Tip #6 - Use the internet to your advantage

Use sites like Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline to REALLY get the best rate. I don't mean book your room with these sites. First let me explain how these sites work. Say you visit Hotels.com and the price for the Example Inn is $60(this price is usually the same as the hotel's rack or standard rate). You book the room and give your credit number. Hotels.com charges your card for $60 plus tax. Hotels.com then sends your reservation to the Example Inn. In return for selling rooms the Example Inn agrees to give Hotels.com a big discount, usually between 20% and 30%. So Hotels.com pays the hotel about $45-$48 dollars then sells the room to you for $60. Here's where you can save money, and the hotel will normally be happy you did this as well. Call the hotel directly and tell them that you are interested in arriving on whatever date and you were going to book your room on one of websites I mentioned. The hotel knows that it will make little money if you book online. Offer to book directly with the hotel at a discounted rate. As I said before the discount that is given to the website is usually between 20 and 30% so you should have no problem getting a 10 or 15% discount. You pay less, the hotel profits more and everyone is happy.

Now you are probably thinking that these websites sound like ripoffs. They aren't. They are good for the hotels because of the massive exposure that they get and they don't hurt the guest because the rates they charge are usually the same as you would pay at a hotel without any discounts (or if you didn't visit this site and learn the secrets). The best time to book with a site like I've mentioned is if you are booking a package. Say you are flying to Pittsburgh and staying at a hotel and you need a rental car. You can book everything together and get a better deal. A

Also, know that many of these sites do no guarantee certain things when you book. Like whether your room is smoking or non. For example you might book a non smoking room with a king bed but the website sends the reservation to the hotel as a smoking room with a king bed and notes that there is a request for non smoking. Often this is not a problem because the hotel can see this is and change your room before you even arrive. However if the hotel is busy they may be out of non smoking rooms and you will be stuck. Again this is why I always say it's best to call the hotel directly, even if it's after you booked through another source, to make sure everything is correct with your reservation.

That's all for now.

Hope this was helpful.