Planning a Budget Hotel Break
- By Dave Matthews
- Published 11th March, 2010
- travel
- Unrated
Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews is writing on behalf of Kettering Park Hotel, a leading luxury hotel in Kettering.
View all articles by Dave Matthews
Everyone's in the same boat at the moment when it comes to planning a holiday. Because of the recession everyone has been looking for cheaper alternatives when they are looking to get away. The cost of travel has also increased in recent years which also makes it difficult to find an affordable solution, however if you are looking to get away for the weekend then there are ways of finding cheap hotel rates that will help you to make some big savings.
If you know that you have booked some time to go on holiday at some point in the year then it pays to start your search early. Giving yourself plenty of time to find a hotel will also allow you to a variety of choice without any of the problems that arise when trying to find somewhere at the last minute. The last thing you would want is to have to make a rushed decision - it is much more sensible to shop around to find the right balance of acceptable price and quality. Although there are websites which will help you to find hotel rooms at the last minute, you will still find it cheaper to book in advance.
If you can find out when particular hotels have lower attendance then this will also help you to save money as they will off lower prices around this time. Things to be wary of are large events taking place in towns where you are looking to go as these will inevitably attract large crowds and in turn, high hotel prices. Alternatively you may find a hotel which is focused more on business stays, which may mean that their prices will be lower at weekends. During lulls in business hotels will commonly lower their rates in order to attract potential customers.
You may also want to try performing some sort of combination search in order to find the best deal. There are several options available to you on this front whether it be an online search or via a telephone directory to call various hotels' service desk. Either of these methods will enable you to find the cheapest rate for your stay and shouldn't take up too much of your time. You may find that some hotels will offer a cheaper rate to those who use their own online booking or call in.
It is also worth trying to take advantage of any offers that hotels may have on group booking or extended stays. If there is a large group of you going or if you plan on staying longer than 3 nights then quite often hotels will be able to reduce their rates for you. Some hotels may also have a membership scheme you can sign up to that will offer lower prices. This will be especially useful if you are the sort of person who travels frequently and could be likely to use the hotel repeatedly.
So you see it is not actually that difficult to find a bargain at all!
If you know that you have booked some time to go on holiday at some point in the year then it pays to start your search early. Giving yourself plenty of time to find a hotel will also allow you to a variety of choice without any of the problems that arise when trying to find somewhere at the last minute. The last thing you would want is to have to make a rushed decision - it is much more sensible to shop around to find the right balance of acceptable price and quality. Although there are websites which will help you to find hotel rooms at the last minute, you will still find it cheaper to book in advance.
If you can find out when particular hotels have lower attendance then this will also help you to save money as they will off lower prices around this time. Things to be wary of are large events taking place in towns where you are looking to go as these will inevitably attract large crowds and in turn, high hotel prices. Alternatively you may find a hotel which is focused more on business stays, which may mean that their prices will be lower at weekends. During lulls in business hotels will commonly lower their rates in order to attract potential customers.
You may also want to try performing some sort of combination search in order to find the best deal. There are several options available to you on this front whether it be an online search or via a telephone directory to call various hotels' service desk. Either of these methods will enable you to find the cheapest rate for your stay and shouldn't take up too much of your time. You may find that some hotels will offer a cheaper rate to those who use their own online booking or call in.
It is also worth trying to take advantage of any offers that hotels may have on group booking or extended stays. If there is a large group of you going or if you plan on staying longer than 3 nights then quite often hotels will be able to reduce their rates for you. Some hotels may also have a membership scheme you can sign up to that will offer lower prices. This will be especially useful if you are the sort of person who travels frequently and could be likely to use the hotel repeatedly.
So you see it is not actually that difficult to find a bargain at all!