Regardless of who you’re travelling with, booking the best hotel accommodation can be a little stressful. Afterall, you’re directly in charge of everyone’s comfort! When you’re travelling during the peak season, hotel rates can shoot the roof. So, to help you avoid burning holes through your wallet, we’ve compiled some hotel booking hacks to get you the best rates and how to get FREE hotel upgrades! ?
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1. Book your hotels during the weekends
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If you’re looking for the best time to finally sit in front of your computer or phone and book that long awaited accommodation you’ve been eyeing - you should wait till the weekends to do so! It’s been statistically proven that booking your rooms during this time can guarantee lower rates - especially on Fridays and Saturdays. ? It’s also been stated that booking your stay about a week before your trip can save you up to SGD6 difference!
P.S. Do note that this tip may not apply to all hotels.
2. Keep a lookout for newly opened hotels
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When new hotels open, it’s a good idea to look them up and check if they have any special offers. You may be lucky to find that new hotels sometimes have ‘opening promotions’ and if you stay with them, chances are you’ll be given plenty of additional promotions during your stay! You could even get free upgrades during the low season too depending on their vacancy. ?
3. Use a VPN when looking for hotels
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This is one of the most popular hacks when it comes to anything related to online bookings. If you have a VPN installed on your device, you should keep it switched on while browsing websites and booking platforms. Some VPN services you can use include - NordVPN, and ExpressVPN which offer memberships from as low as SG8 a month!
P.S. Enjoying these tips so far? Then be sure to check out 13 hacks to get cheaper tickets for your next flight
4. Sign up for FREE hotel membership programmes
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Most hotels will have some form of membership programme that you can sign up for and the best part is that they’re usually free! If you find yourself liking or enjoying the hotel, you can join their hotel membership to get lots of additional perks. The typical membership is tiered which means that there are levels to the membership before you can enjoy the rewards. For instance, IHG One Reward’s higher tier membership entitles you to early and late check out, welcome amenities, guaranteed room availability and (wait for it) FREE upgrades! ?
- Call the hotels for more information
There’s no shame in calling up the hotel to check when the rates are the lowest, in fact, that’s one of the ways to confirm the rates without second guessing yourself. The hotels themselves are aware of when their prices go up, so there’s no harm in calling to score the best deals for you and your travel gang! ? You may even be let in on secret or lesser known promotions and room upgrades that you can’t find online!
6. Download apps that alert you when prices drop
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If you’re someone who dreads booking accommodations because you always find a better deal AFTER all the payment has been done, you’ll love this app. It’s called Pruvo and it lets you rebook your hotel stay for a cheaper price! How, you may ask? Well, it's fairly simple. All you have to do is download the app and set an alert. If the app finds a cheaper price than the time you booked your hotel, it will send you a notification and you can change by cancelling the booking and making a new one! ? Note: Not all hotels will allow for free cancellation so do check carefully.
No more FOMO (Feeling Of Missing Out) when booking your next hotel stay! Do you have any tips to make your stay more comfortable and budget-friendly? Share them with us on our socials! Hope this article can be of help to you when booking accommodations.