14 Ways to Save Money on Hotel Costs: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling for Less
Of course you want to live a luxurious life, but we don’t all have the resources available to take luxe vacation getaways at the drop of a hat. Lucky for you, it’s easy to have luxury for less when you apply our ways to save on hotel costs!
Some are basic, some are advanced, but there’s sure to be at least one tip below that you can use on your next trip to save money on hotel costs. Hotels can be expensive, and there’s no reason to overspend on your hotel room when you want to have plenty of vacation budget for seeing the sights and experiencing the local hot spots while you’re there.
Travel for Less: 14 Ways to Save Money on Hotel Costs
1. Use rewards points to book free or discounted hotel rooms: If you belong to any popular hotel loyalty programs, you’ll want to keep an eye on your rewards points to see when you qualify for free or deeply discounted hotel stays. Popular programs to check out are Marriott Bonvoy (formerly Starwood Preferred Guest) and Hilton Honors.
Many credit cards also have perks that include hotel points (or airline miles). My husband and I have 2 main credit cards that we use and we picked them because of the free travel benefits. Our Alaska Airlines points let us fly back home to Alaska for free, and the SPG hotel points let us stay at a hotel for free for 2 trips to Disneyland!
Without the hotel points, we definitely would not have been able to take those trips because paying for a week of 2 hotel rooms or a family suite is not something we could work into our budget.
2. Don’t travel during peak times: This is one of the biggest no-nos for getting cheap hotel room prices! If everyone is traveling, hotels know they’ll be booked solid. They know they can charge more for their rooms. Paying more is the OPPOSITE of what we want! So when are the peak travel times?
–>School break times are some of the busiest family travel times because the kids are out of school.
-
- Spring Break
- Thanksgiving Break
- Christmas Vacation
- Summer Vacation
–>Holidays are crazy busy for travel because everyone is either trying to squeeze in a family vacation or get their relatives together in one place. The biggest holidays for hotel stays are:
-
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
–>During convention times in certain cities. My family has been on the receiving end of hotel price-gouging during conventions before when my husband had to travel for a job interview. The hotels will likely be fully booked during conventions and the rooms MUCH more expensive.
BUT…
If you are planning a trip with flexibility in your schedule, make sure you check the city’s convention center website to look for their schedule of events.
(For example, if you were traveling to Denver, you’d type in “Denver convention center” to your search engine to find their website. Once there, look near the top of the page or maybe in the menu bar for the year schedule.)
3. Ask for discounts: Check online booking companies such as Hotels.com, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline for prices. Then call the hotel directly and ask them for a discounted rate. Find out if they offer discounts for memberships with AAA, AARP, corporate, military, or Sam’s Club (if you belong to any of those groups).
Some hotels even say on their websites that you’ll get the cheapest rate if you book through them directly instead of a 3rd-party website. Just make sure it’s true! Do your homework and look up the online prices first through the above sites AND the hotel’s website before you call.
If you know the prices offered by other companies, you can avoid paying more for the same room. You may even be able to ask for a complimentary upgrade to a bigger or better hotel room.
4. Amenities: I’ll tell you the number one free amenity I look for first that is my deal-breaker if it’s missing. This absolutely saves my bacon (since I have 4 kids and twins on the way!). I always choose a hotel with free breakfast.
–>Free Continental Breakfast: Free breakfast at the hotel saves us about $70 a day at the hotel restaurant – no kidding. 2 adult meals, 4 kids’ meals (the other 2 babies won’t be ordering kids’ meals for a while), plus tip. That hurts.
And going to a regular sit-down restaurant where we have to pay for one entree per person isn’t the best for families with kids. If someone is grumpy and doesn’t want to eat right now, but will be hungry 5 minutes after you leave, and all the while you are thinking about how much the food cost…
Well, you can see how the hotel buffet or continental breakfast is much better. Most hotels change it based on the day of the week, so food choices will vary. The continental breakfast usually has:
- proteins like scrambled eggs, sausage, or bacon
- breakfast potatoes like hash browns or home fries
- a cereal bar with milk
- some fresh fruit (usually apples or bananas, perfect for a snack later)
- pancakes or waffles.
Especially with kids, the free hotel breakfast buffet is the best. There’s something for everyone, even picky eaters. I can fill up the babies’ sippee cups with milk from the cereal station. Husband and I fill up our travel mugs with coffee to go. Everyone eats until they’re full, and I often let my kids grab a muffin on the way out as a treat for eating a good breakfast (which also serves as an early snack on the go a little later in the day).
–>Free Stuff to Do: When choosing your hotels, also look for hotel amenities that will serve as free entertainment.
- swimming pools
- water slides
- fitness rooms
- basketball courts
- tennis courts
If your kids like to do those things anyway, it will keep them occupied when the thought of heading to one more mall or museum for the day makes you cringe! It’s nice to have the option to just kick back at the hotel and veg out doing something low-key with no driving to or from the activity and not to mention – freeeeeee.
You can even sit in the pool chairs and relax while they run/swim off their energy. See what I did there? A vacation for you too!
–> Free transportation: Another one of my top hotel amenities I look for to save me money on the hotel is free transportation. Free hotel shuttles are the best way to cut out spending on rideshares like Uber and Lyft, taxis, and shuttles / buses. Look for these 2 free transportation options:
- Free hotel shuttle to and from the airport. Yes you’ll have to tip (usually $1-$5 per bag, depending on your budget), but you’d be tipping other drivers too so that’s the same.
