Five ways to cut the cost of your hotel!

John Fitszimons takes a look at the best ways to save a few bob when booking a hotel break.

Wherever you're hoping to spend your holiday this year, chances are, you'll want to keep the cost of your hotel to a minimum. Let's face it, hotels can end up working out to be pretty pricey, so if you're looking for ways to save money, make sure you follow my five clever tips on how to cut the cost of your hotel!

Tip #1 - Travel off-season

It stands to reason that hotel rooms will cost more when everyone is on holiday. After all, there's more demand, and hotels know they can charge more. So why not go a little earlier, or later, than everyone else?

A good way to judge this is to go on holiday once the kids have gone back to school! Providing you're not a school teacher, and you don't have kids, this is a far better way to get a cheaper deal on your hotel room!

Tip #2 - Book early - or last minute!

I know this seems contradictory, but trust me, it works!

If you can book up a holiday well in advance - I'm talking more than a year here - then you tend to get a much better deal. Equally, if you book very late in the day, perhaps with a day or two to spare, then you can also get your hands on a great priced room.

However, the latter option is very much fraught with danger. While on occasion you will get a great price, it's at least equally likely that most hotels in the area will be fully booked, so you may end up paying way over the odds just to secure a roof over your heads.

I prefer the early option every time.

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Tip #3 - Get discounts

First of all, you should have a look at sites like lastminute.com and Expedia, which tend to get absolutely amazing deals on hotel prices (in fact Expedia even offer a guarantee that if you find the same hotel room cheaper anywhere else, they will refund the difference).

But there are loads of other sites to check out, like Discounthotels.co.uk, hotelclub.net and (particularly if you are off to the States) hoteldiscount.com.

It's also well worth reading the travel sections of national newspapers both during the week and at weekends, as they often have a selection of cracking looking deals. However, be sure to act quickly as they will disappear pretty sharpish!

Tip #4 - Take a gamble!

This is my favourite tip, and if you like taking a bit of a step into the unknown, it's definitely for you!

Lastminute.com isn't just great for arranging a trip at short notice - it's also an awesome place to get a hotel room at a shockingly low rate. The catch though is that you don't know which hotel it is.

An absolute shedload of brilliant hotels - we are talking top of the range here - have signed up to the Top Secret Hotel scheme, offering up to 45% off their nightly rates. You go on, pick which date you want to go, and you'll be given a description of the hotel, as well as its location and rating. But not its name.

Only after completing the booking do you get sent the name of the hotel, though in all honesty, once you have the location and description, most of the time it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out just which hotel they are referring to.

In fact, lastminute.com's sister company, Travelocity, has also started a similar service, though it's quite hidden on the site, so good luck finding the relevant deals!

And if you are just looking for somewhere to stay in London, you might also want to check out Discounted Hotels London, which offers its own secret hotel service.

Tip #5 - Go grocery shopping

If you shop at Tesco, or have a Nectar card, then you can trade in your points for some brilliant hotel deals. Build up points on a Tesco Clubcard and you can get money off all sorts of hotel chains, including Hiltons and Marriots, while you can use Nectar points to get money off deals at Expedia.

So if you shop at Tesco or Sainsbury's, but don't have a loyalty card, you could be missing out on some bargain hotel deals!

So there you have it, my top five ways to cut the price of your hotel. I'm sure you all have amazing tips of your own, so be sure to share them via the comments box below.

This is a classic article which has recently been updated.

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