How to find a cheap hotel room:

How to find a cheap hotel room: - to use sites and avoid sites

As much as I love hostels and other types of cheap accommodation, there is something good about the lushness hotels. They are clean and quiet and have comfortable beds, powerful showers and plenty of soap, which I take for later.

But luxury comes at a price. Hotels are certainly not cheap, and I hate to spend a lot of money for a room I'm only for a few hours would. It's why especially hotels I avoid - I do not think that a good use of money (and there are much better accommodations are). If I'm not in a hostel, you can at a favorable board usually find me or to an Airbnb.

But I have a lot of "work" lately (conferences, speaking gigs) travel and are with the seemingly endless Hotel booking sites, I decided this was a good time to do some tests and find out, which sites offered to the best deals

I took five cities to do to explore. London, Los Angeles, Paris, New York and Seattle. I took stays close to the actual date of Research and well in advance, both on weekdays and weekends. (I did my research end of March, which is why the data are different than what you expect from a contribution expected in early May published.)

I six hotel sites searched: Expedia, Hotels.com, booking .com, Hotwire , Priceline, and a new one called Travel Pony in 2-, 3- and 4-star categories. Following are the data tables are shown with the lowest price (Priceline prices based on their search listings, not the commandments section of the website). You can also click here and just jump to my analysis, if you do not look at the tables.

Seattle, WA

3 / 28-3 / 30

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 45	$ 45	$ -	$ 59	$ 46	$ 48
3 *	$ 74	$ 74	$ -	$ 119	$ 63	$ 74
4 *	$ 143	$ 143	$ -	$ 179	$ 143	$ 142

4 / 1-4 / 3

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 43	$ 43	$ -	$ 59	$ 50	$ 42
3 *	$ 81	$ 81	$ 75	$ 87	$ 79	$ 81
4 *	$ 185	$ 179	$ 127	$ 149	$ 137	$ 159

4 / 25-4 / 27

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 42	$ 42	$ 113	$ 59	$ 42	$ 42
3 *	$ 76	$ 76	$ -	$ 89	$ 63	$ 75
4 *	$ 143	$ 143	$ -	$ 149	$ 143	$ 142

4 / 29-5 / 1

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 42	$ 42	$ 101	$ 59	$ 42	$ 42
3 *	$ 81	$ 81	$ 75	$ 87	$ 69	$ 81
4 *	$ 186	$ 186	$ 127	$ 149	$ 186	$ 179

New York

25.04 -4/27

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 184	$ 159	$ 215	$ 169	$ 159	$ 145
3 *	$ 251	$ 212	$ 119	$ 171	$ 180	$ 170
4 *	$ 242	$ 230	$ 85	$ 186	$ 186	$ 186

4 / 29-5 / 1 [hotels1945007]

	Expedia		Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 195	$ 127	$ 127	$ 139	$ 170	$ 126
3 *	$ 234	$ 197	$ 135	$ 195	$ 197	$ 188
4 *	$ 245	$ 206	$ 167	$ 206	$ 251	$ 206

3 / 28-3 / 30

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 149	$ 134	$ 215	$ 128	$ 159	$ 0
3 *	$ 201	$ 134	$ 119	$ 149	$ 161	$ 152
4 *	$ 214	$ 184	$ 239	$ 161	$ 176	$ 161

4 / 1-4 / 3

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 127	$ 95	$ 127	$ 99	$ 107	$ 118
3 *	$ 135	$ 102	$ 135	$ 119	$ 0	$ 138
4 *	$ 149	$ 149	$ 167	$ 153	$ 152	$ 136

Los Angeles

4 / 25-4 / 27

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 48	$ 48	$ 61	$ 53	$ 58	$ 45
3 *	$ 76	$ 76	$ 55	$ 79	$ 88	$ 95
4 *	$ 125	$ 125	$ 99	$ 108	$ 109	$ 134

4 / 29- 5/1

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 47	$ 45	$ 61	$ 47	$ 50	$ 43
3 *	$ 84	$ 79	$ 79	$ 65	$ 88	$ 109
4 *	$ 152	$ 152	$ 89	$ 98	$ 151	$ 161