- Free hotel shuttle to and from local attractions: These are more common in tourist towns with a lot of nearby tourist-specific activities. If you didn’t do your research before you booked the vacation, check at the hotel’s front desk for the list of their local attractions (they always have one).
Ask about free shuttles to these places, but pay attention to times. There may be a free shuttle going to a local theme park, but the last shuttle pickup to return to the hotel might be 10pm or change locations for the last pickup of the night.
Just make sure you’re in the right place at the right time and get there early! Late night shuttle pickups usually have a LOT more people waiting to go back to the hotel than will fit on the bus.
Some smaller hotels often have shuttles but don’t drive them on a schedule. You may have to call the hotel’s front desk or concierge to request a pickup. Get all the details when you check in so you know how the transportation works.
5. Kids stay free: Some hotels charge extra for more people staying in the room. Usually the standard number of guests is either 4 or 5, depending on the hotel. If you want to save money on your hotel bill, plan ahead and look for a hotel with a “kids stay free” deal.
If your hotel doesn’t list kids stay free as a benefit on their website, simply ask the booking department for a comparable deal when you call reservations. The worst they can say is no!
And if the answer is no to kids stay free, it may be possible to downgrade to a smaller room or one room instead of two if the hotel will give you a room with one of these:
- a couch that doubles as a pull-out bed
- a roll-away or cot, which is like a foldable bed that they wheel into the room with bedding and pillows (not comfy for adults but okay for kids). We use this now for my 11 year-old son and he doesn’t have to share a bed, but we also don’t have to get an extra room.
- a portable crib (usually a Pack N Play)
Just be aware that some hotels limit how many “extra beds” you can have in the room (roll-aways or cribs), and some hotels will even charge extra for them! Check the hotel room fine print or ask the person booking the reservation up front so that you know what you will be paying for.
6. Cash discount: Some smaller hotels will offer you discounted rates if you pay up front in cash, so ask ahead if they offer a cash discount. Remember, it never hurts to ask!
7. Check-in day: Research the price difference for your hotel between checking in on Friday and Monday.
You may get a better price by checking in Monday to avoid the busy weekend vacationers (when prices are higher). Plus, in a lot of tourist places you’ll avoid the surge of people on weekends if you go during the week.
Think of vacation resorts like Disneyland, that are busy year-round. Their park attendance SOARS on weekends because locals who are off work bring their kids for a fun weekend! Add that to all of the out-of-town travelers, and you’ll have an overall better (and cheaper) time if you can squeeze your trip into weekdays instead.
8. Free parking: Look for hotels that offer free parking if you plan on having a rental car.
If you can’t find one, try asking the reservations attendant if they will reduce the parking fee (say from $14.99 a day to $7.99 a day).
If that’s a no-go, you could ask them to give you a few days free, like the first and last night’s parking free for your stay.
9. Coupon codes: Search online for coupon codes for your selected hotels. It could take 10- 20% off your online purchase price!
10. Consider hotel package deals: The hotel you have your eye on may have packages which bundle discounted attractions at the hotel or coupons for their restaurants.
This is especially true in areas that are big tourist attractions, like Orlando for Disney World and Anaheim for Disneyland. Spending a little extra time researching hotel packages can yield extra savings on other expenses for your trip, like discounted theme park tickets or 2 for 1 passes to fun family things to do.
11. Kitchenettes / refrigerators: Especially if you are traveling with children, having a kitchenette where you can keep snacks and prepare quick meals (such as PB&Js), microwave oatmeal, and more will save you from having to go out every time someone is hungry.
Bring along snacks or get some quick food items from a local store to keep in the room’s refrigerator. Don’t forget the drinks (juice boxes, milk, and bottled water)! The in-room provisions can be expensive and vending machines are no better. Having a refrigerator in-room definitely saves on money!
Since most grocery stores deliver now (check in your vacation area ahead of time), you can put in a small grocery order online with your essentials to be delivered to your hotel lobby. Have them text you when they arrive and you can meet them to pick up the bags.
12. Beware Phone Charges: Most hotels charge to use the phone in your room. Ask what the phone charges are when you check in. For a quick discount, use your cell phone instead!
13. Tape the mini bar / snack fridge shut: If you have children staying in the hotel with you, keeping little fingers out of the snacks in the hotel-provided munchies will save you serious coin.
To make your point to your kids (or spouse) that no one is to splurge on the $4 pack of M&Ms, bring a roll of blue painter’s tape and tape the entire door or cabinet shut. You’ll see if it’s been broken, and it’s more of a visual deterrent anyway.
14. Find a roommate: Whether your hotel stay is for a conference or a single girls’ Las Vegas getaway, finding a friend or coworker to share your room can seriously slash your hotel budget. Many hotels will even split the bill between both people in the computer so that you don’t have to worry about calculating portions and paying each other back the right amount.
Save on hotel costs with our 14 ways to save at the hotel and take a luxurious vacation on a budget! What do you do to save on hotel costs (or just traveling with your family in general)? Leave your best tips in the comments section below.
Travel for Less: 14 Ways to Save Money on Hotel Costs was updated on May 18, 2019.
