Searching for and locating the best deal on a hotel room is only half the battle. As soon as a family walks through the doors of the hotel, they are a captive audience, which comes at a premium. Want that $3 bottle of water? How about access to the Wi-Fi network? Lots of times it all comes with an additional cost, which can quickly escalate the cost of the stay. So here are 6 tips for saving money on hotel stays.
1) One of my major pet peeves of staying at a hotel is if they do not provide free Wi-Fi access in your room. However, lots of times internet access is free within your room if you connect into the ethernet jack. Bring along your own portable wireless router (affiliate link), which are as cheap as $20 on Amazon, and you will be able to connect multiple devices up to your own personal hotspot.
2) When checking in, casually mention to the agent at the front desk that you are celebrating a special occasion. You might just find yourself getting to experience a room upgrade, some extra rewards points, or discounted other perks.
3) One of my personal favorite tricks that I like to use on stays 3 nights or longer is the $20 trick. Simply tuck a $20 bill inside your ID and credit card at check-in, and ask the agent if there are any kind of complimentary upgrades that may be available. I have had mixed results that run the gambit of presidential suite upgrades to the agent checking and not finding anything available and returning my $20 bill. Depending on the location and length of your stay, sometimes more than $20 may be appropriate to secure the right upgrades.
4) Visits to any city hotels often come with premium parking costs. Dropping off the car to the valet could cost upwards of $50+/night, and all they do is drive it to the nearest parking garage. The key is to find out where all the employees park. Ask the doorman or bellhop where they park. They are accustomed to finding the best location, so follow their advice (and tip when appropriate).
5) Sitting in a hotel room late at night to blog after your family falls asleep often results in getting the munchies. If you were not fortunate enough to have traveled with a cooler full of juice boxes and half a grocery aisle full of snacks, you might be inclined to call down for room service. How does that $20 hamburger and fries taste? Consider making a call to the local pizzeria, or your other favorite cuisine. Even with delivery charges and a tip, you likely will score a better meal and save quite a bit of money doing it.
6) Lastly, I would be fooling myself if I did not say one of the best things to do is sign up for the hotels reward program. Even if you do not think you will ever frequent that brand again, you are leaving money on the table by foregoing the rewards. I do not know how many times I have heard people check into a hotel, only to not have the stay credited to a rewards account. Eventually, those points add up and can be used for free stays or discounts.
Have any other interesting tips for saving money on hotel stays?
Save Money, Travel More!
Source: InACents.com
Man I’ve never had the stones to try the $20 trick but I’ve seen a couple of people mention it.
I have mid-level status in a couple of chains (Gold in Hilton and Club Carlson) and I’ve had pretty good success just calling the morning of and asking if they have any upgrades.
That’s worked pretty well for me several times – my favorite trick is booking a 1BR suite at a Homewood Suites hotel and getting a free upgrade to a 2BR – just used it last week in Dayton!
You should definitely try the $20 trick, at least when it makes sense on longer stays. I’ve been hit or miss on what my status gets us, and more often than not, it gets us a free bottle of water at most.
The $20 trick takes some confidence but I guess the worst they can do it say no! it’s all worth a try.