What are the best cheap hotel booking sites?
Posted by prakritiad@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 32 comments
Which websites to use to get the best discounts on hotel bookings? Looking for tips, methods or tricks for getting the lowest rates. I’m currently looking at sites like Super. com, Bookings, expedia etc. Help a brother out! Going on vacay soon and wouldn't mind saving a few bucks.
Plenty_Wealth_4506@reddit
I always just book through expedia, but what really comes in handy, though, was when I signed up for a tool that monitors the price I paid on expedia and rebooks me when prices drop.
The company called repriced.ai uses AI software to do this and also have their own direct relationships with hotels so id say almost 1/2 the time they save me money on my hotel booking. Ive been signed up for almost 9 months now and already got back over $900. It is also free to sign up, so I think a no brainer for any frequent traveler
Sneh_414@reddit
Ive also been using repriced ai to track all my hotels and flights it works extremely well. ive gotten back over $2000 in the past year and the travel savings are fully automated. very great use case for ai in travel
PicoloHulk@reddit
try crashers.org best rate for solo travelers
themelissasw@reddit
find the hotel you like thru these sites then book directly at the hotel. was cheaper for me
JoeAtPolarsteps@reddit
Booking.com is obvious, but the discounts for being a regular user can save you quite a bit of money (certainly in Asia). I've had some great deals in Malaysia, India etc thanks to their loyalty discounts.
NiagaraThistle@reddit
Google.
"Hotels in [CITY]"
Then contact each hotel that is in the area you want t visit and looks good. Email or call them.
In the email say something like "Hi. I'm looking for a room for ## people for # nights. I will check in on [DATE] and check out on [DATE]. My nightly budget is $XX. Do you have anything available that matches my dates and budget? Thank you."
Send 10-20 emails at a time with that same message.
Most will not respond/laugh if the budget is too low/tell you to consult thier website. But a FEW will contact you back and say they have a room available at your budget but you might have to pay in cash or skip the free breakfast.
I save HUNDREDS doing this for trips to Europe. I don't use booking sites or AirB&B at all. i just contact hotels direct, let them know what i'm will to spend, and book the nights that are within my budget.
SwitchElectronic10@reddit
Grandma, is this you?
NiagaraThistle@reddit
Say what you will, it is hands down better than sing some of the 3rd party booking sites and save me a ton of money i can better use on the trip to actually experience the places i visit, or just allow me to keep more money in my pocket for the next trip.
thriftylol@reddit
There is a scam going around where the scammer send almost exactly this email. don't expect very many replies
NiagaraThistle@reddit
You don't many replies anyways. But I've always gotten enough replies to find a good affordable place to sleep.
But of course YMMV.
Dry-Courage6664@reddit
I found some interesting listings on hometogo, with some good deals for Bangkok. You can search for a lot of other countries and cities.
brightluminance@reddit
Honestly, I mostly try to stay away from third party booking sites, with few exceptions.
The best and cheapest option for travelling is to just open Google Maps, go to your destination and have a look at the 3 and 4 star hotels that pop open on the map (most 3 star hotels are perfectly fine, I rarely stay in 4 star ones). You get the reviews, the pictures of the hotel and you see exactly where you’re situated. And then go to the hotel’s website and book/make your reservations with them directly.
Pricewise, it’s usually cheaper and I haven’t had any bad experiences so far. Also, if there’s any issues, I can just deal with the hotel directly.
My only exception is ski holidays in Europe: If I plan one, I use Snowtrex, because they’ve got some pretty good deals and I get the ski pass included in the booking.
BountifulGuitar2@reddit
Super. com has had good rates for my hotel bookings. I usually compare it against Booking and Expedia, and Super often comes out cheaper or equal. Platform is reliable and you can stack it with credit card rewards sometimes.
mimikyu17@reddit
How was the experience with Super?
Luis_KZM@reddit
I've found solid deals on Super .com for vacation bookings. The rates are competitive and sometimes better than other platforms. Just make sure you're looking at total price with all fees before celebrating your 'deal.'