3 / 28-3 / 30

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 48	$ 50	$ 79	$ 54	$ 58	$ 45
3 *	$ 76	$ 76	$ 52	$ 80	$ 88	$ 107
4 *	$ 119	$ 119	$ -	$ 109	$ 109	$ 119

4 / 1-4 / 3

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 48	$ 48	$ 63	$ 49	$ 50	$ 45
3 *	$ 84	$ 84	$ 55	$ 65	$ 88	$ 109
4 *	$ 153	$ 172	$ 112	$ 129	$ 150	$ 172

London

4 / 25-4 / 27

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 51	$ 45	$ -	$ 112	$ 47	$ 67
3 *	$ 54	$ 58	$ 59	$ 147	$ 74	$ 74
4 *	$ 75	$ 110	$ -	$ 196	$ 82	$ 118

/ April 29 to 5/1

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	Booking	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 50	$ 51	$ -	$ 107	$ 47	$ 63
3 *	$ 64	$ 93	$ 105	$ 142	$ 64	$ 70
4 *	$ 103	$ 110	$ -	$ 152	$ 107	$ 108

3 / 28-3 / 30

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 47	$ 58	$ -	$ 103	$ 47	$ 57
3 *	$ 67	$ 62	$ 55	$ 145	$ 68	$ 70
4 *	$ 100	$ 81	$ -	$ 126	$ 81	$ 107

4 / 1-4 / 3

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 50	$ 50	$ -	$ 85	$ 62	$ 54
3 *	$ 54	$ 68	$ 63	$ 88	$ 85	$ 58
4 *	$ 75	$ 117	$ -	$ 107	$ 102	$ 88

Paris

4 / 25-4 / 27

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 44	$ 44	$ -	$ 140	$ 58	$ 36
3 *	$ 49	$ 51	$ 83	$ 173	$ 61	$ 56
4 *	$ 69	$ 69	$ 157	$ 206	$ 106	$ 86

4 / 29-5 / 1

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 53	$ 52	$ -	$ 148	$ 69	$ 43
3 *	$ 60	$ 50	$ 75	$ 158	$ 87	$ 68
4 *	$ 75	$ 75	$ -	$ 204	$ 118	$ 92

3 / 28-3 / 30

	Expedia	hotels	Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 44	$ 45	$ -	$ 117	$ 58	$ 40
3 *	$ 57	$ 50	$ 89	$ 143	$ 74	$ 59
4 *	$ 88	$ 69	$ 129	$ 172	$ 116	$ 85

4 / 1-4 / 3 [hotels1945007]

	Expedia		Travel Pony	book	Hotwire	Priceline
2 *	$ 44	$ 52	$ -	$ 144	$ 82	$ 50
3 *	$ 62	$ 66	$ 102	$ 142	$ 93	$ 86
4 *	$ 93	$ 141	$ 169	$ 178	$ 165	$ 119

What can we learn from this information? If a site better than the rest?

I went into this experiment with the assumption that Hotels.com and Expedia would most expensive prices and Hotwire were the cheapest (Casual studied in the past had led me to believe this) be. Travel Pony has shown promising but they are new and have limited inventory (sometimes they returned zero ads), so I had no great expectations for them.

But the data proved my theory wrong.

First, if Travel Pony had availability, they generally obtained, especially in the 3- and 4-star categories. She blew the competition out of the water directly. In many cases, they are much cheaper than their competitors.

Why? Well, for that, let us for a moment to step back and talk about why the prices are what they are. Hotels have a variety of prices: prepaid, flexible, enterprise discounted, and much more. And while rates go up and down depending on demand, they are not (fortunately) Swing as far as airline prices. They are a bit more static.

hotels sell rooms to those booking sites at a discount, which is why you often see prices cheaper on these pages than on the hotel's website (more on that shortly). The large hotel companies price then what else to come in their costs, marketing, and a base for their displayed price. Travel Pony does not (according to the CEO, when I asked why his prices were so low in an interview). They rely just on word of mouth. Plus, they require you to register to see the hotel prices, so falling into a "club" category, they can give cheaper rates. However, they are always the same rates as the big booking sites do not have so much to increase their price.

