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Message
What is the best/cheapest way to book a hotel?
Posted on 4/16/26 at 9:46 am
Posted on 4/16/26 at 9:46 am
Anybody have any hacks or sites that worked in the past that were cheaper than the typical third party sites?
6
Posted on 4/16/26 at 10:12 am to hassan whiteside
Check all the third party sites, then check directly with the hotel, and then check with any of your credit card travel portals.
My flow typically looks like. Search for a hotel on hotel.com to find a few (I like their UI and its a pretty fast platform), then I find 3 or 4 contenders, then check my chase travel portal to see if they have a better price or point boost. As long as its the same price or cheaper on chase travel, ill book it there because I get more benefits being a Chase Sapphire Reserve holder.
Be careful selecting those government and AAA rates (they are typically not any better and just a marketing ploy nowadays) because they can ask for you to prove you can get that rate.
My flow typically looks like. Search for a hotel on hotel.com to find a few (I like their UI and its a pretty fast platform), then I find 3 or 4 contenders, then check my chase travel portal to see if they have a better price or point boost. As long as its the same price or cheaper on chase travel, ill book it there because I get more benefits being a Chase Sapphire Reserve holder.
Be careful selecting those government and AAA rates (they are typically not any better and just a marketing ploy nowadays) because they can ask for you to prove you can get that rate.
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 10:14 am
Posted on 4/16/26 at 10:17 am to hassan whiteside
Expedia or Airbnb
Posted on 4/16/26 at 10:20 am to hassan whiteside
The "hack" is to look five miles away from where you start looking. Ex wife will book a $400 room in Dallas for an event, I'll find a hotel 3 miles away (Marriott) for $119.
Book direct.
Book direct.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 10:44 am to hassan whiteside
The only "hack" I use is Hotels.com. After a few hotel stays, they'll give you a free night credit for every 10 nights.
ETA: look like they discontinued that plan and have switched to something called One Key where they give you reward currency to apply to future stays.
ETA: look like they discontinued that plan and have switched to something called One Key where they give you reward currency to apply to future stays.
quote:
Hotels.com has replaced its old "collect 10 nights, get 1 free" program with a unified program called One Key. Members now earn OneKeyCash (reward currency) rather than automatic free night vouchers, which can be applied to future hotel stays, vacation rentals, or car rentals. While some regions might have legacy systems, most users now utilize this new system.
quote:
OneKeyCash is simple, $1 in OneKeyCash gives you a $1 discount on eligible travel.
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 10:49 am
Posted on 4/16/26 at 1:48 pm to hassan whiteside
Book through the hotel itself, not third party. The big chains have great mobile apps. Become a member, accrue points and receive other perks.
Third party sites can be cheaper, but if anything goes haywire, you can be screwed since you are working with a third party and not the hotel itself.
Third party sites can be cheaper, but if anything goes haywire, you can be screwed since you are working with a third party and not the hotel itself.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 1:51 pm to Roy Curado
quote:
Be careful selecting those government and AAA rates (they are typically not any better and just a marketing ploy nowadays) because they can ask for you to prove you can get that rate.
Govt rate is almost always the cheapest, but hotels don’t always offer it and you need proof that it is indeed govt travel, usually just by showing your govt ID.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 3:05 pm to Snoop Dawg
Nobody has mentioned this so far, but Hotwire.com has "Hot" deals that are often very good. The catch is that you don't know which hotel you're getting. You only know how many stars the hotel gets, and the area of town that it is located in.
Having said that, you can figure out which hotel you are getting by comparing the number of reviews and rating with all of the hotels listed without the hot rate.
For example, if you see a 3-star hot rate hotel with 567 reviews and an 8.1 average score, you go look for a hotel price without a hot rate that has 3 stars, 567 reviews with an average score of 8.1. That will be the hotel you will get with the hot rate.
The regular rate may be $200/night, but the hot rate could be $140. Same hotel. One downside is that cancellation policies suck.
Having said that, you can figure out which hotel you are getting by comparing the number of reviews and rating with all of the hotels listed without the hot rate.
For example, if you see a 3-star hot rate hotel with 567 reviews and an 8.1 average score, you go look for a hotel price without a hot rate that has 3 stars, 567 reviews with an average score of 8.1. That will be the hotel you will get with the hot rate.
The regular rate may be $200/night, but the hot rate could be $140. Same hotel. One downside is that cancellation policies suck.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 3:20 pm to Snoop Dawg
quote:
Third party sites can be cheaper, but if anything goes haywire, you can be screwed since you are working with a third party and not the hotel itself
When someone is at the check in desk, and walks away to the lobby without a key and with a frustrated look on their face, 99% of the time they're calling a third party booking site because there is a problem with the reservation.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 7:21 pm to hassan whiteside
I use the Priceline “Express Deal” pretty often. It’s a blind reservation. You select the number of hotel stars and they’ll give you a hint by listing 4-5 possible brands. You can narrow it down pretty easy by cross checking if they have a restaurant, pool, pet friendly, etc.
Anyway, I most recently got $100 off a Hilton in Uptown Charlotte. While the Hilton website said that particular hotel was fully booked.
Anyway, I most recently got $100 off a Hilton in Uptown Charlotte. While the Hilton website said that particular hotel was fully booked.
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