When trying to reduce the costs associated with travelling saving money on your lodging by finding hotel deals is the best way to accomplish this goal. Staying in a nicer hotel or even just saving money on the hotel room that you like to stay at isn’t as difficult as you may think. There are a few solid ways to consistently pay 20-80% less for the same room, which will allow you to travel for longer or simply save some serious money. Travelling doesn’t have to be expensive or a hassle if you know how to find the best hotel deals effectively.

Call or Email the Hotel Directly
People are used to seeking out all sorts of deal websites, using points and taking advantage of promotions but one of the first things that you should do when trying to find a deal on a hotel room is to contact the hotel directly. Talk with the staff on the phone or by email and check out their webpage to see if they have any in house promotions. Explain that you are going to be staying in the area and that a slight discount in room price could make the difference between booking a room with them versus staying with their competitor across the road. As long as it’s not a peak season they will usually be pretty accommodating.

Certain hotels also offer discounts on local event tickets or dining credits. Doing a little bit of math may reveal that even though you may not get a deal on the base rate for the room, you might save money overall. Additional discounts can be had by mentioning that you belong to any clubs or associations that they are affiliated with.

Compare Online for Cross-Section of Prices
There are a number of websites that compare a number of hotels based on your criteria to find a deal on location or price. Notable examples include Travelocity, Expedia, Quikbook, and Kayak. What you may not know is that the prices can be quite different at any given time; sometimes even of the same hotel from the same website. Spending a few extra minutes to run the search a few times on each of these websites will allow you to find the best deals at that particular time.

Specific Deals in Popular Tourist Destinations
Depending where you are travelling there are whole websites and resources that are dedicated to serving the tourists and travellers if it happens to be a popular area. A good example of this is Disney world. There are dozens of deal websites and coupons that are available just because of the sheer number of people that visit these types of destinations. If you are looking for a deal staying at a location that is hyper competitive for rooms because it is a popular attraction could yield amazing discounts.

Bidding or Opaque Pricing with Online Travel Websites
There are deals to be had on hotels from the websites that make you bid or pay for your room before you even know which hotel that you are going to stay. These websites work on the premise that they are offering to put people into rooms that would otherwise be vacant for hotels. They also ensure that they protect the hotel’s standard rates by not associating the price with the hotel. Some people don’t mind using this method but for most, the idea of bidding or not knowing the exact hotel that you will be staying with isn’t a viable option. If you are a little more flexible this can be a great way to get a deal.

Negotiate in Person
While this is not necessarily the best strategy for ensuring that you get the lowest price you can save anywhere from $10-$30 a night by negotiating with the hotel clerk in person. Whether you find yourself searching for a place to stay that evening or you just want to improve your negotiation skills this tactic is great for improving a non-ideal situation and will save you some money on your hotel room.

Getting the best deal on a hotel room takes a bit of planning and a lot of time spent comparing. The more you want to save the more time you have to be willing to dedicate to the search. Using these strategies will save you a bit of time and increase your ability to find the best deal on hotel rooms whenever you are looking to travel in the future.