If you enjoy booking your own travel, below are my top 10 travel tips that I used before becoming a travel agent. If you do wish to have help booking your travel, I am certainly here for you as your own Travel Agent – we get the inside scoop on the best possible rates on not only cruises but, flights, all-inclusive vacations, hotels, car rentals, travel insurance, land tours – you name it!!
Here is a link to my agency website!
#1 Time it right
If you have the flexibility, pick the best time to travel with websites like Hopper and Skyscanner, these websites and phone apps offer the option to look at flight price trends to a large degree of accuracy. Even better sign up for notifications when prices drop so as not to miss seat sales. Fly midweek if possible, flight prices are almost always cheaper Tues/Wed/Thurs than surrounding the weekend or a vacation day.
#2 Stay at a vacation rental instead of a hotel
Vacation Rentals found on sites like Airbnb and VRBO, not only allow you to live like a local, often with your own cooking facilities, you can have the comfort of your own home in a new city! You do have to be careful when booking a vacation rental, I have written a detailed post about how to find the Perfect Vacation Rental.
#3 Gamble on your hotel and pay much less than the going rate
Websites like Priceline and Hotwire offer “express deals” or “Hot Rate Hotels”, or you can even bid (on Priceline).
(Stay tuned for my next post showing you exactly how to land a hotel and know to a high degree of certainty what the hotel is!!)
#4 Bundle & save!
Expedia offers discounts on bundling flights & hotels or flights & cars. We recently saved a TON of money on a trip to Puerto Vallarta “bundling” our Flight & Hotel (NOT booking “all inclusive). See my latest article on our last “all-inclusive” trip that we booked instead as a bundle where we saved ~$1000 over a short 3-day trip.
#5 Book with the option to cancel
If you want to know what hotel you are staying at, book a cancellable room. That way, if the going rate decreases, you can simply cancel and re-book. (*Note I do NOT recommend that you take this option with VRBO or Airbnb as I have almost always experienced issues with refunds through both of those websites).
#6 Book hotels with breakfast and/or parking included
Breakfast (Hampton Inn often offers a free decent breakfast) and/or parking included and look for hidden resort fees. When staying in big cities it is rare to find parking included, but sometimes hotels can ding you on parking and extra fees like resort fees or daily internet. Most travel sites have the option to filter these options.
#7 During peak periods book hotels and car rentals either early (or extremely last minute)
If you are traveling during Christmas or another popular holiday at a popular destination, book your vacation early. We are visiting Maui over Christmas and a (cancellable) car that we already pre-booked in the spring (we always go with Discount Car Rental in Hawaii) for 10 days is $420 US back last Spring, it is now one month before our travel and $1234.00 US for the same car! There are certain websites and apps that sell out top-notch rooms at discounted prices very last minute such as Hotel tonight. We just met a couple on our last vacation who were staying in the most high-end resorts for hugely discounted prices over Christmas.
#8 Go to a timeshare meeting for free perks
Full disclosure, my husband is in large disagreement of this one (as he cannot stand the timeshare meetings), but we have done this twice (and have one more booked and have HUGE, HUGE savings out of it).
Be it Marriott Club, Club Wyndham, opt for their timeshare meeting specials (just make sure to be resistant to sign up for the actual timeshare unless that is a kettle of fish you really want to open!)
We stayed at a great little Marriott in New York for the New York Marathon last year and saved nearly $600 over 3 nights. We are simply very honest in saying to the timeshare staff we have no interest in signing up but are in it for the perks, and those perks are huge! We will be staying in Fort Lauderdale 2 days prior to a cruise we have booked through a timeshare presentation with a savings of $400 US, AND another free night afterward. (We just have to go to a timeshare meeting one day).
#9 Book on points
This can sometimes take some learning, but by collecting credit card points like Aventura and Aeroplan (in Canada) future flights can be free! Many of these credit cards also offer bonus perks for signing up, just be sure to read the small print and take not of yearly fees.
Stay tuned for my upcoming article on how to maximize the value of Aeroplan Point tickets via “great deals”, “open jaw” and “stopover” bookings.
#10 Last but not least, obviously…. don’t lift a finger,
Allow me do the work for you!
