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10 Tips
for Landing
Rock Bottom Hotel Prices
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#5
Flexibility - The Bargain Hunting Traveler's Best Friend!
 Now
that you have some properties in mind, go back to
Travelocity and search for your exact hotel in the city you
will be visiting.
Select the hotel and choose
the tab labeled "Check Rates."
By selecting this tab, a
list of the rates for each night will appear. (This feature
works for most hotels featured on the site but not all)
Usually, you will be able to look ahead as much as 90 days.
Below is an example:
As you can see, this is an
invaluable tool for finding hotel deals. In the current
example, adjusting your trip by one week could mean the
difference between $309 per night and $99 per night. That
savings of $210 per night can go a long way. It also
illustrates the importance of being flexible when traveling.
#6 Research the
Properties!
Now that you have a few
hotels in mind, you will want to research the properties a
bit more. The best place for that is the website
Tripadvisor.com.
Tripadvisor is a website
where members can post reviews of hotels, restaurants,
activities and even post articles on vacation spots.
Visitors can even upload pictures and videos. This feature
is especially important. The hotel websites will always use
carefully selected, professionally taken photographs.
Having the ability to review dozens of random hotel
photographs taken by fellow travelers is invaluable when
trying to find the right hotel.
A word of caution, though.
Whenever you use any
website with visitor-supplied reviews, be a bit skeptical.
Never form an opinion based on one or two reviews.
Disgruntled employees and/or competitors may try and tear
down a hotel by filling the site with bad reviews while
others with an interest in the hotel's success may and try and move the hotel higher
in the rankings with good reviews. By considering the
entire picture, you will be less susceptible to one or two
fake entries.
#7 Check the Hotel's
Website for Better Deals!
Once you have determined
the best possible rate for your dates, do one more search on
the hotel's website. Believe it or not, after
all your work, you might find an even lower rate from the
hotel itself. This is an invaluable strategy as
you'll often find deals this way.
#8
Do Not Book Yet!
Before you book the hotel
you have chosen, you need to do a bit more research.
If you're going to a resort
hotel in the Bahamas, make sure the pools are open. What
about the restaurants in the hotel? If you're staying
in a more secluded area, you need to make sure the
restaurants will be open during your stay.
What about construction?
Sometimes you see the nightly rate of a particular hotel
come down suspiciously low. Make sure there is no
construction scheduled during your stay.
To answer these questions, first
call the hotel and ask. Most reputable places will answer your
questions honestly. Second, go to the
Tripadvisor.com website and search for the city or location you
will be visiting. On the left side of the page there will be a
list of links. Click on the forums link. Here you will
be able to ask questions of travelers who just left the spot you
will be visiting. If you're lucky, you will be able to find a
fellow traveler staying in the hotel at the time of your inquiry.
He or she will be an incredible source of information.
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