Reminder for saving money on hotels

[disneysteve]

I've posted this before but I like to mention it now and then, especially that people are starting to travel again.

When you book a hotel, don't assume the rate you got is the final deal. Check back every week or so. Rates change regularly. You can often cancel and rebook at a lower rate.

We are going away for a few days in December. I made the reservations 2 weeks ago. I've already cancelled and rebooked twice because the rate came down. I'll continue to check the rate periodically as the trip gets closer. If it gets cheaper, I'll rebook again.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I do this with rental cars too. For hotels I usually get free rooms in Las Vegas so one and done.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I've posted this before but I like to mention it now and then, especially that people are starting to travel again.

When you book a hotel, don't assume the rate you got is the final deal. Check back every week or so. Rates change regularly. You can often cancel and rebook at a lower rate.

We are going away for a few days in December. I made the reservations 2 weeks ago. I've already cancelled and rebooked twice because the rate came down. I'll continue to check the rate periodically as the trip gets closer. If it gets cheaper, I'll rebook again.

Thanks for the tip

[disneysteve]

Time for my occasional bumping up of this topic.

My wife and I are going away for a few days next week. I made the reservation on January 1. Total charge for the stay was $297.48.

I checked back today and was able to rebook the same room for $281.94, a savings of $15.54 for 2 minutes of my time.

[myrdale]

I really don't do much in the way of traveling, but I do have AAA. The last couple of times I stayed in a hotel, it saved me $20 or show the card.

[ua_guy]

I've noticed the AAA discounts are getting more sparse -- another reason I think I'm getting ready to dump my membership here soon. When you book a hotel room on a site like Expedia, usually AAA doesn't make the rate any better, it's already the lowest rate. Unless like Steve says, if you book in advance and keep checking the advertised rate over time, the rate could fall independent of any discount structure.

In person I still ask for AAA discounts and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Used to be you could get 10% off or better on a hotel. It's been a long time since I just showed up at a hotel and checked in -- usually I book in advance. Reminds me of some road trips -- which was also a good recent thread!

[disneysteve]

I really don't do much in the way of traveling, but I do have AAA. The last couple of times I stayed in a hotel, it saved me $20 or show the card.

Absolutely. I almost always use the AAA discount. I did on this stay, too. It saved us about $40-50 on this reservation. But the initial reservation and the rebooked one were both at the AAA rate. It's just that the rate changed in the 10 days since I first booked and I was able to cancel and rebook for the lower rate.

[QuarterMillionMan]

These are the rates that I pay in Tijuana (this is as low as it gets). As long as you don't expect a 5 star hotel, you'll be fine.

[disneysteve]

I've noticed the AAA discounts are getting more sparse -- another reason I think I'm getting ready to dump my membership here soon. When you book a hotel room on a site like Expedia, usually AAA doesn't make the rate any better, it's already the lowest rate. Unless like Steve says, if you book in advance and keep checking the advertised rate over time, the rate could fall independent of any discount structure.

That hasn't been my experience at all. I almost always find the AAA rate to be the cheapest option by a decent amount. Even if it's only $10/night it adds up and it's usually more than that. And I never book hotels through Expedia or other third parties, only direct with the hotel. I've heard too many horror stories of problems with third party bookings, plus you generally don't get your reward points that way.

[disneysteve]

These are the rates that I pay in Tijuana (this is as low as it gets). As long as you don't expect a 5 star hotel, you'll be fine.

At work the other day, someone was looking up Bali for some reason. The hotels (decent places) were about $37/night. Of course, getting to Bali isn't cheap but once you're there, your dollar goes very far.

[Jluke]

Time for my occasional bumping up of this topic.

My wife and I are going away for a few days next week. I made the reservation on January 1. Total charge for the stay was $297.48.

I checked back today and was able to rebook the same room for $281.94, a savings of $15.54 for 2 minutes of my time.

Inexperienced traveler.

did you do this online or did you have to call?

how are you able to cancel without penalty?

[ua_guy]

That hasn't been my experience at all. I almost always find the AAA rate to be the cheapest option by a decent amount. Even if it's only $10/night it adds up and it's usually more than that. And I never book hotels through Expedia or other third parties, only direct with the hotel. I've heard too many horror stories of problems with third party bookings, plus you generally don't get your reward points that way.

Interesting! I know it works sometimes. I typically don't book on Expedia but use it to rate-shop and then book directly with the hotel. My last two were just quick stops, nothing luxurious. A Hampton Inn and (gulp) a Super 8. I booked both directly online and the AAA rate wasn't any lower. Granted they were both only $99/night so I wasn't expecting mega savings.

Now I'm curious. We stayed at a Kimpton property (Palomar?) in West Los Angeles about a month ago. The other half booked and paid for it and he has our AAA number. I'll have to look back and see if we got anything for it. That one was $275/night IIRC so hopefully we got something. But it was very nice!

[QuarterMillionMan]

Inexperienced traveler.

did you do this online or did you have to call?

how are you able to cancel without penalty?

Most places regardless of reserving online or by phone has a grace period and as long as cancelled or changed prior to 24 to 48 hours upon arrival it is fully refundable or not penalty is assessed.

[disneysteve]

Interesting! I know it works sometimes.


Now I'm curious. We stayed at a Kimpton property (Palomar?) in West Los Angeles about a month ago. The other half booked and paid for it and he has our AAA number. I'll have to look back and see if we got anything for it. That one was $275/night IIRC so hopefully we got something. But it was very nice!

I just checked. The hotel we're going to next week (a TownePlace Suites in Delaware) was $324 regular or $281 with AAA for the stay so it saved us $43, over 13%, and I did have to enter our AAA membership number when I booked so you can't just book that rate and pretend you're a member. You only need a couple of stays like that to justify the annual AAA membership.

[disneysteve]

Inexperienced traveler.

did you do this online or did you have to call?

how are you able to cancel without penalty?

I did it online. I could have done it on the app, too, but I was already working on the computer.

Marriott has a 48-hour cancellation policy so no penalty if you cancel before that.