As for the other sites, Expedia and Priceline were the cheapest in 17 cases, while in only Hotwire was 10 Hotels.com. was the cheapest in 13 cases.

the clear loser was Booking.com who only offered the best deal in instances. 3

Note : there is a tie, was both booking sites than with the lowest price

much variance were But these overall figures mask counted. In the same city, depending on the hotel category, we could have a different winner every time. Travel Pony was the winner in the US and in higher-class hotels, while Priceline was great for 2 star hotels, Hotwire for 3-star, and Expedia dominated London and Paris.

Note : Last weekend I have another round of tests and even in two new cities added San Francisco and Rome. The results were pretty much the same, though bound with Priceline Booking.com in 2-star hotels in San Francisco, regardless of the date.

Before I get into what does this mean for the booking process, to remember it is important that if you hotels on websites third book, you do not have to earn hotel points or status for your stay. To get that, you need to book directly with the hotel. And that is why these online sites can offer cheaper prices. In return for the hotels they make their customers right to grant and Elite status eligibility give (also, their massive purchasing power helps).

Three Finale websites

Before we go into the booking process, can bring us three Final Sites:

First, what is the meta-search sites like Trivago or Hotelscombined? Hotelscombined claiming thousands of websites (including hostel booking sites), but my cursory search showed search that they did not return as many cheap places as they say they are. They showed a discount 3 star accommodations in downtown London in June for $ 134 per night, but Expedia came up with $ 91. And they often showed no more than a few sites. I would skip it.

I would AVOID Trivago. My research has shown that they consistently their hotel lists high enough. A four-star hotel on their website was a two- or three-star hotel (or a three-star was a one-star) on the website listed them you took for the actual booking process. This was consistent across many cities and dates. Here's a screenshot to illustrate the point:

on Trivago:

When I went Priceline:

Also a hostel in New York City as a four star (not hostel four stars at all) rated. I did not catch it the first few times, but when I did it, I was shocked. Since Trivago sends you directly to the booking page on another site, this change in the class of consumers would be easily overlooked. You could in a two-star hotel at the end, if you wanted a four star. I do not think it is deliberately misleading people, but that the error occurred often enough that I would not trust Trivago and will tell you absolutely should not be used.

Finally, let's talk about Tingo. Tingo is a website that refund your money if the price of your hotel room drops after you book it. It is a wonderful way to ensure that you are not screwed on obtaining to worry. Before I posted something, I would check the hotel price on this website, to see if it found less than or equal to the prices on other search sites. If so, I would take advantage of her book here Price drop listing. You can not go wrong with them.

How to book a hotel

hotel price is much more set than airline prices and is less likely to fluctuate. I would Hour Search hotel websites days not spend prices as people do with airline prices to pursue.

I would start with your preferred location (for US hotels, I would do that Travel Pony), looking two or three other sites, and then the hotel website check (do not forget to mention - hotels often rates correspond). I would spend, at the Max, a 30-minute hotel reservation. I found that the differences between the sites is not sufficient to justify spending hours looking for a deal. At the end of the day hours of your life not waste worth trying to save a dollar or two. In addition, many major booking sites are have their own loyalty bonus programs and when you use consistently a site, the rewards can be worth it to just one location to stay, even if it is not the cheapest option.

For me looks like this book a cheap hotel:

1. Start with Priceline, Expedia, Travel pony or your favorite booking site. (If you buy in Asia, Agoda use. They are undoubtedly the best location for the region.)
2. Double-check a few more pages to cover just your bases.
3. Skip the bad sites that are mentioned here.
4. cross examination with Tingo.
5. a place.
6. with your day to go.

Do not spend hours on a Hotel Room Search. My research showed prices do not fluctuate as much, so it's not worth the time to do this. Follow the steps above, get a great cheap rooms, and enjoy your trip

CONTINUE READING -.> How to get non-residents and even affordable accommodation

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