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How to find good hotel deals
 Lauri Revilla
In these tough economic times, people have found it harder and harder to afford vacations. Many people have been forced to downgrade to lower quality hotels, take shorter vacations, or not go anywhere at all. Because the travel industry has greatly suffered it has become easier to find good hotel deals that can make vacations more affordable. By looking in the right places and with a little bit of negotiation, good quality hotels can be found at enormous savings. Here is a compilation of some tactics that are proven to help you find great hotel deals.
1. Third party travel sites – Third party travel sites, such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelzoo, and Priceline help you search and compare hotel prices for different hotels in a certain city or area. The search engines are usually very user friendly and allow you to narrow them down by price and proximity to a certain area.
2. Hotel‘s website – Searching in a particular hotel chain's website can sometimes yield the lowest available rate or special promotions that are not available elsewhere. Booking through the hotel's website often allows you to only pay for the first night and sometimes offers free cancellations if done within a certain time frame.
3. Last minute travel arrangements – There are several sites that provide savings on hotels if reservations are done very close to or on the day that you would be checking in. This usually involves much discounted rooms that the hotel was not able to book. At lastminute.com you can make travel arrangements the week before you are planning to leave. HotelTonight is an Iphone application that will show you hotel deals in particular cities for that same night that can be up to 80% off the regular rate.
4. Negotiation – Sometimes hotels are willing to offer you a lower rate for walk-in customers. This is also possible because they are able to secure the rooms that were not booked for that day. The downfall in doing this is that you run the risk of not finding a discounted room and might end up paying a higher price. It is also possible to negotiate a lower rate if you call the hotel directly and ask for any discounts or promotions. Many new hotels are willing to offer customers that call a good hotel deal so they can try out the hotel.
5. AAA – Customers that have a AAA membership can find good hotel rates by booking on the AAA website. Many hotels will offer a 5 – 20% if you present your AAA membership card at check-in.
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