How to Find Great Hotel Deals

To find a deal on a hotel room, be thorough, be flexible, and know where to look and what to ask. The steepest price a hotel charges for a room is the rack rate (the hotel's standard price for a room sans discounts), and your goal is to get well below that inflated figure with package deals, off-season rates and savvy bargaining.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Plan your vacation well in advance and during the off-season, or midweek when hotel rates are far cheaper--up to 50 percent-- due to less demand. Call the hotel and ask for the exact day its off-season rates start. Timing is everything.
2. Call the hotel and ask about package deals, promotions and special discounts for seniors, military, students, corporations or American Automobile Association (aaa.com) members. When you're quoted a rate, ask if less expensive rooms are available.
3. Book your room via the Web: Many hotels offer discounts for commission-free online transactions. Major online agencies, such as HotelDiscounts.com, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, Travels.com, Expedia.com and Travelocity.com, have special arrangements with thousands of hotels, offering room rates you can't get on your own.
4. Ask if kids stay free if you're traveling with your family. Find out if the rooms have kitchens or kitchenettes--you'll save a bundle by preparing your own meals.
5. If you're very flexible about the type and location of a hotel, let name-your-own-price online travel agencies such as Priceline.com and Hotwire.com do the haggling for you. You save up to 40 percent on published room rates, but there's a catch: The hotel, room, neighborhood and rate are not disclosed to you until after your room is already charged to your credit card (however, they usually come pretty close to meeting your requests).

What to Look For:

• Off season rates
• Package deals
• Special discounts
• Internet rates
• Family rates
• Online travel agencies

Tips & Warnings

• If you're staying at a hotel longer than seven days, haggle for one free night per week or ask about weekly rates.
• Beware of hidden costs. Taxes, surcharges, resort fees and "incidental" fees tacked on to your bill are common and rarely mentioned until you check out, so be sure to ask if there are any extras charges on the agreed room rate. If they are tacked on without your prior approval, refuse to pay them.