Five Ways to Save Money on Flights and Hotels

Everybody likes to travel, unfortunately most of us can’t do it as often as we would like because of the costs involved. Fortunately there are ways that you can save money when you are booking a hotel or a flight. By following a few basic principles you can reduce the cost of your trip but quite a large amount, often as much as half.

1. The most important thing that you can do if you want to save money on either flights or hotels is to take advantage of the internet to shop around to make sure that you are getting the best possible rate. There are lots of websites that promise that they will get you the best possible rate but obviously they can’t all offer the best rate. Check with a few different sites and see what they have to offer. It is also a good idea to check the websites of the airlines and the hotels themselves as sometimes they will offer a better rate than the travel sites. You may also find that you need to book the flight through one site and the hotel through a different one in order to get the best price.

flights2. One of the best ways to get a good deal on a hotel or a flight is by being flexible about your travel dates. Just how airlines price tickets is very complicated and it makes little sense to most people, the result is that changing the day you fly can save you a great deal of money. It is very possible that by flying one day earlier or one day later you can cut the cost of your ticket in half. The way hotels price their rooms is easier to understand, they have higher prices during the high season and lower prices in the off season. The price may also vary depending on the day of the week, hotels that cater to business travellers usually have lower prices on weekends while those that cater to tourists will be the opposite. You can really save on the cost of your trip if you can be flexible about when you go.

3. If you really want to find cheap travel opportunities one thing that you can do is to book last minute deals. Hotels and airlines hate having empty space since that is money that they can never recoup. Therefore if it looks like they are going to have extra seats or rooms left they will usually offer them very cheap. This requires a great deal of flexibility on your part as a traveller. It is best suited to people who are not all that concerned with where they go. Many people will simply look at the last minute packages that are available and pick one. If you have an adventurous spirit this can be a great way to plan a vacation, although clearly it is not for everybody.

4. If you are not into planning your trip at the last minute you will find that the best way to save money is to book well in advance. The airlines and hotels really don’t want to have to offer those last minute packages, the much prefer to be booked in advance. Therefore they will usually offer a better price to people who do book well ahead of time since it makes it easier for them to make their plans. This is particularly true of airlines who may want to change the number of flights that have based on how much demand there is for them.

5. If you want to save money on flights or hotels you are going to need to make sure that you avoid the extra expenses. These days you can expect to be charged for almost everything, including a lot of things that used to be included free. This can really drive up the price so you need to be careful. Airlines are the worst for this, especially the low cost ones. They will now charge you for things like checking luggage, using a credit card to pay for your flight, or even for checking in with a ticket agent. You have to make sure that you know what these fees are so that you can keep them to a minimum. Trying to avoid them can make travelling a hassle but if you want to save money it is what you will have to do.