Monday, May 7, 2012

Late Hotels: How To Find The Cheapest Deal

By Roger Hammerstack


To find the cheapest hotel rooms you need to use a strategy that really works and one of the best involves booking what is known as "Late Hotels". As the name suggests, "late hotels" are hotels that offer discounts for last minute bookings. You can find them online by doing a simple search.

Once you have searched for "late hotels" followed by your destination, you'll almost certainly see a huge amount of results. Don't be put off. Just take a big breath and check out the ones that look hopeful.

Separating the good deals from the terrible will involve a little bit of research. Start with a pen and paper and take a note of any that appeal to you. You'll probably find that the same hotel names crop up on different sites. See which of them are offering the best deal.

Here's a top tip: the ads around the search results are very often the best place to find your late hotels bargain. Ads can be put online almost instantly and are used by hoteliers to offer last minute deals, whereas the search results you are looking at may be using old information. The ads can save you a fortune, believe me.

Make sure that you are comparing like for like. Some websites don't include the cost of breakfast in their prices, or maybe they exclude local taxes. What at first looks like a great price might end up costing you a bomb.

Look out for hidden extras. Some of the less scrupulous hotel websites - including those offering late hotel bargains - may try and charge you a booking fee. As they are already charging the hotel a percentage of whatever you spend with them, this is often seen as sharp practice. The same goes for local taxes, which can add as much as 25% to your final bill.

The only reason hotels offer late rooms at cheap prices is because they are faced with empty rooms they have to fill. Hotel owners regard empty rooms in the same way werewolves look at silver bullet and nutritionists regard a Big Mac. They don't like them and will do practically anything to get rid of them. It's the simple law of supply and demand.

The cheapest priced hotel deals go to those who are the most flexible. Getting the best price may mean moving your search a few miles - perhaps to the next town - or maybe looking a few days either side of your preferred date. It's amazing how a little bit of flexibility can make so much difference when it comes to getting good hotel prices.




About the Author:



No comments: