelling solo – a lot of hotels assume it’ll be two of you staying in a room, but some offer great rates for singletons. Shop around for the ones that do and you, and only you, will thank yourself for it.
One more thing…
The hotel booking specialist also runs a flash sale every Thursday so keep your diary free to make sure you can surf the site without any distractions.