Booking the right hotel can make or break a holiday — and taking a little extra time to research and double-check your room and location could save you hundreds of dollars.
If you’re in the planning stages of a vacation, you’ll want to consider the following mistakes that travelers commonly make when booking a hotel. These expensive missteps can easily be avoided if you’re willing to put in a bit of extra time to ensure you’re getting the best rate at the best locations:
You might find a beautiful hotel just outside the city center that is well below the average cost in the city you’re visiting — but don’t forget to factor in the time and cost associated with commuting in and out of the city while you’re out sightseeing. Suppose you have to pay for a taxi once or twice a day to get to and from your hotel because it’s so far away from the attractions on your itinerary. In that case, you might end up spending more on transportation than you would have had you just booked a hotel closer to the sights you’re hoping to visit.
If you travel regularly — and even if you only travel once a year or so — you’ll want to make sure you sign up for the loyalty program of every hotel you stay at. Certain hotel memberships, like Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, offer member perks as soon as you sign up. This means you’ll instantly have access to things like member pricing, better rooms, and small perks like free bottled water in your room.
Likewise, you’ll also want to ensure you’re taking advantage of credit card points when booking your next hotel. Travel-specific and lifestyle-focused credit cards (like the Chase Freedom Unlimited) will sometimes offer double (or more) points when booking a hotel room. This can also include cash-back offers that can save you a percentage of the original cost of the hotel booking.
Booking a hotel room online allows you to price shop across multiple booking websites — and you’d be amiss to skip this step. Certain booking platforms will offer better discounts than others, which can easily save you hundreds on the total cost of your stay. That being said, you’ll want to keep in mind that booking through a third-party website can sometimes cause issues when collecting loyalty points and sometimes can result in losing the chance to upgrade your room.
Booking a hotel room online also means you’ll typically have access to two rates: the refundable and the non-refundable rate. This will typically look like less than a hundred dollars difference, which is admittedly still tempting, but it also means that you’ll lose the chance to cancel your hotel reservation if you find a better deal elsewhere or need to alter your dates.
It’s easy to create a beautiful hotel listing on a third-party platform with things like Photoshop and the magic of good lighting. To make sure you don’t fall for the travel version of a catfish situation, be sure to read recent reviews on all of the hotels you’re considering booking at. This will give you peace of mind while also ensuring the room you’re booking really is the room you’ll get once you arrive. The last thing you want is to wind up abroad at a sketchy hotel and have to find a last-minute same-day (see: expensive) alternative.
Found a hotel rate that seems too good to be true? It probably is. If you’re considering booking a hotel that is a fraction of the cost of similar hotels in the area you’ll want to take a few minutes to figure out why the rate is so much lower before booking in. It could be as simple as low occupancy rates, which by all means does not make or break a holiday. Still, it could also be much more disruptive throughout your stay, like major construction or amenities that are currently under maintenance.
If you’re booking a resort or all-inclusive property, you’ll want to look carefully at the breakdown of fees before hitting ‘book.’ Resort fees — especially at all-inclusive hotels — can quickly add up and render what looked like a good deal way more expensive than the original sticker price. Keep in mind that resort fees can cost upwards of $50 per person per night on top of the base fare and taxes you’re already paying and are generally not going to be worth the money.
Choosing to book now and pay the balance of your stay once you arrive at the hotel can be tempting — but it can be more expensive than just paying in full when booking online or over the phone. There’s no benefit to paying what you owe at the property and getting it over with when booking is especially key if you’re booking a hotel room in another country. Paying online will ensure you’re paying in your own credit card currency rather than having to deal with potential currency conversion fees at the property.
Some travelers swear that booking your hotel room at the last minute will save you money — but waiting until the last minute means you’ll run the risk of hotels being at capacity and thus have much fewer options to choose from when booking. According to a study by NerdWallet, the best time to book a hotel room is fifteen days before the first night of your trip compared to four months out.
But the study also states that the actual savings are minimal which means that if you’re waiting until the last minute to book your room, you’re risking losing out on the best rooms and the best neighborhoods, which could end up costing you more in the end.
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