10 Ways To Find A Hotel Discount

Most travelers these days are looking to find a hotel discount to save on expensive vacation or business travel costs. It seems that no one is paying full-price for hotels, rental cars, cruises or flights, so why should you? Here are 10 great ways to find a hotel discount.

1. Sign up for membership in a professional or academic organization that offers to help you find a hotel discount. For example, postal workers, government employees, active duty military, college students, and AAA members get reduced rates at all hotels.


2. Join a Frequent Traveler Rewards Program at your favorite hotel chain. Often, you can get free nights or discounted stays through this type of program. 


3. Check the newspaper to find a hotel discount. Sometimes ads are run in local publications offering special rates.


4. Book direct through a hotel website offering “lowest price guarantees.”


5. Check a site like Groupon or DailyDeals.com. Keep in mind that you’ll have to take advantage of these hotel discounts immediately, as the hotel deals typically expire within 24 hours.


6. Join Ebates.com, booking a hotel stay through their site online to find a hotel discount. For example, you could get the government rate at Best Western, plus 2.5 percent cash back. Or you can add a free breakfast to your stay at a Marriott hotel and get 1 percent cash back on your stay. There are many more deals like this.


7. Search travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz. Many times these sites will help you find a hotel discount, especially if you book your flight and hotel accommodations together.  


8. Find a last-minute deal at LastMinuteTravel.com. It’s usually easiest to find a hotel discount if you book sooner rather than later. In some big cities, your selection will be extremely limited if you try to book at the last minute, but if you’re in a pickle, this website can help you save by snagging rooms hoteliers are desperate to fill.


9. Stop by the local tourist bureau to see if they offer any coupon booklets. You may save on your hotel stay, restaurants and area attractions. Plus, you can snag a map!


10. Schedule your stay on an off-peak time, mid-week, or right after the holidays. Statistically, no matter where you’re going, the first two weeks in January are the cheapest to travel because most people like to lay low after the busy holidays.

Bonus Tip: One of the best ways to find a hotel discount online is to search a travel site aggregator like www.Find-A-Hotel.net. As UK Telegraph Journalist Sophie Butler explains, “Time spent comparing prices on the web will almost always save money – sometimes a great deal of money, particularly where top-end hotels are concerned.” Since time is money, you can save even more money by going right to a site that shows you all the prices, reviews, photos, maps and information listed on all the other travel sites in one convenient, user-friendly place.