Dear Bloggers,
It looks like we’ve been talking a lot recently about fancy-shmanzy business and luxury hotels. My apologies. Clearly, some of you have been neglected. For those of you who prioritize savings over stars, pennies over potpourri, let me take a moment to help you learn how to search for a cheap hotels.
The following is a list I made with five methods of finding the cheap hotel of your dreams. This is not easy though, my friends. You must read the list thoroughly and then, you must even do what it says. But if you’re serious about economy and serious about accommodations, then read on and learn.
1. Know Thyself – There are a lot of inexpensive hotels out there. There are also a lot of hotels that are just “cheap.” Before you begin your search for a hotel that won’t run you out of the bank, you need to level with yourself. What do you need from a hotel? What sort of amenities are you willing to forsake? Where are your limits? Once you’ve determined your own personal level of flexibility, then you can begin your search.
2. Pre-Research Phase – It’s not just about finding a hotel that will cost less. As I mentioned, there are a lot of cheap hotels and they’re relatively easy to find. Your goal is to find a hotel in the right location, with the right atmosphere for you.
3. Talk to Friends & Family – I know it sounds old school, but the best advice you can get is straight from the horse’s mouth. If you’re looking for a cheap hotel somewhere, you’re likely to know someone who has already stayed at a cheap hotel in that same location. Ask friends and family about their own experiences. This can be a very fast solution to finding exactly what you’re looking for.
4. Consult Travel Publications – There are a number of excellent budget travel guides that provide personalized, comprehensive information about cheap hotels all around the world. My two personal favorites are Let’s Go and Lonely Planet. Let’s Go is particularly good for students and back-packers, those travelers looking for a hotel with only one recent rat sighting as opposed to two. The book is written by Harvard students who have traveled to and stayed at every hotel mentioned. Lonely Planet has a slightly more gentrified target audience, but they provide great analyses and suggestions when it comes to budget hotels. Pick up a copy of either of these publications at your local Borders or Barnes & Noble and let the reading begin!
5. Online Travel Guides – Online travel guides provide easy access to a comprehensive look at both the broader selection of cheap hotels as well as the specific details about each hotel you’ll want to know before making your choice.
There are generally two types of online travel guides. The first is the online overview. The online overview, sites like Wikitravel, offers a simple list of hotels that fall into your budget price range. Once you have this list, you can then pursue research on each individual hotel by checking out the hotels’ homepages and online reviews. The second type of online travel guide is the travel search engine. Travel search engines, like Kayak.com, are great tools for comparing deals across online booking sites. All booking sites claim to offer the lowest rates, but with a travel search engine, you can put this to the test. What’s even better about the search engines is that once you’ve located the hotel you want, a confirmed booking is just one click away.
Now that you are a master of cheap-hotel-finding, go forth young bloggers and discover the myriad cheap hotels worldwide. Somewhere, I promise, is the perfect cheap hotel for you.
Til next time,
Amy
