Travelers across the country spent nearly $140 per night for a hotel stay in 2014.
As the summer travel season approaches, budget-conscious consumers will be scouring the Web for the best deals. Last year, travelers across the U.S. paid an average $137 per night for hotel accommodations, a 5 percent increase from 2013, according to Hotels.com's Hotel Price Index (and of course hotels in a city like Manhattan or San Francisco can cost a lot more).
For travelers looking for deals, booking hotels through a third-party website instead of directly through the hotel's website may mean forfeiting points for the hotel's loyalty program or privileges related to elite status with the hotel, but in many cases, the savings may make this sacrifice worthwhile. Vacation home rentals are another popular way to save money on lodging, but if you prefer a traditional hotel experience, then these websites and apps can help.
1. HotelTonight.com. Available on Apple, Google and Windows phones (as well as the Apple Watch), this mobile-only app uses location technology to display a curated selection of nearby hotels with available rooms, many with discounted rates. "It's a great resource if you're doing a road trip, for example, and not sure where you're going to land until you get there," says Cynthia Drake, author of "Budget Travel for the Genius." The HotelTonight app highlights each hotel's amenities, location and why it was chosen (for instance, oversized, spa-style bathrooms, downtown location, in-suite fireplaces), and users can book directly through the app with a few taps. HotelTonight was originally created to offer same-day bookings, but it now offers bookings up to a week in advance. If you want to lock in your travel plans and budget well in advance, this might not be the app for you, but if your plans change on the fly and you need a last-minute hotel room, it's worth a look.
2. Stayful.com. Stayful lets travelers bid on or book boutique hotels in several major U.S. cities for trips within the next month, allowing hotels to fill unsold rooms at less than their published rate. If the hotel accepts your bid price and you confirm, you can't modify or cancel the reservation and receive a refund, but you can modify or cancel a room using the booking feature. Stayful offers a longer lead time than HotelTonight, but uber-planners may want to book further in advance. Stayful also has an iPhone app (requires iOS 8 or later), and it offers an online feature where you can tweet your hotel request (including dates, city and number of nights) to @stayful, and representatives will help you find a hotel room and negotiate the price. While this feature sounds like a clever use of technology, Drake points out that some travelers may be uncomfortable publicly tweeting their travel dates for security reasons.
3. HotelQuickly.com. If you're traveling to the Asia-Pacific, check out HotelQuickly, which is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. The app offers last-minute hotel deals in 15 countries, including Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. Like HotelTonight, HotelQuickly has a curated selection of hotels instead of listing every hotel under the sun, which appeals to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam-based travel blogger Tran Viet Phuong. "When the list is narrowed to few hotels, it doesn’t take much time for me to choose a hotel or resort," he says. "I don’t want to waste the whole hour to choose a hotel among dozens or hundreds on the websites or mobile apps." Phuong also likes that HotelQuickly gives users a referral code they can use for first-time bookings and credits $15 to the referrers account. In one case, he says he used referral credits to book a 5-star resort in central Vietnam and paid just $50, half of the listed price.
4. BiddingTraveler.com. If you're planning to bid for hotels on Priceline but are unsure if you're bidding too high or too low, BiddingTraveler.com can help demystify the process. When placing hotel bids, "it's a little confusing on what should be your lowest rate, what should be your max," says April Thompson, tourism marketing consultant and travel coach at AbsoluteTravelAddict.com. "BiddingTraveler.com has an algorithm that looks at the most recent savings or bookings and recommends what you should bid." For instance, a recent visit to BiddingTraveler.com revealed that the Westin Orlando Universal Boulevard has a retail price of $219, but a Priceline bidder scored a room with a bid of $72. Of course, you don't see what date the bidder used, so your bid of $300 might still get rejected, but it can be a useful benchmark.
5. DreamCheaper.com. Hotel prices can fluctuate based on a variety of factors. But forward your hotel booking email to hotel@dreamcheaper.com, and this Germany-based website continuously monitors prices for you. If the price of your hotel room drops, it rebooks your reservation automatically and cancels your original one. You then pay whatever portion of the savings you deem appropriate. DreamCheaper works with hotels around the world, but only if your original booking offers free cancellations. The site does not change your room preferences to find you a cheaper room. According to the website, the average savings is 15 percent, but it can go as high as 60 percent. If you're the type who plans vacations months in advance, then DreamCheaper could help ensure you don't miss out on potential savings that last-minute travelers score.
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