Over the years, I have learned a thing or two about hotels, and I decided to share a few tips with you to help you book the best hotel room and at the best price. When it comes to booking a trip, Dwayne and I have very specific roles. He is the flight and car rental guy, and I am the hotel girl. 🙂 Booking hotels is my thing. I love spending time researching accommodations! I have a specific idea of what I am looking for. Something special, not necessarily luxurious, but definitely original. Hotels, for me, are part of the experience, and even if we do not spend much time in them, I need them to have a vibe that tells me a story.
Are you ready to find out my tips to book the best hotel room and at the best price? Keep reading!
The first thing I do is to put together a list of hotels I like at a glance. I do a couple of things to compile this list. I do a general search on booking websites such as Booking.com, but I also google “boutique hotels” in whatever city/location we are visiting. I usually end up on boutiquehotel.me, one of my favorite websites for less conventional hotels. I take a super quick look at the pictures, and I write down the ones that look interesting. Once this is done, the real work starts.
1. RESEARCH THE HOTEL
I research all the hotels one by one. I generally look them up on their official website, on Tripadvisor, and on Booking.com. At this point, I am not looking at reviews yet, even if I immediately eliminate hotels with less than 4 stars. First, I try to get an idea of the price range to see if they can work with our budget. Secondly, I look at the type of rooms they have, their size, pictures (taken by the hotel and customers), etc. I also check out the hotel’s amenities and if they offer breakfast (complimentary / at a cost, what type). Lastly, I try to understand where the establishment is located. All these elements allow me to narrow down my list to the ones that really interest me and could potentially book.
2. READ THE REVIEWS
After narrowing down my list of favorite hotels (probably 3 or 4), I read the reviews, starting from the negative ones. I ignore the ones written by “Karen” or “Ken”, and I only pay attention to the ones that provide actual information. Reviews are important for essential red flags linked to cleanness, safety, overall quality, etc. They are also beneficial to spot the best hotel rooms. They will help you decide if it is worth spending the extra money for that deluxe room or if there are rooms that are particularly loud because of where they are located. Moreover, when choosing boutique hotels where rooms might all be different, they will also help you understand what rooms are your favorite ones.
3. CONTACT THE HOTEL
Once you have decided on the hotel, email them directly and ask them for recommendations regarding their best rooms and any other questions. Once you have officially booked, contact them again to put in a request for the specific room you would like (give them a couple of options, if possible) and let them know about specific preferences (quiet room, hard/soft bed, flat/thick pillow, etc.). If you book the room through a booking website, I would also recommend writing that in the dedicated space, usually called “Notes” or “Special Requests.” Nothing is guaranteed, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. 🙂
Extra tip: If you are visiting the hotel for a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, something to celebrate), let them know. Some hotels will try to make it extra special for you – they might give you one of their best rooms, a free upgrade, a bottle of champagne, or something else! You are not going for a special occasion? Well, life itself is worth celebrating so you can always say you are staying there for a “special” occasion. You know what I mean? Wink, wink! LOL!
4. COMPARE PRICES
Now, let’s take a little step back. Before booking, you will want to score the best price for the room you choose, and there are a few ways to do that.
• Check out the official hotel website. Sometimes prices are lower, or they have special deals/packages.
• Search on a price comparison website to simultaneously show all the main booking websites. I usually use Kayak.
• Look for Cashback Offers. I use Rakuten when shopping online, and I love it! Several booking websites offer cashback through them (usually between 3% to 10%). There is a super handy web extension you can download that will automatically show what type of offers they have when visiting a specific website. So, I check my favorite booking websites and compare them to see which offers the highest cashback.
If you want to check out Rakuten (I have been using it for years and not only for travel-related shopping), you can use my link to receive $30 in cashback after your first use.
• Look for bundle deals. If you are flying, check for bundle deals on your airline website or Expedia to see if that can save you more money. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Compare, compare, compare!
This applies to international travel. I learned this special trick from a friend of mine. Hotels offer different prices depending on where you’re located. Say what? Yes, you heard that right!
In many cases, hotel prices are lower when booked in the country where the hotel is located or from lower-income countries than yours. For this reason, I use a VPN and set my location in the country where I am going (i.e., if I am booking a hotel in Italy, I select an Italian server). Then, I check out websites such as Booking.com to see if the prices differ. I also give it a try with another couple of countries.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, a VPN (aka Virtual Private Network) is a service that hides your IP address and physical location and allows you to select a server anywhere in the world. You can use a VPN both on your computer and mobile phone. You can choose from many, and they are all very affordable. Dwayne and I use SurfShark and ExpressVPN. Both are valid.
Using a VPN is always a good idea, not only to save money on hotels but also to save on flights, watch TV shows that might not be available in your country or while traveling, and access Google and social media websites when traveling in countries where they are blocked but most importantly to protect your data!
Ok, enough about VPNs, and back to the main topic. My tips to book the best hotel room and at the best price!
5. UPON ARRIVAL, ASK FOR FREE UPGRADES
Ok, we made it to the final step! You booked your hotel, and you are finally checking in. Life is great! Now is the time to shine! 🙂 Remind the receptionist about your room preferences and ask them if there are any complimentary upgrades or special deals for upgrades. Again, nothing is guaranteed, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Be very nice! Like, “Dalai Lama” kind of nice! 🙂 You would be surprised what niceness and a little persistence will do. Some of the best deals we scored were actually at check-in!
Do you have other tips to share with Your Travel Friends community? Leave a comment below!
