With the holidays approaching, I wanted to share some tips with you to help cut down on some of the dreaded holiday travel costs. With presents, food, and travel expenses, I know November to December can make a big dent in any budget and often steal some of the holiday cheer with it. My hope with this post is to alleviate some of that burden by pointing out some ways to cut costs through affordable lodging and trip sites you may not know about.
However, these tips do not just apply to the holidays. These are the same avenues I use to plan many of my and Daniel’s adventures. Some of them do require a bit of planning, but we’ve always been happy with the results!
I’m including details for finding deals on everything from overnight stops to fancy vacation packages and cruises! Hopefully, this will help make your holidays a little happier and more adventurous!
How to Find Inexpensive Lodging
If you have a long trip ahead, an overnight stop may be unavoidable. Or, maybe you’re looking for a beautiful place where you can relax for a few days without breaking the bank. Either way, you’ll find some good deals on these websites.
1.Try out Airbnb
I’ve already sung the praises of the Airbnb from our trip to Paris, but I would love to reiterate how fantastic this option is. With Airbnb, you rent out space from an individual for however many nights you need. This can be a private room in a house, a private suite, or an entire house/apartment.
While I love the feeling of staying at a hotel, I have to admit that I rarely use the extra amenities I pay for during my stay (We went to an Orlando resort this spring and I went to the pool once but still paid $30 a day for it.). So, if you can do without room service, a pool, and the continental breakfast, you can cut your nightly stay down to half or even a third of what you’d spend at a hotel.
In exchange, you save money and quite often have a larger space than you’d get in your hotel room. Plus, you have more freedom in choosing your location.
For example, in Paris, Daniel and I rented out an adorable little apartment for less than $100 a night (plus a discount for staying a week). We had a full kitchen, a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, and the Metro was ten steps from the front door.
We also recently stayed in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and rented out a private room in a house with a gorgeous view of the Shenandoah mountains. It was also only 8 minutes away from the wedding we were attending and only cost us $55 as opposed to the nearest hotel, which was $85 before taxes.
So you get to choose whether you want to stay along your route, on the beachfront, in the mountains, or in the center of the city. You can also stay in historic mansions, renovated carriage houses, or tiny cottages. Whatever your heart desires, you can probably find it on Airbnb.
Do some research, and I guarantee you’ll be shocked at the incredible deals you can find on luxury Airbnbs. I’ve seen full houses rented out for $30 a night in Myrtle Beach and Rhode Island. The cleaning fees can get pricey from certain hosts, but they more than even out over a hotel if you stay a couple of days.
2. Join Choice Hotels
We discovered Choice Hotels this summer while traveling home from Michigan. Since we weren’t sure how far we’d make it the first day, we decided to book our hotel at the last minute for flexibility.
As I researched the hotels a few hours ahead of us, I stumbled upon Choice Hotels, and it’s become my go-to when we want/need a hotel over an Airbnb. This brand owns everything from cheap lodgings like EconoLodge to the fancy Ascend hotels, and you earn rewards for every stay you make, regardless of hotel quality.
The basic rewards are 15% off if you book 7 days in advance, 10 points for every dollar you spend for lodging, as well as points for traveling and shopping with their partners, early check-in and late check-out, and exclusive discounts on your booking.
And they’re always running special deals. We stayed with Choice Hotels twice this summer and received a point bonus for a $50 Amazon gift card. Other great redeemable options include free or discounted nights, airline miles, and cruises.
Plus, any weeknight stay earns you a sweet extra reward: 100 airline miles, $5 Starbucks gift card, $2.50 Amazon credit, 400 Choice Privileges Points, or choose from several other options.
Check out their deals page for extra discounts for AAA members, military, and AARP members, and other special offers like staying two nights and getting one night free!
How to Find Inexpensive Trips
If you’re in the market for more of an experience trip, I would still recommend that you check out Airbnb and ChoiceHotels for experience packages or good locations where you can plan your own itinerary. However, these other websites will give you some extra perks and are great if you’re willing to let the deals guide your vacation. You can find good deals in areas you want, but you’ll often find great deals in a place you hadn’t previously considered.
1. Sign Up for Brad’s Deals
Brad’s Deals is my first stop for pretty much anything I want to find a good deal on, not just travel. They research thousands of deals and send a daily email with the best ones available. They’ll even tell you how much you’re saving compared to the next best deal. Many times, they work out special discounts that only their members can cash in on as well. It’s completely free to use, so I highly recommend signing up.
As far as travel goes, Brad’s Deals researches airline tickets, cruise packages, resort stays, and hotels to find the best discounts and deals on each one. They do all the research, so I don’t have to! And I can skip the hassle of looking through Expedia, Kayak, etcetera because Brad’s Deals has already done it and pulled out the best deal.
For example, some of today’s best deals include 50% of Chicago hotels, Myrtle Beach resorts from $49 a night, 6-night Peru vacations from $728, New Zealand cruises from $299, and a note that Priceline currently has 60% off hotels as opposed to Travelocity’s 50%.
If you’re willing to be flexible with your vacation plans, you can find some fantastic experience packages at significantly reduced prices through this website.
2. Explore on Groupon
That’s right; I said Groupon! If you’ve never checked out the Hotels & Travel page on Groupon, it’s time you did so!
Groupon has an extensive selection of travel packages and hotels from America to international destinations. I especially like Groupon because it’s so easy to filter your options. You can set your search preference by destination, type of vacation, or price point.
If you have a specific city in mind, just search it at the top and see what pops up. Or, you can be a bit adventurous and search for deals by region. You can narrow your search to 6 American regions or seek out adventures in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, or Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
If you’re not set on a specific destination or vacation, you’ll have a lot of fun seeing your options here.
I’ve seen American hotels and resorts under $40 a night with tons of amenities and desirable locations. I’ve also seen international resorts pop up under $90 a night!\
You can even filter your search to include airfare on some amazing extended vacation packages! Two of my favorites from today are an 8-day Ireland vacation with airfare from JFK for $600 and a 9-day guided tour of China for $680 with airfare from Washington, D.C.
So whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway, an overnight stop in a trendy hotel, or an extended international vacation, Groupon always has incredible savings that you should check out!
Closing Thoughts on Finding Affordable Lodging & Trips
These are my 4 favorite websites to find great deals on traveling! You can do so much more when you’re cutting your lodging costs down by 30-50% a day! And you can’t find some of these vacation packages anywhere else for the same price.
I hope that these tools allow you to do some extra traveling this year or at least make it a little more special with a fun place to spend the night!
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Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week!
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