9 Sure-fire Hotel Hacks for the Smart Traveller

#OldPost, Last updated on May 2nd 2020

Someone once said that ‘A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving’. But once you have arrived, well, you have to stay someplace! Hotels can often be the make-or-break factor in most vacations. So you are travelling abroad and have just found the best airline deal after reading our Travel – Flight Hack series. But has getting a good hotel room at refundable prices has been worrying you? Here are the hotel hacks you have been waiting for! At Pickyourtrail, we believe holiday planning should be fun!

Here are 9 fun hacks to get the best of hotel deals from across the world.

1. Hotel hacks: Stay Flexible

As in all our other hacks, we will start by telling you the Golden Rule – Stay Flexible. It’s not always that you get the right hotels, at the right prices and right times! So be ready to change your dates if you want to get the best deal.

2. Get a flight – hotel combo deal

Booking air tickets and hotels together sometimes can get you the best deals. Travel service providers like Expedia often have great deals for hotels and flights when booked together. Check out where the partnerships are – Expedia and AirasiaGo is one such example. When you book a flight ticket on AirasiaGo, Expedia gives great bargains in hotels. The tie-up is limited to all AirAsia destinations. Just ensure that your cookies are enabled and that you aren’t booking on an incognito window. Since these sites are cross-linked, your chances of getting discounts are larger.

3. Consider Offline options too

While hotels in most destinations can be booked online, there are some locations which need to be worked around in a different way. Hotels in places like Maldives or even many locations in Europe, might give you a drastically different rate when you check online. Sometimes an email works, but some other places phone calls work better. But your time is precious, isn’t it? That’s where our experts at Pickyourtrail will lend a hand and a ear. We will surely be able to get you most convenient hotels at economical prices, sparing you the trouble of constant followup.

4. Get Loyal

Joining Loyalty Clubs of hotel chains, will get you great benefits. It’s not that tough to join one, sign up online or just eat a meal at the hotel and gain an entry to the exclusive clubs. Once you are in, you will be pleasantly surprised to see the kind of offers that you can make use of. Loyalty club members get benefits like free wifi, free goodies from the mini-fridge or discounts on meals. You might even get a room upgrade if you are lucky. It’s the same with flights too.

5. Special Occasions get special deals

You are holidaying to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary? Don’t forget to notify that to the hotel you are staying in. Most hotels have offers for special occasions including room upgrades or if you are really lucky, even free candle-light dinners.

6. Heard of Coupon generating Extensions?

Want an easy way to deals? Install a Google Chrome extension on your computer that generates coupons on hotels and flights. Every time you book a flight or hotel, the extension will generate a coupon code that will automatically give you offers if any on your booking. Cently is one example, let us know if you find more. Easy wasn’t it?!

7. Hotel hacks: Reward points

Do you travel a lot as part of your job? Don’t forget, like Air-miles, hotels also have rewards for their loyal clientele. As you travel on work, keep stock of the points you accumulate at hotels. Over a course of months, it could be possible to get a free stay over a weekend. Together with some accumulated air-miles, all you need is to pack your bags and get set for a free vacation!

8. Hotel hacks: Choice of hotel 

Looking for the right hotel for a budget vacation? Try to evaluate hotels on the basis of location rather than the 5-star amenities. Staying closer to where you want to go is easier on the wallet than paying for a cab to take you places.

          9. Go Social

Engage with as many hotel chains as you can on Facebook, twitter and other social media channels. Exclusive offers and previews are often doled out through these places. Engage with these brands through contests on social media. You’ll be surprised, posting your ‘best beard pic’ may actually win you a free dinner or a night’s stay at a hotel!

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