Few-Engineering-890@reddit
I use trivago or Tripadvisor I cross reference with the Hotels website directly as well. The biggest scam is Marriott saying they price match what you find +25% difference. I recently after 40 years tried that and they said it wasn’t the same exact thing because it went through a third-party! Then I learned just to get the lowest rate I can find online. This last time I made a reservation through trivago that pulled up Prestigia and even though the reviews were bad about the website, I had used that many years ago and took a chance on doing that again and at hotel in Paris that I was extending my stay. I had three rooms and with Prestigia I saved 20% off the lowest rate I could find on Marriott. I was a little concerned since people had said Prestigia was a fraud but honestly when I checked with the hotel, the reservation did not come through Prestigia but Expedia it’s amazing how many different names they use for the same company. Initially, I only use it for one night to make sure I didn’t lose much if I had an issue I used it consistently for my two week trip in Paris. I saved a good amount of money.
Also, if your trip is within a few days, Hotel Tonight is a great app. Just be aware that you will not be guaranteed too bad in case you need separate beds. They just guarantees that it will fit two people. I have stayed at some phenomenal properties for substantially less through Hotel Tonight.
mystic_music11@reddit
It depends on your destination but I’d look at Super for deals
Rainbowliesahead@reddit
Agoda but sometimes hotels and room changes just before your trip. Booking is that onw I prefer..
thriftylol@reddit
I've worked in many hotels. We will ALWAYS match the lowest price on a third party website if you call us and ask. Because if you book on that third party, the third party keeps 15-30% of those profits. It is ALWAYS in the best interest of the hotel to match any third party rate, no matter what. This is literally the only advice you need.
DisplaySmart6929@reddit
Agoda is usually the cheapest .
harlequin_24@reddit
Checkout your current account supplier sometimes they have offers
Priscilladaoui@reddit
Google
valeyard89@reddit
Booking.com or hotels.com via cashback booking portals.
I've used www.topcashback.com for awhile, you can redeem cashback for hotels.com giftcards... And sometimes they have bonuses of up to 20% cashback. Usually it's 4% on hotels.com.
matrixofillusion@reddit
Trivago is a good one.
UglySpiral@reddit
There’s no one site, if you’re going to go through third party, Google is the best aggregator. It parses through all the third parties and finds the lowest offer
japhar@reddit
It’s more complicated based on my experience. Sometimes direct is the cheapest, sometimes you get better offer going through google or TripAdvisor to another 3rd party like vio or something else in spaghetti fashion. Also booking mobile most often then not have better prices than pc web version.
So it depends, just make sure to compare terms and conditions.
Chris_in_Lijiang@reddit
The business model of OTAs is to add 30 or 40% to online customers.
Gonzo_B@reddit
The hotel chain has a loyalty program that is free to join, offering decent discounts to members.
You can get cheaper through third-party websites, but you get zero protection if problems arise, often are given misleading information because they know nothing about the specific hotel's services, and will be an absolute nightmare if you need any refund for any reason.
It is always cheaper to deal with the hotel than to need to fight for money for months or deal with indifferent customer service agents located abroad if you need help.
OldLadyQuestionsTA@reddit
I like Booking.com. They now offer 'all in' pricing, so it's a lot easier to compare properties. We travel internationally quite a lot and have never had a problem with a property I have booked with them. Be sure to always filter by properties with free cancellation, so you're not stuck if your plans change. Once you book a few times with them, you will become eligible for extra discounts.
Once you find something, you can always check the property's site to see if it's cheaper to book direct.
NOTE: I have found TripAdvisor to be a waste of time. It may be good to research properties, but their pricing is not accurate.
Minbedstekop@reddit
Always cross reference! Sometimes if you book the accommodation through their own site there will be discounts or add ons like free breakfast. For others the sites youve mentioned are good
indianasall@reddit
Yes, sometimes I book directly through the hotel site. They can actually be cheaper but a lot of times they're more my favorite website is agoda I book hotels on there all the time and when I have to cancel, I get my money back within a day on my credit card. They've always been very good. Never had a problem and they seem to always be the cheapest.
Tricky_Hamster_285@reddit
None. They all vary all the time. As a person who has had the experience of traveling a lot, I recommend booking directly with the hotel and not a third party like Booking. Same with flights.
I check Google maps and filter hotels for the area I plan to be in and proceed from there.
If you use 3rd party sites and you need to change or cancel reservations, it is a huge pain.
You will have to communicate with the site you booked whereas when booking directly with the hotel, they are able to assist you directly and more expediently. Otherwise, you take the risk of no or a very reduced refund and (possibly) no ability to change ur itinerary if a crisis or something else comes up requiring alteration or cancelation of the booking.
If it's a not a big trip and and the price is worth the risk, try them all. Best wishes!