Are you always on the hunt for the best cheap hotel deals to make the most of every opportunity to travel? If you’re travelling on a budget, scoring great savings on your hotels and accommodation can make a huge difference to your bank balance. After 10+ years of solo travelling the world, I’ve become somewhat of an expert of finding amazing deals and have saved thousands on hotels worldwide, so now I’m sharing what I’ve learned with you.

Some of my favourite cheap hotel deals have included scoring over £300 off a luxury apartment stay with a swimming pool overlooking the ocean and mountains in Montenegro. I’ve also wangled free nights and free breakfast at lots of hotels worldwide. Plus I’ve found amazing deals with half price luxury hotels making them a perfect stay for a budget traveller like me, and lots of free room upgrades.

Want to know my secrets for scoring cheap hotel deals? Here I share 21 ways you can make your holiday budget stretch further in 2024.

> Read 16 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights for any Destination in 2024

21 Ways To Get Cheap Hotel Deals

1. Be flexible when booking a hotel stay

Flexibility really is the key to getting those cheap hotel deals. The more flexible you can be on dates, the more you could potentially save! Avoiding peak season and the busiest times of the year such as school holidays is a good place to start. But also look into the dates you want to visit a destination and whether they clash with any big events, concerts, sporting events or festivals.

I booked a trip to Copenhagen for January but booked the hotel a few months before, it turned out that was the weekend the Queen decided to abdicate and the city was jam-packed for the ceremonies. The prices had skyrocketed and I had saved hundreds by booking before the dates were announced. It was a brilliant weekend so I was glad about the clash in dates but it could have gone the other way and cost me a lot of money.

Moral of the story, do your research and avoid big events if they don’t interest you or you could get stung by extra fees. Always look at the prices for a hotel stay across the whole month, often by shifting your dates by a few days, you can save a lot of money. Booking is my favourite comparison website for checking prices across a range of hotel stays and different dates.

 

2. Be rewarded for your loyalty – get mates rates on hotels

One of my favourite ways to get cheap hotel deals and one that has honestly saved me thousands over the years. Sign up to a loyalty programme with your favourite online travel platform or hotel comparison site. There are so many to choose from but the key thing is that it will pay off for you to use them repeatedly and you will unlock access to bigger discounts and rewards for continuously booking with that platform.

I’ve been part of the Genius programme with Booking.com ever since I first went solo travelling over 10 years ago. It’s free to sign up and I easily reached Level 3 (15 bookings within 2 years) which now gives me access to the following:

  • 10-20% discounts on stays
  • 10% discounts on rental cars
  • Free breakfasts on select stays
  • Free room upgrades on select stays
  • Priority support on all stays

There are amazing deals worldwide on hotel stays for all budgets – I saw one earlier for a luxury hotel in Greece in a few weeks which was reduced from £1,200 to around £600. As well as helping you to save on your trip, it can also give you access to deals on hotels that might normally be above your budget.

> Sign Up for Booking’s Genius Programme Now

Many hotel chains have free-to-join loyalty schemes – some of the big ones include Best Western Rewards, Hilton Honors, Intercontinental Hotels Group Rewards Club, World of Hyatt and Marriott Rewards.

 

3. Always use comparison sites and travel platforms to compare hotel prices

Comparison sites are the quickest and most efficient way to browse hundreds or even thousands of cheap hotel deals at once. Different comparison sites will cover different booking sites, so it’s worth cross-checking across them all just to ensure you’re getting the best price on the day you book. Here are the best comparison websites to check for cheap hotel deals:

 

 

4. Check the hotel’s own website for a price comparison

Often a lot of travellers will compare via travel platforms and comparison sites, but they might forget to check the hotel’s actual website! It’s always worth checking this when you find a place you like the look of – that way you know the standard price the hotel would charge plus any bonuses or extras for booking direct.

Sometimes it can actually be cheaper to book direct, but even if it isn’t – at least it helps to give you an accurate picture of how much you are saving. I found when booking accommodations in Scotland that many of them advised me to book direct via their website to avoid extra booking fees on some travel platforms.

 

5. Use Member-Only sale sites for cheap hotel deals and hidden extras

There are lots of exclusive member-only travel clubs that have cropped up offering secret deals and offers on regular and luxury hotel stays for a fraction of the price and often with a lot of bonus extras thrown in.

> Watch this video to find out more about how it works

Two clubs in particular that I rate are:

  • Luxury Escapes – luxury travel ideas & exclusive special offers at insider prices
  • Secret Escapes – huge discounts and great deals on hand-picked luxury hotels and holidays

Both offer incredibly cheap hotel deals – I’ve spotted some with savings of £600+ on luxury hotels and added bonuses such as drinks packages, spa treatments, room upgrades and much more.

 

6. Use cashback websites when you book a holiday

If you aren’t already signed up with cashback websites – why not? Don’t sleep on these – I make money back on every single travel booking I make (you can also use these on a range of other everyday purchases and household bills). Booking a hotel? You could make anything from 2% to 50% back on hotel bookings through brands including Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelodge, Agoda, LastMinute.com and IHG Hotels & Resorts among many others. 

