If looking to book a hotel in the UK, like most things at the moment you may have noticed a significant price increase compared to previous years e.g. London hotel prices are up by about 20% compared to last year. You may also notice that the large hotel chain operators are reducing offers and discounting less, driven by more travel demand post pandemic as well as operating costs. Below is some tips to save money on hotel accommodation in the UK, if you have any tips of your own then feel free to share.
Tips to save money on UK hotel accommodation
1. Date flexibility and booking in advance: Typically booking a hotel in advance will be cheaper than booking last minute as a general rule. Also if you have date flexibility then certain days will typically be cheaper e.g. Sunday. Where possible book with providers that offer free cancellation, which gives you the flexibility to book again if the rate does become cheaper.
2. Check rates direct: For some smaller independent hotels it's also worth checking their direct website to see if prices are more competitive or if they have any offers on. Booking via athird party is not always cheapest.
3. If booking a Travelodge hotel, utilise the Travelodge price finder tool to find the cheapest rates with saver rates from £25 pricefinder.travelodge.co.uk/ (https://pricefinder.travelodge.co.uk/). Rates are typically cheaper booking further in advance. 5% discount code
4. Look out for any flash sales across the hotel chains e.g. Travelodge / Village hotels, which take place at seasonal times throughout the year. Signup for any newsletters to be alerted to flash sales. Discounts tend to be bigger in December/January sales .
5. If booking a Premier Inn hotel, to get the cheapest rates book at least 2 weeks in advance (ideally a few months in advance) and look at Sunday dates as typically cheaper, from £35 including family rooms.
6. Use Google search to price check hotels on specific dates based on 2 people to see the cheapest availability dates and trends in the calendar year
a) search for hotel n Google e.g. Resident hotel Liverpool
b) click on reviews and then prices
c) Click on date to see matrix of pricing
7. For UK staycations, Travelzoo offer some market leading prices for UK Short breaks although prices have increased this year. Check the Top 20 weekly offers or check the uk breaks page (https//ww…age to see offers
8. Check discount sites such as Groupon / Itison / Secret Escapes as sometimes run offers on UK breaks for hotels looking to fill rooms.
9. If looking for a budget family break check Haven / Butlins for low cost breaks. Haven and Butlins
10. If looking for theme park breaks including hotel and tickets e.g. Legoland, Chessington, Alton Towers etc then you can either pull together your own break by getting low cost cost tickets e.g. Sun Superdays and pair with a cheap overnight stay at a nearby hotel. Alternatively look out for package offers direct from providers such as Legoland Holidays, Chessington Holidays which run promos throughout the year such as a 2nd day free at the theme park.
Related discussions / useful links
Tips to save money on UK hotel accommodation
1. Date flexibility and booking in advance: Typically booking a hotel in advance will be cheaper than booking last minute as a general rule. Also if you have date flexibility then certain days will typically be cheaper e.g. Sunday. Where possible book with providers that offer free cancellation, which gives you the flexibility to book again if the rate does become cheaper.
2. Check rates direct: For some smaller independent hotels it's also worth checking their direct website to see if prices are more competitive or if they have any offers on. Booking via athird party is not always cheapest.
3. If booking a Travelodge hotel, utilise the Travelodge price finder tool to find the cheapest rates with saver rates from £25 pricefinder.travelodge.co.uk/ (https://pricefinder.travelodge.co.uk/). Rates are typically cheaper booking further in advance. 5% discount code
4. Look out for any flash sales across the hotel chains e.g. Travelodge / Village hotels, which take place at seasonal times throughout the year. Signup for any newsletters to be alerted to flash sales. Discounts tend to be bigger in December/January sales .
5. If booking a Premier Inn hotel, to get the cheapest rates book at least 2 weeks in advance (ideally a few months in advance) and look at Sunday dates as typically cheaper, from £35 including family rooms.
6. Use Google search to price check hotels on specific dates based on 2 people to see the cheapest availability dates and trends in the calendar year
a) search for hotel n Google e.g. Resident hotel Liverpool
b) click on reviews and then prices
c) Click on date to see matrix of pricing
7. For UK staycations, Travelzoo offer some market leading prices for UK Short breaks although prices have increased this year. Check the Top 20 weekly offers or check the uk breaks page (https//ww…age to see offers
8. Check discount sites such as Groupon / Itison / Secret Escapes as sometimes run offers on UK breaks for hotels looking to fill rooms.
