Guest on budget: How to save on accommodation

With the holidays now over, amid a positive outlook for the new year, travels have also resumed at both corporate and personal levels.

For those hoping to do a lot of traveling this year, and also considering the harsh economic reality, it is time to travel on budget.

Apart from airfare, hotel accommodation accounts for a large portion of travel funds, hence the need to save on accommodation this year. Even when your destination does not require flights, traveling on budget is necessary this year to boost financial discipline and savings for the future.

In no particular order, below are some tips on how to save on hotel accommodation this year.

Book ahead:

The ultimate way to make the weak Naira work in your favour and save money on hotel accommodation is to book far ahead of your travel.

Booking ahead, especially months before the trip, offers you a good rate because room rates are more expensive when your trip is closer. Also, there will be fewer would-guests engaging the hotel’s booking machines for far dates, when you book ahead.

Use search engines:

The popularity of hotel metasearch engines is on the rise and for good reasons. It is one of the most efficient ways to find affordable accommodations. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, a hotel metasearch engine is a website that searches multiple hotel booking sites at once. For example, instead of running a search on Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and the hotel’s website, you can use a metasearch engine to search multiple sites at once to see which provider offers the lowest rates and best value. Booking.com, Kayak, Hipmunk, Room 77, TripAdvisor, and Trivago are just a few of the options available.

Book cancelable rates:

Room rates can fluctuate as quickly as minute to minute because a hotel’s inventory is always changing. It is simple supply and demand: the more people book rooms at a hotel, the more the hotel rate increases. One thing you can do if you are not flexible with your hotel choice is to book a cancelable rate or book on hold to allow you to compare rates elsewhere. It should be fairly obvious, which rates are actually cancelable; there is usually a call-out that states something like “FREE cancellation – Pay Later,” as seen on Booking.com. You better book the rate (but cross check it is actually cancelable) and then monitor the price, as well as, prices of nearby and comparable hotels. It may take a little bit of extra legwork, but this tactic can save you a lot of money.

Read also: Know your hotel star rating

Book last minute:

This is a trick best reserved for shorter trips, like romantic weekend getaways or impromptu get-togethers with friends in the city. But it is not good to wait till the last minute to book a hotel room for that expensive international trip you have been saving up for or leaving your lodging needs up to fate when there could be a major conference happening that results in a hotel room shortage.

However, if you are flexible and also do a bit of research, booking last minute can result in much cheaper rates. Last-minute booking apps like HotelTonight, which works with hotels to negotiate deep discounts on unsold rooms, are a great starting point, and many of the online booking sites, like Expedia and Priceline, have their own “Tonight” or “Deals Tonight” section.

Go beyond the rack rate, call hotel directly:

To prioritise your travel plans this year according to your budget, you also need to go beyond the rack rates.

Often, hotel rates are blurry and the rack rate, which is usually quoted on the hotel’s website, is not necessarily the lowest rate available because no discount applies.

It is always worth contacting a hotel directly to ask what their best price is, and then asking whether that really is their best offer. In other words, you should bargain. In doing so, you will save some money at least for chocolate or souvenirs.

Subscribe to hotel loyalty programmes:

To save on accommodation this year, one needs to subscribe to as many hotel reward systems or loyalty programmes as possible.

Top among them are; Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, Radisson Rewards, Accor Live Limitless, among others, which are free to join and enable guests to earn points anytime they stay in the hotels that are covered in the loyalty programme network.

The points earned by the guests at every stay can translate into cheaper accommodation or even discounted flight tickets.

For instance, for being a member of Radisson Rewards, members get member only rates, which enable them to save up to 10 percent on accommodation cost.

Also, by becoming a member of one of these hotel loyalty programmes, a guest is constantly reminded of the hotel’s hot

In some hotels, members of the pool club, casino, spa and fitness centre, get special discounts.

But if you do not want to subscribe to any hotel reward system, always look out for special promotions and take advantage of them as most hotels sell rooms half the price during promotions.

General tip:

Apart from rooms, there are other charges. So, cutting down on expenses at the restaurants, spa, business centre, and especially bars, will help in keeping you on budget while on trips.

If you do not have the means, there is no need for expensive champagne, staying longer in a luxury spa, ordering room services, making international calls with the hotel phone, or watching x-rated movies because they incur additional bills.

If the hotel restaurant is very expensive, ask the locals working in the hotel where they eat when not at work. You will be surprised to explore a good place with a good price, and the same for bars.

You should avoid the temptation of taking drinks from the hotel mini bar, if you do not budget for it, or drinking and replacing with cheap ones you bought from nearby shopping malls.

Again, if you are going for a long stay, choosing apartments over hotels will save you money abroad and offers you an opportunity to buy food condiments and cook the way you want it; if you can cook.

Most importantly, it is not always a five-star fiesta; you can go for middle level offerings in your cherished hotel brand, after all, nobody knows where you sleep on your trip except you tell them.