I use TopCashback every time I make an online purchase and highly recommend – if you install the browser extension to your laptop, you’ll be prompted every time you visit a website where cashback is available so you don’t miss out on free money!

>> Sign up for TopCashback now

 

7. Pay with the right card to be rewarded

Did you know that simply by using the right debit or credit card you could be saving money when you book cheap hotel deals? Not only could you get access to exclusive discounts and deals, but you could also be eligible for various rewards schemes where you can get vouchers for hotel booking sites. Here’s my top recommendations:

Best Credit Card 

I’ve done a lot of research and the best free credit card for travel and the Halifax Clarity Card is the best, I take mine on every trip and make all my everyday purchases on it. Make sure you set up automatic payments so you pay the balance every month to avoid getting hit by interest. Make sure you do your own research before getting a credit card.

Best Debit Cards

  • Chase Debit Card – 1% cashback on most purchases
  • Natwest – If you have a Select Account and set up MyRewards, you will make money from simple actions like paying direct debits or making payments, I’ve clocked up over £70 in no time by doing nothing! You can then exchange these rewards for e-gift cards for British Airways and Emirates among others.

 

8. Browse booking websites to find the best cheap hotel deals

There are so many booking websites that offer great deals and it’s worth monitoring these or signing up for emails to ensure you’re updated when offers start. Here’s just some of the websites you can check out for cheap hotel deals:

Make sure you read the small print to see what the offers include – sometimes getting benefits like room upgrades, dining or drinks packages, or breakfast included can help save you money overall and not al websites might offer the same bonuses for the same hotels. A lot of websites will also have apps which have mobile-only or app-only discounts – I find a lot of great deals using the Booking.com app.

 

9. Earn cheap hotel deals every time you go to the supermarket

I love a reward scheme – they’re basically free money! So you better be doing your weekly food shop with a bank card that gives you cashback when you shop. This is another time when loyalty pays off, sign up for a Tesco Clubcard or Nectar Card and make sure you use them! Every time you shop at the supermarket, or buy fuel, you are clocking up points. If you’re in a relationship, it’s worth combining your points by sharing a card, that way you’ll clock them up much quicker.

Once you get a decent amount of points, you can exchange these for vouchers – we’ve previously swapped them for Hotels.com vouchers and then scored a cheap hotel deal and barely paid for a night away.

 

10. Sign up for emails!

As much as it is annoying to have your inbox filled up constantly with marketing emails, it DOES pay off! Often brands will pop a discount code in to reward their loyal readers or even give them early access to special deals and offers. I’ve saved a lot on flights this way by waiting for alerts to price drops and offers, it works the same with hotels. Booking.com are really good at sending cashback discount codes for booking hotel deals.

 

 

11. Book with free cancellation to benefit if the price drops

This one is a bit cheeky (but so are booking sites that constantly change the price!). There are several websites such as Booking.com and Agoda which allow you to book with free cancellation.

If you want to lock in a hotel at a great rate so you don’t risk missing out, book the free cancellation option. That way, if (or when) the price drops, you can cancel and rebook at the new, lower, price! It also means that if you find a cheap hotel deal that is a better option, you can cancel and book that instead.

 

12. Special opening rates for new hotels

It’s always worth keeping an eye out for new hotel openings because usually they will be keen to get customers through the doors and fill their rooms. Often that means they might offer special opening rates or deals which could mean saving money on your booking, or scoring lots of lovely extras with your booking. 

 

13. Look at package holidays for holiday deals

Whether you love a package holiday, or they’re your worst nightmare, there’s no denying that you can get some incredibly cheap holiday deals by booking your holiday in one go. If you hate the booking process and spending time researching cheap holiday deals, this could be a good way for you to save money and time. If you have children, often a lot of these deals are tailored for families and include family-friendly hotels and flight times so you can enjoy a relaxing break.

I’ve managed to score a 10-day holiday in Ibiza with my two best friends, flights and hotel all included for under £250 previously. There are so many websites which offer these great deals and often during peak times they will also offer great deals where you can get £200 off your holiday, plus a further £50pp by having an account with them. Some websites also have solo traveller discounts so it’s always worth checking before you book!

My top recommendations are:

 

 

14. Use review websites

I always recommend that for any hotel booking, whether its a family holiday or a solo travel break, that you take the time to read the reviews on TripAdvisor or hotel booking sites and check the hotel is what you think it is. Gone are the days of rocking up on holiday to find your hotel is a building site or you’re staying somewhere completely different.

I recently took a trip and the trip host picked the hotel for me – it was a hotel they had never stayed in and it was horrible. I stayed there alone and have never felt so unsafe, which as a woman travelling alone is one of the first things I look for when booking. There were wires hanging out of the electrics in the bathroom and pubes and crisps on the floor (not mine!), it was dirty and noisy. Then when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I was woken in the middle of the night to someone banging on the door and shouting at 3am.

Reading reviews is really important for guaranteeing your safety and your comfort, after all, a holiday is supposed to be a special time. So take 10 minutes to read through as many as you can, ignore the star ratings which are mostly based on amenities and not quality. Filter reviews by the things that are most important to you. 

