Save Money On Hotels: The #1 Trick I Used In The Past

Pin3

3 Shares

People are still traveling less during the coronavirus.

We will be back to normal.

We will travel again.

Many hotels in major markets like New York and London can start at $300 per night for prime central location.

Why pay $300 or more if you don’t have to?

There are ways to stay in prime location in these cities for less.

There was one trick that I used in the past to pay less for hotels in these expensive markets.

I would sometimes pay $100 instead of $300 in cities like Boston and Washington, D.C.

What did I do?

Stay in the suburbs of major cities to save money on hotels

I used this trick a lot in the past.

Instead of paying $300+ for a hotel in one of these markets, you just choose a location farther out to save money on hotels.

In most places, this will be the suburbs.

The coronavirus has changed hotel prices temporarily, but I am familiar enough with these markets to give you some examples.

In New York City, the Hilton Times Square is usually $300+, except maybe on Sundays when it is cheaper at around $200.

That is Times Square in the center of everything.

Instead of paying over $300 for the Hilton Times Square, you can get the Hilton Meadowlands for $100 in New Jersey in the suburbs.

There is a train by the this hotel that will take you into New York in twenty minutes.

So just by choosing the suburbs, you could save over $200 per day.

Another example comes from a trip I took to Los Angelas years ago.

I was just starting out in points and miles and did not know as much as I know today.

It was a three day trip.

Hollywood is prime location on L.A.

I picked the W Hollywood in the midst of all the action for one day and locations farther away for the other two days.

This was one of my first trips after I learned to use points and miles, so all I knew how to do was switch hotels to save money.

I mentioned in earlier posts how my budget when I first started with points and miles was a little above the average person’s monthly dining out budget.

The average person spends over $300 per month on dining out.

So, if you cut dining out, you could have $300 per month or $3600 a year for travel.

I liked to travel every month when I first started.

In the future, I want to travel weekly.

I will do a post about traveling frequently.

It may be something for you if you don’t travel frequently right now.

The W hotel cost me over $300 plus taxes.

After that trip, the next couple of months were all free trips!

My monthly budget was combined with free flights and hotels to meet my goals in the past.

The other hotel I stayed at, the Hilton Glendale, cost $150 and was only 15 minutes away from Hollywood.

I actually used points and cash and paid $80 for the Hilton Glendale instead of $150.

Hilton cash and points is one of my favorite uses of Hilton points.

I will talk about it in another post.

So, if location is no issue, you can see how much you can save.

Honestly, that was when I first started in points and miles again.

I actually don’t even believe in spending that much today.

In the present, for a location like Los Angelas, I would probably stay at a central Hyatt hotel and use points all three days.

Chase has a great partnership with Hyatt.

It gets you a good deal in points in hotels in expensive markets.

You have to have one of the Chase Ultimate cards:

Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Ink Preferred

Basically, if you wanted to stay in a market like Boston, a hotel would cost $300.

That is about 30,000 points using the Chase and other portals.

The Hyatt Regency Boston usually goes for 15,000 Hyatt points.

So by transferring your Chase points to Hyatt, you pay the equivalent of $150 for a $300 hotel.

If you have Chase Ultimate points, this is usually the a good deal with points in expensive markets again.

Honestly, though you can save by choosing the suburbs, I will point out why you might want to not do this all the time later in this post.

So basically, if location is no object, you could save hundreds.

This was one of my top tactics in the past.

You can see the saving in both the Los Angelas and New York examples.

The other expensive markets produce the same results.

How to do this and save money on hotels?

1. Choose your city

Choose your city such as London, New York, Boston, etc.

2. Choose your chain

I tend to choose Marriott or Hilton according to which is cheaper in different locations.

3. Use the app or website for the center of the city

For instance, in our New York City example, you would just type in “New York, New York.”

This will give you the center of the city.

4. Keep scrolling until you find a reasonable choice

Then, you just keep scrolling until you get the price you want.

If you do it from the center of the city instead of the suburbs, you will get to the location that is closest to the city center at the price you want.

5. Read TripAdvisor to see if the location is realistic

Read TripAdvisor to make sure your location makes sense.

The reviews on TripAdvisor often explain if location and other things make sense.

They also tell you if it is a hotel is recommended.

Maybe the hotel minutes away has better reviews, and you should pick it.

I don’t stay anywhere without reading a review.

This has saved me a lot of unpleasant surprises.

RELATED: 12 Easy Ways To Save On Hotels

When to not use this tactic?

In markets like Memphis or Dallas hotels are about the same price in the center of the city as the suburbs.

You won’t need the tactic I explained to save money on hotels in those markets.

Unless you have other concerns like parking fees, you should stay in prime location if price is no difference.

For instance, the Hilton Atlanta often goes for $98.

That is the same price as the suburbs.

Staying in the thick of everything is usually fun and convenient.

Keep in mind during the COVID-19 crisis, that hotels are unusually cheap.

People are still not staying at hotels yet.

Why you may want to stay in the center of the city anyway

Although this was my favorite tactic in the past, I actually made a point to stay in the center of each major city later

Points and miles allow you to do things you would not be able to normally.

Honestly, the city center is an important part of any trip.

Since you can do things with points, a lot of time it may make sense to stay in the center of the city for the experience.

If there were no such thing as reward points, everyone might choose the suburbs if they wanted to save money.

Points exist though.

There are ways to use points to stay in the center of the city and pay the same as the suburbs.

Everything is about prioritizing and getting what is most important to you.

You have a certain amount of points to spend each year.

I think if you have a Chase Ultimate card, Hyatt points are one of the best ways to go in these markets.

You should also save your points for aspirational properties like the Ritz-Carlton Paris that go for $1000+ cash a day.

These are properties most people would not usually pay for without points.

However, your average upscale hotel in the center of the city can fit too.

So, I suggest you use this tactic at times but not all the time.

Like I said, I came to prefer staying in the heart of everything later.

Points allow you to not only travel more and spend less, but also to upgrade your travel.

I just mention this tactic of staying in the suburbs because not everyone knows it.

Some people may not care about location either.

Like day trips and cutting expenses, this is another tactic to travel more for less.

You can decide what combination works best for you.

I want you to be aware of all the tactics so that you can choose the one that works for you.

Summary

Hotels in prime location can be expensive.

Sure you can get a bargain during COVVID-19, but when things return to normal, you will want to save money.

Staying in the outskirts of these expensive markets can be the difference between spending $100 per day and $300-$500 per day.

Our mission is to show you how to spend as little as possible on travel, (preferably nothing).

This is a popular hotel trick that can save tons when you don’t care about location.

Again, it is one of several tricks that can get you more travel for less.

I just wanted to make sure you were aware of it.

Again, it is one tactic like hundreds of others to spend less and travel more.

You can decide if and when to use it.

Have you ever stayed further from the center of the city to save money?

Did it save you a lot of money?