If you’re on Instagram, it’s hard to miss the people living their best lives at some of the lushest, most luxurious hotels around the world. And you might be watching thinking I wish that was me! Worry not, it CAN be you! If you know where and how to look, a life of luxury is well within your reach. Today I’m sharing some great tips to make that dream a reality and help you book luxury accommodation for much less!
1. Use Price Comparison sites to book luxury accommodation for less
The best places to start are aggregator websites like Trivago, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Hoteltonight which generate prices from websites all over the internet to get you the best available price for each hotel. I always recommend cross-checking across different aggregator sites to ensure there isn’t a cheaper deal somewhere else.
Once you’ve found the cheapest rate, go over to Hotels.com to book the room using their Best Rate Guarantee. This means you get the cheapest price AND you can collect free hotel nights through Hotels.com’s Rewards program For every 10 nights you book, you get 1 free (worth the average value)! A great way to save money.
2. Book directly with Hotels
Always check if booking directly with the hotel works out cheaper when booking luxury accommodation, a lot of times it is! They may have a better room rate or have offers on free upgrades or competitive packages. Just make sure their prices include tax and any other surcharges to ensure it’s the best price for you.
If the hotel is part of a large chain (e.g. Accor, Hilton, IHG, Marriott, etc) check if they have a loyalty scheme. Membership schemes often offer additional 10-25% discounts and other perks. You can also earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for free hotel nights in chain hotels worldwide.
READ MORE: 10 TIPS FOR AFFORDABLE LUXURY TRAVEL
3. Stay in New or Boutique Hotels
I love boutique hotels! They are charming and intimate without the rigidness of big chain hotels. Boutique hotels have a unique style and character. The best part, you can get a luxury experience with intimate service in a boutique hotel for much less!
A great resource for finding beautiful boutique luxury hotels that cost less is Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Members get 10% off bookings and honestly the hotels, Gorg! Mr & Mrs Smith tends to have pricier hotels but the budget boutique hotel section is great if you love luxury accommodation for less. Prices available range from £35 a night in a Vietnamese concrete jungle hotel to £54 a night for a beautifully chic Riad in Marrakech.
New hotels are also worth a look for cheaper luxury accommodation. Yes, they might be new and still settling in but you could get some great deals through introductory opening rates! So research to see if any new hotels are opening in your destination.
4. Airbnbs/Holiday Homes for the Win!
Apartments/holiday rentals are usually more affordable than hotels and can be a great choice to immerse yourself in the culture, experience some luxury and pay much less than a resort for example.
Airbnb is the go-to for booking holiday homes but, traditional hotel booking sites like Booking.com and hotels.com also offer a selection of rental properties! I booked a beautiful upmarket 2 bedroom aparthotel in Prague on hotels.com for the cheapest price available!
READ MORE: 10 PROVEN TIPS FOR BOOKING CHEAP FLIGHTS
5. Get more for your money
Using sites like Virtuoso to book luxury hotels can be a great way to get extras like upgrades, free spa treatments, etc that could be worth hundreds of £s. This means you get way more value for money that you would’ve spent anyway. What’s not to love! And if you don’t even use virtuoso, look to see if the hotel has any offers you can take advantage of or any websites offer a bit more for the same price.
6. Sign up for E-mails
It can be worth signing up for the hotel or website’s email alerts to see if there are any special deals for booking luxury accommodation for cheap. One of my favourites is Voyage Privé! They run short term sales on long- and short-haul destinations and the accommodation included is usually high end. Also, you can book the hotels only, usually at a discounted rate, without flights.
7. Look for hotels in the financial district
Many cities that are popular for business travellers, like London, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo offer great weekend room rates once the business travellers have left. You can sometimes find 5-star luxury hotels for under £100 per night which is insane! Yes, you might not be right in the centre but usually, they will be in areas with pretty good transport links and won’t be too far from the centre. when I went to
8. Book closer to your Arrival
Generally, booking hotel rooms work in the opposite way to booking flights. Usually, the worst time to book a flight is right before it takes off, however, for hotel rooms, room rates reduce the closer you get to departure! If the thought of waiting till the last minute scares you, you can book a hotel with a flexible cancellation policy so if you see a better deal, you can take advantage of it.
Conclusion
You can book luxury accommodation for less and I hope this post has helped shine a light on some great ways you can do that! Do you have any tips to book luxury accommodation on a budget? Please share them in the comments! and if this post has been useful for you, don’t forget to save and share!
Until next time xx
Travel for less!
10 Comments
Great tip about booking directly. I sometimes email the hotel and ask if there is a special offer that isn’t on their website and sometimes it works!
Yes that’s a great idea! They just might have some deals that you could take advantage of and it’s usually pretty easy to go direct so it’s definitely worth a try!
Thank you for sharing these useful tips! As a budget traveler, I usually only stay in hostels, but it’s nice to pamper yourself sometimes. I didn’t know it would be cheaper if you booked last minute, I used to think it worked the same way as flights!
It is super nice to pamper yourself every on holiday once in a while and yeah, it can work in the opposite way and the great thing is if you do book early, get one with free cancellation so if you find a cheaper deal you can take advantage of that.
Great suggestions! I recently noticed that booking a hotel last minute is a big money saver! I wish I realized this sooner!
It really can be! Just have to make sure you have a back up but definitely worth a shot!
Great tips and I absolutely love staying in boutique hotels! Really enjoyed your booking tips, super helpful!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the tips, hopefully they help you
Great post! I’m always looking to get the best deals on accommodation so I can afford to travel as much as possible. I definitely agree that booking directly with the hotel can really help. Thanks for all your tips!
Thank you for your comment! And that’s the goal, to travel as much as possible without spending a whole load of money!