 

15. Book a mystery hotel with huge discounts!

Would you be brave enough to book a mystery hotel? Imagine being shown photos of 3 potential stays at the highest rated hotels at 50% off retail price – but not knowing which you are staying at until you book! That’s exactly what Priceline offer – exclusive deals from hotels that are sold discreetly to those in the know. By booking, it also means you are eligible for VIP discounts on future bookings with the website.

 

16. Check what is included with your booking

It sounds simple, but so many people forget to check what is included in their booking. For instance, breakfast can add £20-30 to your hotel booking costs sometimes and yet just be a basic hotel breakfast. Sometimes you have the choice whether to take breakfast or lower the cost of the booking, which for 2 people could be a saving of £60 and instead you pop out for a cheap coffee and a pastry.

Some websites will offer packages for dining, half-board, all inclusive, or drinks packages – it’s always worth checking what extras you can get or even seeing if your hotel might upgrade you by simply pinging them a message. I often use the “we just got engaged” or “it’s our anniversary” when I travel with my partner to see if the hotel will throw in anything extra. I’ve had bottles of champagne, room upgrades, chocolates in the room, even a spa treatment for free!

 

 

17. Look for price guarantees

Worried about missing out on the best cheap hotel deals? It’s impossible to know if prices will change or if a better offer will come along but one thing that can help is looking for price promises. Did you know that websites like Hotels.com will actually match the price if you find the same hotel you have booked, on the same dates, for a cheaper price? This applies to deals on their own website but also on competitors’ websites.

 

18. Look at budget-friendly alternatives for group travel

Planning a group trip? It can quickly add up to book hotel rooms for a bigger group, and it then means that you don’t get your own space to hang out. It’s worth looking at apartments or villas on Booking.com or browse Airbnbs when planning a trip to see if they can beat the hotel rates. It also means you’ll get a whole space to yourselves including communal areas, a kitchen and sometimes even a swimming pool or hot tub. This in turn can save you money on paying to go out as much during your trip as you may be happy to eat in or skip the sunbeds, or prepare your own food in the daytime.

>> Read Would you choose Airbnb over a hotel?

 

19. Stay in someone’s spare room

Okay this one sounds weird but bare with me! If you’re looking for cheap hotel deals but simply need a place to stay for the night, you can use websites like SpareRoom to find super short-term lets of spare rooms in apartments or houses. Sometimes they might be swanky, sometimes they might be basic, but either way they often tend to be cheaper than a hotel room.

 

 

20. Stay in a hostel!

Some people might instantly turn up their noses at this one, but hostels have a bad rep. I’ve stayed in some incredibly boujie ones worldwide in incredible places – see the photo above for one I stayed at in Guatemala which has a hot tub overlooking the jungle! Hostels will nearly always have private room options and if you’re visiting an expensive city, they can be the best option if you’re not going to be in the room much.

Personally I’ve stayed in private rooms a lot at hostels – it’s the perfect mis of the social elements of having a great bar (often rooftop bar), walking tours and activities plus lots of people who just want to make friends. But I’m still able to retain some space, privacy and most importantly to catch up on work if I need the time to do so.

My favourite website for booking hostel stays is Hostelworld – I’ve used them worldwide and always find amazing places to stay. I really recommend the Selina Hostels and have stayed at them throughout Central America and beyond – I always know exactly what I am getting, they’re super clean and have amazing yoga/workout spaces, rooftops and space for digital nomads to work.

 

21. Cut costs by camping

Camping is such a great way to save on expensive accommodation costs and it gives you such a different travel experience. There are some amazing campsites out there and then there’s the option to wild camp in nature’s beauty spots. If you have a camper van like me, there are so many amazing places to park up and you can take your camper van over to Europe or around the UK. I use Pitch Up, Park4Night and Campsites to find places to pitch up for the night.

 

22. Look for cheap hotel deals in the UK

It’s worth keeping an eye in the newspapers or websites like Wowcher to see what deals crop up. The most famous one everyone knows is the £15 holidays run by The Sun – so many people have had cheap breaks around the UK using these including myself. 

 

 

23. Work for free accommodation

Sign up for a website like WorldPackers and you can find thousands of options for destinations worldwide where you can work a few hours a day and volunteer your services in exchange for accommodation and sometimes also meals. It’s a great way to travel on a budget and I know so many backpackers who have and currently use this as a way to reduce costs or stay in a place long-term.

 

24. Work with hotels as a content creator

One way to get free stays in amazing hotels around the world (or even get paid to stay in hotels) is to work as a content creator. You can either create content to share on your own platforms of the hotel, or you can create UGC (user-generated content) which the hotel will then share on their own platforms. While ideally you always want to be paid for your services, sometimes the opportunity comes up to stay in a place for free and it can save you a lot of money or give you access to a luxury property that would otherwise be beyond your budget.

I’ve previously scored free accommodation at 10 different properties for a whole month in Sri Lanka, a free stay at the most luxurious hotel I have ever stayed at in Thailand, paid hotel stays in the heart of London and York, free and paid hotels all around Morocco, Portugal, Cyprus and many more. If you are tactical about it and refine your craft so you are good at pitching to brands and haggling them up, you can make money every time you take a trip!