7 TRICKS: How To Get The Cheapest Hotels

No one wants to overpay for accommodation while traveling. Hotels vary in price based on a variety of factors. So, if you are curious about how to get the cheapest hotels, keep reading!

Answer: Hotel prices fluctuate daily adjusting prices based on market conditions and availability. Finding the cheapest hotels requires a thorough Google search, the right location, and avoiding unnecessary amenities.

Don’t Worry!

We dive into the details on the specifics and answer other FAQs on how to find the cheapest hotels

How To Find The Cheapest Hotels

Do your research!
The extra time spent here will affect how much you spend on your stay. I’m not suggesting hours upon hours here, but a little extra time goes a long way.

Finding the cheapest hotels involves only a few rules and a little searching to help narrow down to a few specific hotels that fit within your budget. Then, it’s time to choose.

1. Google Search The Cheapest Hotel Deals In The City

Out of all the travel sites and search engines, I rely on Google to find the cheapest hotels. The process is simple. Go to Google, type in “hotels for ________” and fill in the blank with your destination city. 

Yes… It’s That SIMPLE.

Google will offer a variety of options in the city. To find the right hotel, use the various search filters at the top of the page. I recommend sorting the hotels by lowest price and moving the map to the correct area of the city you wish to stay. 

The hotel list will update the order with the cheapest options first for the right area of the city. BOOM! Super Easy 

2. Getting The Cheapest Hotels Depends On The Location

Doing the right research on hotels shows a distinct truth about pricing: location is one of the biggest factors in price. 

In the downtown area of any city, hotels cost more per night than a hotel a few miles away. Real estate value and room availability cause the price surge for the hotels located close to the downtown or tourist areas. 

If you are considering a hotel on a road trip or in a small city, the rules still apply. The closer a hotel is to the highway, the more expensive the room rates. Also, the rates will be higher if a hotel is located close to a small town’s busiest area. 

I ask myself these questions in regards to hotel location:

• Am I close to cheap, public transit?
• Can I walk to the areas I want to visit?
• How much time will I spend transiting between my hotel and city attractions?

I will spend a little more money for the right hotel in the right location because it saves me on transit costs and time.

If you have a short travel window, don’t spend hours a day riding Ubers, trains, and buses to the downtown area because your hotel is 10 miles away. That extra money saved dies at the hands of transit costs anyways. The cheapest hotel isn’t always the BEST hotel.

3. The Cheapest Hotel Will Only Have What You Need

The more amenities a hotel provides, the more expensive the room rates. Pools, conference centers, continental breakfasts, 24 hour room service, and turndown service all affect the room prices, even if you never utilize the facilities. 

If you are wondering how to get the cheapest hotels, then stick with the bare necessities. For budget travel, sticking to low cost accommodations will allocate trip funds for more important activities, like eating super, delicious food! 

Conduct your research and look a the options available and you will find the right hotel for your needs. 

How To Get The Cheapest Hotel Rate

The cheapest hotel rates come from a variety of factors outside of your control. By understanding how and when hotel prices increase will help you understand how to get the cheapest hotel rate. 

4. Avoid Weekends For the Cheapest Hotel Rates

Generally speaking, weekends cost more per night than weeknights. Hunting down the cheapest room rates usually shows this truth no matter the city or time of year.

Most people with typical jobs have the weekends off, giving them extra time to travel for weekend getaways. Families travel for their children’s activities, needing accommodations for the weekend’s events. 

If you want to save the most money, stay Sunday – Thursday nights. 

5. Know The Events Happening In The City

Whenever an occasion draws more people to a specific location, hotel rates jump. With the influx of people, hotels jack up the prices because they know the rooms will get booked. Hotels are businesses and need to make money after all. 

Festivals, concerts, fairs, conferences, and conventions commonly take place in larger cities, creating a higher demand for hotel rooms. If you are browsing for the cheapest time to travel, consider searching for the city’s events for your prospective dates and compare with alternative weeks to check prices. 

If you are traveling specifically for an event, the farther you book in advance the better. These events draw thousands of extra people and hotels will slowly start raising the prices to make money off last minute travelers. 

6. Book Far In Advance To Get the Cheapest Hotels

The closer you book your hotel room to the date, the more expensive the rate. I’ve searched hundreds of cities on various days, weeks, and months away from travel and found that the cheapest rates fall about 4 months away from the expected date. 

These rates avoid holidays and stick to weeknights.

Yes, you can find super cheap last minute rooms, but why risk it? 

Hotels book up unexpectedly and no one wants to scramble last minute looking for cheap hotels only to be left picking at the leftovers with excessively high rates. 

As Zac Brown once sang, “You can’t put a dollar sign on a peace of mind.”

7. Compare The Cheapest Hotel Rates

Although Google is my go to website for finding the cheapest hotels, when it comes to actually booking the room, I consult multiple travel websites to see who is offering the cheapest nightly rate. 

Google offers prices from a multitude of websites, all showing a different rate for your stay. Unless there is a unique deal, the official hotel websites usually offer the highest rates, so I browse the selection and pick the cheapest nightly rate. 

Some of my favorite websites to book hotels are Priceline, Expedia, and Booking.com because they are all reliable, easy to use websites with excellent customer service. I’ve never encountered any problems when booking with these trusted sights. 

Final Thoughts On How To Get The Cheapest Hotels

If you are figuring out how to find the cheapest hotels, I hope the above information helped with your planning process. No matter which hotel, city, or country you plan on visiting, saving extra money on accommodation means more money for other parts of your trip. 

Hotels need to make a profit to stay in business so don’t fall victim to spending needlessly due to their unexpected price surges. Plan ahead and research the city for huge savings on your next trip.