One habit that quietly saves me money on every trip
Posted by WoodenFlamingo4983@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 19 comments
Booked at refundable hotel rates, then checked the price again a few days before check-in. Same room, same dates, sometimes a lot cheaper. Last trip saved €120 this way. Too obvious or does nobody actually do this?
Jealous-Yam9364@reddit
That’s actually a genius move. Honestly, most people just book and completely forget about it. Saving €120 just for re-checking the same room is a massive win. You just gotta make sure you cancel the first one before the deadline hits!
Tiny-Party2857@reddit
I've found that while traveling overseas, if we are in a large city it is cheaper to take a day tour than to drive, park, fill up with gas, pay tolls etc. We have done that with Brussels, Amsterdam, Hungary, London, Lisbon, and others. We also sometimes have private day tours, which is lovely.. but getting more expensive every year.
bulkware@reddit
Booking.com liebt diesen Trick. Deswegen sind die stornierbaren Raten immer deutlich teurer als die Fixraten und wenn Du nichts Passendes stattdessen findest, zahlst Du zuviel.
gumbyrox89@reddit
I just did this with a rental car. It was originally $310, and then a couple days before the trip, it was $250
Ok-Security1041@reddit
NiagaraThistle's approach of emailing dozens of places directly is solid, works especially well in smaller towns where occupancy is unpredictable. the refundable rate trick is basically playing the same game from the other side - hotels drop prices when they see empty inventory close to the date. combo of both strategies would be ideal but who has that kind of patience for every trip
greenbeanz_5@reddit
This has always worked for me when traveling in the US. However, I inquired about this in the UK - as the hotel rate days upon arrival was significantly less than what I paid when booking - and they said they do not issues refunds (it was a Premier Inn).
But it never hurts to ask!!!
Miserable-Abalone114@reddit
I do this. I also look at Airbnb and see if the rentals are part of a separate company that just uses Airbnb as another avenue for exposure. If that’s the case, I go on the company’s website and book directly. It’s ALWAYS cheaper since they aren’t paying Airbnb fees.
mnrode@reddit
I always book refundable unless it is a very steep discount. I book as soon as I know my travel dates. Then I check for cheaper or better accommodations every so often in the lead up to the trip.
For my trip next week, I have changed accomodations twice for almost every leg of the trip.
NiagaraThistle@reddit
this is a great tip. I think some people do it, but most probably book the cheaper no-refund rates and assume they have a good deal and never check again. I know i've read of others doing this here in som travel subs.
My 'tip' is to call/email places directly and tell them my nightly budget and ask if they can accommodate that budget for the dates I'd like to stay. I contact DOZENS of places per destination and usually save hundreds over a 2 week trip. For a 17-day trip to Ireland in peak season with my family in 2023, i saved over $2500! over what booking and airb&b were quoting for available places.
aubrx@reddit
Did you have any places knock you back after telling them your budget?
NiagaraThistle@reddit
yeah. A lot! Some ignored, some told me to check their room rates on their website, some outright laughed. But a ENOUGH had something available to meet my budget. And that was worth it. And i think all but one were great places - not necesarily LUXURY or anything as i don't travel like that - but really good places to sleep centrally located or near to the city / town if i had a car.
The key is not to only ask ONE place. For my Ireland trip everything affordable was booked on the normal consolidator/3rd party sites because we made the decision to go last minute and during the end of July /August which is the BUSIEST time of their travel season. So i contacted sometimes dozens of places in an area that we were headed to (specifically the West Coast was hard). And like i said, enough were ok with my nightly budget that it worked out to some really GREAT savings compared to what i would have booked on Booking or AirBnB.
snackhappynappy@reddit
I always check a day before the money gets taken Have saved € before Not every time but when I do the first meal and drinks are basically free in a new city
SCDWS@reddit
Hack for you to save even more time doing this: automatically track that hotel's prices on Google Hotels.
External-Candy-929@reddit
I've thought about it too, it's a cool trick, but I wonder how big your actual savings are?
Usually the price rises, doesn't it?
Also if the price was lower before, you will miss out on the non-refundable version of that one (usually \~90% of the full one on Booking app).
Manaray13@reddit
This depends on the location. If it's somewhere like Orlando where there is such a high supply of hotels then the prices often drop. You have to not be picky about the specific hotel you end up booking though.
Cimb0m@reddit
I do this all the time. Even if I don’t save in $ terms, I’m often able to upgrade to a better hotel for a similar price or not much more
Living_Fun_6970@reddit
This is all dependent on there being spare rooms available.
seamallowance@reddit
I was just pondering exactly this.
I’m going back to SE Asia later this year, and from everything that I’ve been reading, the Tourist Industry there is going to suffer greatly this year.
The Thai baht is weakening, and if “it” is not over in a couple of months, it will slip at the very least to 33 THB to the $US.
As airfares have skyrocketed (my previously purchased flight to Bangkok just doubled in price!!) and it’s thought that it is going to change a lot of destination plans for people.
This will probably translate to empty hotel rooms and lower prices.
AftankonReddit@reddit
I've thought about this with flights, but most of the time the flight prices rise, so it's not worth cancelling and re-booking a new ticket.
It also requires checking the flights daily/weekly to see IF it goes down, which usually they don't. I'm not sure how hotels operate, but defo a good tactic