How do you save the most on hotel prices?

[ShoppingDiva]

I'm planning a quick weekend trip this weekend for the 4th. How do all you "frugalistas" save the most on hotel prices?
I've done Hotwire with success before but I always hate not knowing where I'll end up staying when I'm booking through them.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[oceanbreeze]

This won't apply for your weekend trip...

We always rent a condo instead of hotel rooms. They are always less expensive and are fully loaded w/ wash/dryer, kitchen and access to the building's pool/ other activity areas. This way we can also save money on meals out, by cooking our own breakfasts & lunches and only eating dinner out a few of the nights we are there, not every night.

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Often times for hotels, you can get a better deal by contacting the hotel website rather than Hotwire, etc.
Additional discounts such as AAA or military, and other such discounts might lower OOP costs.
Ask if there is a discount for booking more than one or two nights.

[hopeky94]

Call some of the "chain" hotels in the area you want to visit and ask if they offer any "last-minute" specials. I've never had the chance to take advantage of this, but I remember that some hotels will offer nicely discounted rooms if they have vacancies after their normal check-in time. If you find some that offer that, see if they'll tell you how booked they are for the dates you're wanting and if they typically have any vacancies on the weekend of the 4th. If you can find 2 or 3 that sound optimistic being able to do this for you, IMO it's worth the risk to not make reservations but just show up after check-in time and see what kind of deal they'll make you!

Another thing, one I normally do: if the area you plan to visit is somewhat "touristy," you'll likely find MUCH better rates at hotels a few miles away from the area, especially if it's a nearby town away from interstates. Map out hotels in nearby towns for distance from where you want to visit, plus check out chamber of commerce or tourism info for the nearby towns, to find somewhere with restaurants and other stores that match your interests.

[Mothernature]

travelzoo.com

[mocha poka]

I've done real well with skyauction.com in the past.

[ShoppingDiva]

Thanks everyone for the super tips!! Reps to you all!

[daltregirl]

I worked at a big chain hotel for the past 4 months and found that when our rack rate is 134.00 a night - double - priceline.com pays us 52.xx for that room. Not sure if this would be helpful when negotiating your price.

From that same big chain hotel standpoint, I can tell you that we were not able to discount a room, no matter what time you arrive. I have had people check in at 2 in the morning (11 am check out mind you) and still have to charge them the same 134.00 for the night!

[maraki3]

If you chose a choice hotel, and are over 50 yrs young, call their 800 # for the best possible deal available for the site.

[melziemom04]

We book through Hotwire sometimes also. If you visit the website biddingfortravel.com, you can sometimes figure out where you'll be staying based on what others have gotten recently. It's geared more towards Priceline.com stays, but there is also some information for Hotwire users. We have had mostly good experiences through Hotwire, but we had one that was pretty bad (it was supposed to be a 3 star hotel....we got there and the AC was out...IN JULY...IN TEXAS....the elevators were broken....our room was caked in dust and had stains everywhere...we checked out, called Hotwire, and they refunded our $$).

Lately, I have found the best deals by visiting the actual hotel websites and looking for deals.

[AGanders]

thanks for this info. I have been trying to plan our vacation and was not happy with the price I have been finding.