9. If looking for a budget family break check Haven / Butlins for low cost breaks. Haven and Butlins
10. If looking for theme park breaks including hotel and tickets e.g. Legoland, Chessington, Alton Towers etc then you can either pull together your own break by getting low cost cost tickets e.g. Sun Superdays and pair with a cheap overnight stay at a nearby hotel. Alternatively look out for package offers direct from providers such as Legoland Holidays, Chessington Holidays which run promos throughout the year such as a 2nd day free at the theme park.
Related discussions / useful links
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sorted byMy Advice, find the hotel on an OTA, google the name of the place, see if direct booking is cheaper and if not, call them up and say "I was going to book directly on booking.com, but i thought id call you directly incase its cheaper", we used to give people £10 off if they did this. I'd much rather give my guest a discount than pay a OTA commision
Best advice is to book a refundable and then check the price each week. We did this for Bury for an October 2022 booking & found that end of August the price dropped so we cancelled and rebooked at the new price & saved £30 for a 2 night booking.
Moral here is you might think you are getting a cheap deal using a 3rd party website but it’s not guaranteed. When things go wrong they all blame each other. So I’m starting to think better to book direct than pay twice over ie the failed and the actual booking. Do your research in advance. I usually do however this time I let a really cheap price influence my thinking/decision making Big mistake. Be careful! (edited)
The only problem I have had was once inadvertently forgetting to change the payment currency from GBP to the local currency, so I got the Agoda scam exchange rate.
Also be careful when comparing rates - it can be for very different rooms and they might not offer the same benefits such as breakfast.
Hotels.com often offer 10% cashback as well as their 1 free night for every 10 nights bookings (you receive average value and the 10 nights don't need to be one stay). Having said that, for the places I've looked at recently, Hotels.com now offers a much smaller selection of hotels than other sites.
One tip I'd have is to check out YHA in a private room. They're very decently priced on some off-peak dates and are similar to the likes of Travelodge.
Happy travels!
We've moved away from Accor in recent years as find Hilton a little more reliable and the loyalty scheme more rewarding. Although, Sofitel LHR T5 remains one of our favourite airport hotels so will always book when we've early flight from T5. (edited)
I also don't bother with cashback websites on hotel sites any more, every time I try, the price ends up jacked up by around the price of the cashback.
Me and my partner are often going on short weekend trips in summer and I give up on hotels, yes booking in advance works but you can't book a weather in advance. Luckily we both enjoy camping and campsite ofer amazing value for money, not to mention 3 night stay in B&B In Italy with a view of Lake Como is cheaper than one night in Bournemouth for instance.
I do this all the time, book several different stays at the same hotel, and cancel the ones I don't need nearer the time.
There's no need to pay up front, so it doesn't cost a penny.
Then sit back and watch the prices go up and up. If any get cheaper, just cancel and rebook the same dates.
Hotels.com was my go to a few years ago, always most expensive nowadays
onemileatatime.com/new…am/
NatWest Reward account gets 4% cashback if you book via the link, and the Hotel was in booking.com’s ‘Genius’ program, so got 10% off the booking with that.
It was a cheapish Hotel anyway, but those 2 things on top has saved me about another £30.
Lots of tips and tricks to be learnt for future bookings.
Sorry that's just a brag...
We usually use Hoseasons, but just wondering if there are any alternatives.
I usually book direct or booking.com or hotels.com tia
I searched for a location & date/time for 1 night on booking.com , price was £114 a night, but when I clicked thro' it jumped up to £244. I had something else lined up, and almost cancelled based on the £114 a night price.
Best deals I’ve found are direct even through large chains like ibis.
I went to Dublin earlier this year for 2 nights. Wanted something central and remembered TopSecretHotels having not used it for years. Thought I would have a look as I always forget about using that. I ended up staying in a Jurys Inn in the centre of town. It was a Friday and I decided to fly out on a Monday so pretty lastminute. Direct price/Booking.com was £250 but via Secret Hotels I got it for £140 excluding breakfast. Breakfast was a £10 if wanted. So it was a decent deal.
youtu.be/X3T…2kF